Do "energy stones" have health benefits? Be careful of excessive radiation! These radiation-proof items you thought were useless

gossip

In recent years, domestic customs have repeatedly found stones, pendants and so-called "health care radium stones" and "health care belts and bracelets" with strong radiation during inspections. The reason why these things happen so often is mainly because of the various magical legends about them circulating on the Internet, which makes many people think that these "energy stones" have the effect of "protecting safety" and "health care" . So, are they really that magical?

analyze

Let me first tell you the answer. These items are not only not good for health, but may also cause harm to the body due to excessive radiation. How much harm does excessive radiation cause to the human body?

Some time ago, "Customs Release" released such news:

When Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport Customs, affiliated to Dalian Customs, was supervising an incoming flight, an inbound passenger triggered an alarm when passing through the customs fixed nuclear radiation monitoring gate. After on-site customs officers reviewed, the passenger's bag of "health stones" had excessive nuclear radiation, with a radiation dose of 105 microsieverts per hour, 1050 times higher than the on-site background value. The instrument analysis results showed that it was the radioactive substance thorium-232, which is listed in the list of Class 1 carcinogens of the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Image source: Customs release

In order to help everyone better understand the impact of these items with excessive radiation on the human body, let us first explain two words mentioned in the news: "microsievert" and "background value".

Microsievert: One of the units for calculating radioactive dose. 1 microsievert (μSv) = 0.001 millisievert (mSv).

Background value: generally refers to the relevant value generated by the natural environment itself without external human interference.

The average global background radiation received by each person is about 2,400 microsieverts per year. my country's national standards stipulate that the public should not receive more than 1,000 microsieverts of additional effective radiation per year in addition to natural background radiation. For workers engaged in radioactive work, the maximum annual radiation dose is 50,000 microsieverts.

What does the "health stone" mentioned in the news mean with a radiation dose of 105 microsieverts per hour? If you carry this bag of stones with you for a day, the total amount of radiation will exceed the maximum radiation value that an ordinary person can accept throughout the year.

The harm of nuclear radiation to humans and organisms is related to the dose of nuclear radiation, the time people are exposed to nuclear radiation, and the half-life of nuclear materials. Specifically:

When the short-term radiation is less than 100 millisieverts , it is harmless to the human body;

When the short-term radiation dose is between 100 and 500 mSv , the peripheral vascular lymphocytes decrease;

When the short-term radiation dose is between 500 and 1000 mSv , nausea, vomiting, and leukopenia will occur;

When the short-term radiation dose is between 2000 and 4000 millisieverts , radiation diseases will occur, such as damage to the bone marrow and bone density, extreme reduction in the number of red blood cells and white blood cells, internal bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms;

When the short-term radiation dose is greater than 4000 millisieverts , it is life-threatening.

Some people may ask, if the radiation from "energy stones" is harmful to the human body, then will medical exposure such as X-rays and CT scans also have an impact on our health?

As can be seen from the figure below, on the one hand , the amount of radiation for medical exposure is within a safe range. On the other hand, it will be further guaranteed by controlling the frequency of annual radiological examinations, wearing lead clothing for protection during local examinations, and rationally designing multi-step staged irradiation treatment plans .

Image source: Chinese Academy of Sciences https://www.cas.cn/zt/sszt/kxjdrbqz/hfs/201103/t20110318_3089712.html

Radioactivity is everywhere around us

It should be noted that although excessive radiation levels can cause great harm to the human body, we do not need to be frightened by the word "radiation". In fact, ionizing radiation can be said to be almost everywhere in our daily lives, but some of it is insignificant to us, some helps us produce and live, and some threatens our lives and health.

Radioactive materials can be divided into two categories based on their sources: natural and artificial.

Natural radionuclides - products from the universe

In the vast universe, nuclear reactions are still taking place in many celestial bodies. For example, the sun, which is closest to us, is a huge nuclear reactor. This ancient "alchemy" that has existed since the birth of the universe collides and kneads the smallest and lightest hydrogen together, constantly assembling into larger and heavier nuclides, continuously producing new nuclides, and also throwing out a large number of cosmic rays composed of high-energy particles and electromagnetic waves.

These rays carry a large amount of particles and energy. Some of them directly shoot new nuclides into the earth, and some interact with the atmosphere to produce new nuclides. In this way, the earth has a continuous supply of nuclides from the universe. These nuclides are distributed in every corner of nature, including living organisms, with the circulation of air and water. Among them, the radioactive nuclides, together with the radioactive nuclides that already exist on the earth, have become a contributing part of natural radioactivity.

I don’t know if you still remember what was mentioned in the previous article: “Our national standards stipulate that the public is exposed to natural background radiation every year…”. We live in nature and are exposed to these natural radiations all the time. We also participate in the flow of these radioactive nuclides in nature. Therefore, the radiation generated in this living environment is also called "natural background radiation."

