Ionizing radiation sole cause of chronic myelogenous leukemia. The mechanism by which this occurs is well understood, but quantitative models predicting the level of risk remain controversial. The most widely accepted model posits that the incidence of cancers due to ionizing radiation increases linearly with effective radiation dose at a rate of 5.5% per sievert. If this linear model is correct, then natural background radiation is the most hazardous source of radiation to general public health, followed by medical imaging as a close second. Other stochastic effects of ionizing radiation are teratogenesis, cognitive decline, and heart disease. The table below shows radiation
Ionizing radiation nuclei, they are also sometimes written as or indicating a Helium ion with a +2 charge (missing its two electrons). If the ion gains electrons from its environment, the alpha particle can be written as a normal (electrically neutral) helium atom . Alpha particles are a hugely ionizing form of particle radiation. When they result from radioactive alpha decay they have low penetration depth. In this case they can be absorbed by a few centimeters of air, or by the skin. More powerful, long range alpha particles from ternary fission are three times as energetic, and penetrate proportionately farther in