How does nuclear radiation do its damage?

Molika Ashford (popsci.com)

Boy is screened for radiation in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on March 16, 2011 (Tayama Tatsuyuki/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images).

Ionizing radiation -- the kind that minerals, atom bombs, and nuclear reactors emit -- does one main thing to the human body: It weakens and breaks up DNA, either damaging cells enough to kill them or causing them to mutate in ways that may eventually lead to cancer.

After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, four nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant are now damaged and releasing radiation. Workers trying to keep the reactors from getting worse are themselves being exposed, while the Japanese government has called for anyone within 20 kms of the plant to evacuate.

Nuclear radiation, unlike the radiation from a light bulb or a microwave, is energetic enough to ionize atoms by knocking off their electrons. This ionizing radiation can damage DNA molecules directly by breaking the bonds between atoms. Or it can ionize water molecules and form free radicals, which are highly reactive and disrupt the bonds of surrounding molecules, including DNA. More

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