THE SERENE FACE OF SIVA: Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy Dr.

V N Bhattathiri, MD PhD Regional Cancer Centre Trivandrum Among the Hindu triumvirates, Siva is the one who give boons to his devotee most readily (kshipraprasadi). But he can equally be destructive of those who do not handle him right. Nuclear energy may be considered as a technological Siva. If properly handled, it is a boon to mankind; if not it can destroy the entire mankind. (Is it only a curious coincidence that some of the atomic power plants in profile simulate Sivalinga?). The name of Siva brings to mind his third eye which can destroy everything it sights on; similarly nuclear energy brings to mind visions of the destructive atom bomb. This article tries to outline the various ways in which boons can be obtained from a serene Siva. Before embarking on learning about the uses of atomic energy, it is worthwhile knowing a little about radiosensitivity. Radiosensitivity refers to the sensitivity of an organism or its organs/tissues/cells to the damaging effect of ionising radiation. In the organism level, sensitivity can be related to the interphase chromosome volume of its sensitive cells. There is a wide range over which organisms are sensitive to the lethal effects of radiation. Mammals are the most sensitive, followed by birds, fish, reptiles, and insects. Among plants, least sensitive to acute radiation exposures are mosses, lichens, algae and micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses. Sensitivity of the organism to radiation depends on the life stage at exposure, embryos and juveniles being more sensitive than adults. MEDICAL Radiation has its most widespread peaceful application in the medical field. It involves three spheres of activity: radiotherapy (use of radiation for treatment purposes), radiodiagnosis (for diagnosis) and nuclear medicine. Radiotherapy is most widely used in treatment of cancers, but it is becoming more and more applicable in many benign diseases too. The latest development is the use of intravascular radiation to prevent restenosis and block in heart vessels after bypass surgery. Radiodiagnosis involves the use of xrays for diagnosis of diseases, though at present it is finding increasing role in treatment of many diseases in the form of interventional radiology. Nuclear medicine involves the internal use of radiopharmacuticals for both therapy and diagnosis of many diseases. The radiopharmaceuticals include solutions of simple inorganic chemicals, colloids and organic compounds labelled with a variety of isotopes such as 131Iodine, 51 Chromium, 32Phosprous,99mTechniciumc, 67Gallium and 111Indium. Another use of radiation is gamma sterilisation by which method radiation is used to sterilize medical devices for use in surgery or implantation in body without risk of infection. Tissues such as amniotic membrane, skin, dura mater, bone powder, rib, femoral heads, bone blocks, etc., harvested from cadavers and/or live donors incident to surgical procedures and, in the case of amnion, following deliveries. The grafts can be processed to reduce their bioburden, freeze-dried, double packed and sterilized by irradiation. These grafts can be used in a number of clinical conditions. Skin and amnion can be used as biological

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dressings, promoting healing in unresponsive bedsores, ulcers and burns; dura mater in duraplasty and bone in a variety of conditions from periodontal osseous defects to revision hip surgery. PUBLIC HEALTH Pest control can be obtained by irradiating and releasing the male pests. Irradiation makes them sterile and progeny are not born. This successively reduces the pests. This approach is being effectively used for eradication of the tsetse fly and sleeping sickness in Tanzania. Fly monitoring following aerial release for a period of four months indicated that over one fourth of the wild tsetse females showed signs of induced sterility. FOOD Irradiation is a safe and effective technology that can kill bacteria and parasites and prevent many foodborne diseases. The safety of irradiated foods is well recognised, with even NASA astronauts eating foods that have been irradiated to the point of sterilization. Many foods can be irradiated effectively, including meat, poultry, grains, and many seafoods, fruits and vegetables. It is likely to have greatest application for raw foods of animal origin that are made by mixing materials from many animals together, such as ground meat or sausage. Many countries have begun to irradiate food, including the United States, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Israel, Thailand, Russia, China, South Africa and India. At low doses, irradiation can be used on a wide variety of foods to eliminate insect pests, instead of fumigation with toxic chemicals. In India radiation processing of several food items for domestic marketing and consumption are cleared. These include onions, potatoes, spices, rice, wheat products (atta, sooji, maida), dried fruits (raisins, dates, figs), mango, ginger, garlic, shallots (small Madras onions), meat, chicken and its products. Application of radiation technology for preservation of food items can benefit both the farmer and consumer by reducing wastage.Irradiation can extend the shelf-life of mushrooms, strawberry, cakes, etc. It can ensure microbial safety in traditional milk based sweet meats like Pedha and enhance the nutritional quality of legumes (pulses). AGRICULTURE Radiation has many applications in agriculture. Radioactive nitrogen isotopes are used to study nitrogen dynamics of wheat, identify and reduce pollution of groundwater by nitrogenous fertilizers and identify those legumes with high capability for nitrogen fixation and yield. Tritiated water is used to identify the growth stages of wheat, maize, cotton, etc., identify those most resistant to drought and thus increase the effective use of irrigation water, by omitting or reducing irrigation during the resistant stages. Radiation induced mutation breeding is a useful technique in agriculture. Many aspects for in vivo and in vitro mutation breeding, such as irradiated anther culture, somatic embryo culture from irradiated roots and induction of multiple shoots from irradiated seeds. Genetic improvements in both quality and quantity of grain can be achieved through induced mutations in wheat. Induction of somatic embryogenesis by radiation is a new approach and has been done in recalcitrant African cassava clones.

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Radiation can be used to inhibit the growth of molds and and prolong the shelf life of agriculture products. Since irradiation kills all cells, any unintended sprouting in seeds, potatoes, etc. during storage is prevented and their shelf life increased. Nuclear techniques have contributed to the development of controlled release and other formulations of pesticides. The technique of radiation sterilisation of male pests was used effectively in the eradication of the Mediterranean fruit fly in the province of Mendoza in Argentina. Fruit fly populations were reduced to 99% of the original level with commercial fruit crops becoming almost free of the pest. VETERINARY SCIENCE Radiation is finding many applications in veterinary science. These include measuring progesterone in milk, testing for rinderpest, brucellosis, trypanosomiasis and enzootic leukosis in cattle, etc. Radioimmunoassay of progesterone and other factors in animals to evaluate reproductive capacity. Detection of parasites in animal blood by radioimmuno assay are much more specific than others. Advanced genetic sexing technology can identify genetic elements responsible for maleness. INDUSTRY Radiography testing, gamma scanning of industrial columns and blockage detection, which sealed sources, have a great deal of application in the industry. Radiotracer techniques are useful for residence time distribution for trouble shooting and design/process optimisation, leak detection in underground pipelines and industrial systems and flowrate measurement. These are widely used in industries involved in oil and petroleum, petrochemical and chemical, cement, pulp and paper, glass, food and metallurgical industries. Radiation processing of polymers, especially radiation vulcanization of natural rubber latex is a promising new area for the industry.

HYDROLOGY AND ATMOSPHERE SCIENCE Isotopes techniques in hydrology include environmental isotopes as well as injected radiotracers. isotope hydrology in dam safety and management. Studies on aerosol size distribution and its chemical characterisation, has become an integral part in understanding air quality trends in any given ambient environment. Now folks, dont you think we have enough temple gates opening to the serene faces of Siva?

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