• Question: Is your job dangerous

    Asked by sard520foot to Alana M on 11 Mar 2025.
    • Photo: Alana McNulty

      Alana McNulty answered on 11 Mar 2025:

      I work in nuclear, and the nuclear industry can be dangerous, but the risks are incredibly well controlled to make sure we’re all very safe. Whether that’s shielding to protect us from irradiation, or protective clothing and equipment, there are lots of safeguards put in place to ensure the risks to workers are super low.

      For the most radioactive waste, work is performed remotely, so operators can be shielded from any harmful radiation.

      There is radioactivity all around us in the outside world – whether its from normal rocks, flying in an aeroplane, having an X-ray or eating bananas – often my visits to nuclear sites give me no more of a radiation dose than going for a walk in Cornwall (where natural background radioactivity is higher because of the type of bedrock there).

Comments

  • Photo: sandrarobertson

    sandrarobertson commented on :

    Any job can be dangerous if you don’t follow the rules. I wouldn’t say my job was dangerous, but some of the chemicals and materials I work with are, if not handled the right, stored the right way, or if i don’t wear the right personal protective equipment (PPE) before I work with them. It is really important to read up on what the dangers are before you use something new. During Covid-19 when we were trying to develop tests to detect the infection early, so people could be isolated or medicated, we had to take special precautions as we were still learning what the dangers were for everyone, and still trying to understand why some people got really unwell and other’s weren’t.