Natural radiation arises from many sources, from the unstable atoms
within our own bodies and in the materials around us, from the Sun, and
even from beyond the Solar System. Additional sources include the legacy
of testing nuclear weapons, nuclear waste, and nuclear accidents. All
these sources have provided means of dating environmental materials and
tracing the movements of substances through land, sea, and air. But
ionising radiation also interacts with DNA, which has led to a
remarkable range of studies to examine how and how quickly these
unstable atoms are accumulated by both humans and biota, and their
various effects on both. Providing an overview of the sources, uses and
impacts of ionising radiation in the environment, and the frameworks
developed to manage exposures to them, this is a valuable reference for
graduate students and researchers interested in radioecology,
environmental science and radiological protection.