Although the word “nuclear” often reminds us of power plants, the usage area of nuclear technology is much broader. Ionizing radiation and radioisotopes are used in healthcare, industry, research, agriculture and measurement applications in Türkiye.
Nuclear medicine and radioisotopes
In nuclear medicine, radioactive tracers are used to image the function of organs and treat some diseases. Imaging methods such as PET and SPECT can provide information about biological processes as well as anatomical images. Radiotherapy, on the other hand, aims to apply a planned dose to the tumor tissue with different devices and sources.
TENMAK's Proton Accelerator Facility in Ankara provides quality control and research infrastructure with the production of short-lived radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals. For short half-life products, production, logistics and patient administration time are planned together.
Radiation applications in industry
Radiography can be used to examine the internal structure of products such as weld seams and metal parts without damaging the material. Closed radioactive sources may also be present in devices that measure thickness, density and level. There are also irradiation applications for sterilization and material improvement.
These activities require source security, monitoring of worker doses, appropriate shielding, and authorization. Even if the intended use of the device is beneficial, radiation protection principles must be applied at every stage.
agriculture and food
Ionizing radiation; It can be used in plant breeding research for purposes such as examining new traits, combating harmful insects and reducing the microbial load in certain foods. Food irradiation does not mean making food radioactive. Application conditions are determined according to the product and legislation.
Research, environment and cultural heritage
Isotope techniques can be used to investigate the age and movement of water bodies, examine the source of pollutants, and measure the composition of materials. Neutron and gamma measurements; It also contributes to physics, materials science and archaeometry studies.
The accelerator and nuclear physics laboratories within TENMAK provide infrastructure in areas such as irradiation, spectrometry, detector and fusion research. These examples show that the nuclear ecosystem does not consist only of power reactors.
The basis for safe use
Justification, optimization and dose limits constitute the basic protection approach in radiation applications. User training, device maintenance, field monitoring, personal dosimetry and regulatory control work together. The benefit of the practice is balanced by the goal of keeping unnecessary exposure to the lowest reasonable level.
Resources
- TENMAK, Proton Accelerator Facility: https://www.tenmak.gov.tr/proton-hizlandiricisi-tesisi
- TENMAK, Accelerator and Fusion Research Laboratories: https://tenmak.gov.tr/hizlandirici-ve-fuzyon-arastirmalari-laboratuvarlari
- IAEA, Nuclear Applications: https://www.iaea.org/topics/nuclear-applications