An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

RadTown

Use of Radiation in Medicine

This is an image of a hospital and ambulance.

The following fact sheets explain different places where you may encounter radiation in a doctor’s office or hospital. Medical professionals are highly trained to make sure you and they stay safe if you have to get an x-ray, or other treatment that uses radioactive material.