Radiation Danger Signs and Your Work

While danger signs are usually seen in factories and construction sites, dangers are in all environments. The medical field is one segment where workers are constantly facing varying degrees of danger. Doctors, nurses, and staff come

into contact with biohazardous material, patients with contagious illness, and radiation from equipment.

Radiation is a hazard that can be as harmful in one large dose then in a series of smaller ones. X-ray machines and other equipment give off this energy at safe levels, but it is the prolonged exposure of radiation that should be examined. Radiation danger signs are a helpful reminder to staff of this unseen hazard.

Radiation danger signs look much different than the usual signs, and the part that is unique is its symbol. The ionizing radiation hazard symbol is meant to convey the radiation of energy for the source. Radiation danger signs use the image with specific text to alert staff that the area is within energy’s field.

Since radiation is used for certain medical procedures, radiation danger signs can let staff and visitors know where the energy’s field limits are in relation to the equipment that produces it. The probability of harmful effects typically increases with every dose, placing more importance on reaching a safe distance from the radiation and letting staff know those limits with radiation danger signs.