We are constantly exposed to background radiation, from both natural and manmade sources
Natural background radiation
Man - made radiation
Cosmic Radiation
The average dose to the worldwide population is 0.4 mSv/year
Terrestrial Radiation
Natural sources of radiation exist in the ground, rocks, building materials, and drinking water supplies.
Sources: naturally occurring radioactive elements, such as radium, uranium, and thorium.
Average dose to the worldwide population is 0.5 mSv/year
Internal Sources
Natural sources of radiation exist within the human body.
Sources: food and water containing trace amounts of natural radioactive materials, such as Potassium-40 and Carbon-14.
Average dose from internal sources is 0.3 mSv/year
Radon
From the radioactive decay of naturally occurring uranium in the soil.
Radon is a gas that can penetrate basement walls.
Radon emits alpha radiation.
The average worldwide exposure is equal to a whole-body dose of 1.2 mSv/year
The worldwide average for exposure to natural background and man-made sources is approximately 2.4 mSv per person per year
Man - Made Radiation
Four major sources:
Medical radiation procedures
Consumer products
Industrial radiation uses
Nuclear fallout
Medical Radiation Procedures
X-rays are used for medical diagnosis.
A typical radiation dose from a single chest x-ray is about 0.1 mSv
Nuclear medicines are used in medical procedures for diagnosis and therapy
Average dose to the worldwide population is 0.4 mSv/year
Nuclear Fallout
The average dose to the general population from residual nuclear fallout at less than 0.005 mSv/year.
Nuclear Power Production
The average annual expose to members of the general public from the use of nuclear power is 0.0002 mSv.
Grand Total
The total average annual exposure from background radiation from all sources is about 2.89 mSv per year. This is an average.
No comments:
Post a Comment