A laboratory technician is working with a sample of polonium-210, which is a strong alpha emitter.
Explain why accidentally ingesting a small amount of this substance poses a severe biological hazard to the technician, whereas holding the sealed vial containing the substance with bare hands poses virtually no danger.
94 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 6.5 Uses and dangers of radioactivity, covering 6.5.1 Uses of radioactivity, 6.5.2 Dangers of ionising radiation and precautions, 6.5.3 Half-life and radiation dangers, 6.5.4 Safety precautions for radiation exposure, and 6.5.5 Contamination and irradiation. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.