United Nations Environment Programme, Radiation - Effects and Sources, 2016

Some human activities in daily life can also increase the amount of natural radiation received:

1. Indoor radioactive contamination caused by substandard building materials

Marble, granite, gypsum, and even soil, sand, and other building materials have certain radioactivity, among which radium (Ra), radon (Rn), thorium (Th), and potassium (K) are the radionuclides that need special attention. In addition to producing organic pollutants such as formaldehyde and benzene, inferior building materials may also cause excessive indoor radioactive pollution.

2. The combustion of high-radioactive raw coal produces radioactive dust

Coal mines contain a certain amount of radioactive nuclides. The mining and burning of coal with high radioactivity will cause radioactive dust to diffuse into the atmosphere, increasing the background radiation to which people are exposed. Screening raw coal and treating coal ash are effective means to reduce the emission of radioactive pollutants.

3. “Standing higher, radiating stronger”: The atmosphere and the Earth’s magnetic field are important barriers against cosmic rays

The atmosphere at high altitudes is relatively thinner, and people are exposed to higher background radiation than those at low altitudes. Similarly, airplane pilots and astronauts working in space for a long time also face higher radiation risks.

Artificial Radionuclides – Modern Alchemy

Artificial radionuclides are produced by humans in the process of using ionizing radiation. Through modern "alchemy" such as nuclear tests, accelerators, and reactors, a large number of artificial radionuclides can be produced, which is also an important means of discovering and studying new nuclides. These nuclides are usually used in medical irradiation, nuclear energy production, irradiation detection, experimental research and other scenarios.

For example, in medicine, technetium-99m is often used for imaging of human organs, iodine-125 is used for close-range radiotherapy and in vitro radioactivity analysis of cancer, iodine-131 is used for the treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer, and lutetium-177 is combined with various targeting molecules to achieve the treatment of a variety of malignant tumor diseases with systemic metastasis...

China Nuclear Technology Network www.ccnta.cn Lutetium-117 Solution

In industry, cobalt-60, as the main gamma radiation source, is often used in industrial disinfection, irradiation processing, irradiation breeding, non-destructive testing and other fields; radionuclides of elements such as barium, bromine, iodine, tritium, and sulfur are often used as industrial tracers...

Iridium-192 radioactive source that could be mistaken for a bracelet

Common radiation rumors in life

1

Can cactus protect against radiation?

As an "ordinary" plant, cactus does not have the ability to resist radiation. The rumor that cactus resists radiation probably comes from people's thoughts about its living environment. The strong ultraviolet rays and extremely dry environment make people think about "radiation". Even if cactus can resist radiation, you have to hide in a pile of cacti and become a "hedgehog" to fully protect yourself and reduce the risk of radiation.

You won’t find cacti in radiation shielding materials!

2

Can iodized salt protect against radiation?

After the Fukushima accident, there was a rush to buy iodized salt in many parts of the country. Many people tried to achieve radiation protection by taking iodized salt. But in fact, iodized salt has no direct relationship with radiation protection , and there is no need to stockpile it.

On the one hand, sea salt only accounts for a small part of the source of salt. Even if the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea affects the production of sea salt, it will not lead to a huge gap in my country's salt supply. On the other hand, it is not advisable to use iodized salt to replace stable iodine tablets used for radiation protection. The iodine content of the two is very different. If you really rely on iodized salt as a substitute, you have to eat 3 to 4 kilograms of iodized salt at a time to achieve the same effect.

3

Do radium, thorium and radon have health benefits?

In the early days of radioactivity, people were not aware of its harm. Instead, they mistakenly believed that radioactive substances carried mysterious powers because of their fluorescent effects. Radioactive substances such as radium and thorium were frantically added to all kinds of food, cosmetics, toothpaste, toys, and even beverages and medicines that people could reach. Its only function was to bring "pure natural and additive-free" radiation to the human body. Excessive radiation caused people who were exposed to it for a long time to suffer from anemia, cancer...

Today we may hear that "radon hot springs are good for health and treatment". In fact, in some areas with special geological structures, the concentration of minerals and natural radionuclides in hot spring water is slightly higher than in other areas. The main reason is that the radioactive inert gas radon is produced by the decay of radium-226. Proper hot spring bathing itself can help to strengthen blood circulation, relieve blood pressure, improve the body's metabolic efficiency, and enhance human immunity. However, there is currently no sufficient experimental or clinical evidence to support whether the slightly increased radiation dose really has a therapeutic and health-care effect.

in conclusion

The claim that "energy stones" have health benefits has no scientific basis. There is a risk of being deceived when purchasing "energy stones" of unknown origin, and wearing them may also be harmful to your health.

References:

1. United Nations Environment Programme, Radiation - Effects and Sources, 2016

2. National Nuclear Safety Administration (mee.gov.cn)

3. China Nuclear Technology Network, "Major breakthrough in the localization of medical isotopes: the first independent preparation and application of carrier-free lutetium-177", 2023

Author: Popular Science Creator of Hydrogen Water Noodle Uranium Cake

Reviewer: Sun Yifei, Director of the Medical Education History Research Office, Hebei Medical University

Planning丨Yang Yaping

Editor｜Li Mengxin