Radiation Basics

In order to help the McGill community to better understand radiation issues and to safely work with radioisotopes, Environmental Health & Safety has grouped here useful tools and information.

All about radiation

The Fundamentals of radiation give you an overview of atomic structure, as well as radioactive decay and its interaction with matter, while Radiation units explain units of activity, doses and exposure. In Radioisotopes, you'll find data on a dozen different isotopes.

Rad tools

The Wipe test calculator can calculate your wipe test smear in Bq/cm2 and the Decay calculator has a databank containing the half-life and scheduled quantity for 115 different isotopes.

See the useful math formulae for your radiactivity calculations, and a periodic table.

Next: Fundamentals

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Emergency?

For serious emergencies call 911 immediately. Then inform campus security services at:

  • 514-398-3000 (downtown)
  • 514-398-7777 (Macdonald)

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