Radioactive pollution refers to the occurrence of radioactive substances or rays that exceed national standards on the surface or inside of materials, human bodies, places, and environmental media due to human activities.

The harm of radioactivity to biology is very serious. Radiation injury has acute injury and chronic injury. If people are exposed to large doses of X-rays, gamma rays and neutrons in a short period of time, they will cause acute injury. Mild cases have symptoms such as hair loss and infection. When the dose is larger, gastrointestinal damage such as diarrhea and vomiting may occur. Under extremely high doses of radiation, central nervous system damage occurs until death.

For the central nervous system, the main symptoms include weakness, fatigue, lack of desire, collapse, lethargy, etc. In severe cases, the whole body muscles tremble and cause epileptiform spasm. The small intestine with vigorous cell division is highly sensitive to ionizing radiation. If it is irradiated, the division of epithelial cells is inhibited, which will quickly cause lymphatic tissue destruction.

Radiation can cause chromosomal changes in lymphocytes. In chromosomal abnormalities, the dicentric and centromere ring is used to estimate the radiation dose. Chronic damage after radiation exposure will increase the incidence of leukemia and various cancers in the population.

The phenomenon that the nuclei of radioactive elements emit α, β, and γ rays during the decay process, commonly known as radioactivity. The pollution caused by radioactive materials is called radioactive pollution. The sources of radioactive pollution include: radioactive waste discharged by the nuclear energy industry, nuclear weapon test sediments, and waste water, waste gas, and waste residues containing radioactive substances discharged from medical and scientific research.

Radioactive substances in the environment can enter the human body through a variety of ways. The rays they emit can destroy the structure of macromolecules in the body, and even directly destroy the structure of cells and tissues, causing damage to the human body. High-intensity radiation can burn the skin, cause leukemia and various cancers, destroy human reproductive skills, and can cause death in a short period of time. A small amount of accumulated radiation can cause chronic radiation sickness, which damages the hematopoietic organs, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and nervous system. The pathogenesis often lasts for decades.

Radioactive pollution source monitoring is the process of measuring, analyzing and evaluating the radioactivity level of facilities, devices, materials, etc. that cause environmental radioactive pollution. According to the mobility of its location, it is divided into fixed radioactive source monitoring and radioactive mobile source monitoring. The former are such as nuclear power plants, 60Co radiation devices, uranium (thorium) mines and radioactive associated minerals refineries, radioactive waste warehouses, etc. The latter are nuclear submarines, radioactive materials in transit, etc. According to national standards, the management of radioactive pollution sources can not only guarantee public safety, provide safety information for the public, but also provide a scientific basis for radiation environmental management.