The term irradiation usually excludes the exposure to non-ionizing radiation, such as infrared, visible light, microwaves from cellular phones or electromagnetic waves emitted by radio and television receivers and power supplies.
Ionizing radiation (electron beams, X-rays and gamma rays)[4] may be used to kill bacteria in food or other organic material, including blood.
[6] In 2011 researchers found that irradiation was successful in the novel theranostic technique involving co-treatment with heptamethine dyes to elucidate tumor cells and attenuate their growth with minimal side effects.
After its discovery by Lewis Stadler at the University of Missouri, irradiation of seed and plant germplasm has resulted in creating many widely-grown cultivars of food crops worldwide.
[15] The process, which consists of striking plant seeds or germplasm with radiation in the form of X-rays, UV waves, heavy-ion beams, or gamma rays, essentially induce lesions of the DNA, leading to mutations in the genome.
[19] In 1999, an article in Der Spiegel alleged that the East German MfS intentionally irradiated political prisoners with high-dose radiation, possibly to provoke cancer.
[20][21] Alexander Litvinenko, a secret serviceman who was tackling organized crime in Russia, was intentionally poisoned with polonium-210; the very large internal doses of radiation he received caused his death.