Orders of magnitude (radiation)
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Recognized effects of higher acute radiation doses are described in more detail in the article on radiation poisoning. Although the International System of Units (SI) defines the sievert (Sv) as the unit of radiation dose equivalent, chronic radiation levels and standards are still often given in unts of millirems (mrem), where 1 mrem equals 1/1000 of a rem and 1 mrem equals 0.01 mSv. Light radiation sickness begins at about 50–100 rad (0.5–1 gray (Gy), 0.5–1 Sv, 50–100 rem, 50,000–100,000 mrem).
The following table includes some dosages for comparison purposes, using millisieverts (mSv) (one thousandth of a sievert). The concept of radiation hormesis is relevant to this table – radiation hormesis is a hypothesis stating that the effects of a given acute dose may differ from the effects of an equal fractionated dose. Thus 100 mSv is considered twice in the table below – once as received over a 5-year period, and once as an acute dose, received over a short period of time, with differing predicted effects. The table describes doses and their official limits, rather than effects.
Level (mSv) | Duration | Hourly equivalent (μSv/hour) | Description |
---|---|---|---|
0.001 | Hourly | 1 | Cosmic ray dose rate on commercial flights varies from 1 to 10 μSv/hour, depending on altitude, position and solar sunspot phase.[1] |
0.01 | Daily | 0.4 | Natural background radiation, including radon[2] |
0.06 | Acute | - | Chest X-ray (AP+Lat)[3] |
0.07 | Acute | - | Transatlantic airplane flight.[2] |
0.09 | Acute | - | Dental X-ray (Panoramic)[3] |
0.1 | Annual | 0.011 | Average USA dose from consumer products[4] |
0.15 | Annual | 0.017 | USA EPA cleanup standard[citation needed] |
0.25 | Annual | 0.028 | USA NRC cleanup standard for individual sites/sources[citation needed] |
0.27 | Annual | 0.031 | Yearly dose from natural cosmic radiation at sea level (0.5 in Denver due to altitude)[4] |
0.28 | Annual | 0.032 | USA yearly dose from natural terrestrial radiation (0.16-0.63 depending on soil composition)[4] |
0.46 | Acute | - | Estimated largest off-site dose possible from March 28, 1979 Three Mile Island accident[citation needed] |
0.48 | Day | 20 | USA NRC public area exposure limit[citation needed] |
0.66 | Annual | 0.075 | Average USA dose from human-made sources[2] |
0.7 | Acute | - | Mammogram[3] |
1 | Annual | 0.11 | Limit of dose from man-made sources to a member of the public who is not a radiation worker in the USA and Canada[2][5] |
1.1 | Annual | 0.13 | 1980 average USA radiation worker occupational dose[2] |
1.2 | Acute | - | Abdominal X-ray[3] |
2 | Annual | 0.23 | USA average medical and natural background [3] Human internal radiation due to radon, varies with radon levels[4] |
2 | Acute | - | Head CT[3] |
3 | Annual | 0.34 | USA average dose from all natural sources[2] |
3.66 | Annual | 0.42 | USA average from all sources, including medical diagnostic radiation doses[citation needed] |
4 | Duration of the pregnancy | 0.6 | Canada CNSC maximum occupational dose to a pregnant woman who is a designated Nuclear Energy Worker.[5] |
5 | Annual | 0.57 | USA NRC occupational limit for minors (10% of adult limit) USA NRC limit for visitors [6] |
5 | Pregnancy | 0.77 | USA NRC occupational limit for pregnant women[citation needed] |
6.4 | Annual | 0.73 | High Background Radiation Area (HBRA) of Yangjiang, China[7] |
7.6 | Annual | 0.87 | Fountainhead Rock Place, Santa Fe, NM natural[citation needed] |
8 | Acute | - | Chest CT[3] |
10 | Acute | - | Lower dose level for public calculated from the 1 to 5 rem range for which USA EPA guidelines mandate emergency action when resulting from a nuclear accident[2] |
14 | Acute | - | 18F FDG PET scan,[8] Whole Body |
50 | Annual | 5.7 | USA NRC/ Canada CNSC occupational limit for designated Nuclear Energy Workers[5](10 CFR 20) |
100 | 5 years | 2.3 | Canada CNSC occupational limit over a 5-year dosimetry period for designated Nuclear Energy Workers[5] |
100 | Acute | - | USA EPA acute dose level estimated to increase cancer risk 0.8%[2] |
120 | 30 years | 0.46 | Exposure, long duration, Ural mountains, lower limit, lower cancer mortality rate[9] |
150 | Annual | 17 | USA NRC occupational eye lens exposure limit[citation needed][clarification needed] |
175 | Annual | 20 | Guarapari, Brazil natural radiation sources[citation needed] |
250 | 2 hours | 125 000 | (125 mSv/hour) Whole body dose exclusion zone criteria for US nuclear reactor siting[10] (converted from 25 rem) |
250 | Acute | - | USA EPA voluntary maximum dose for emergency non-life-saving work[2] |
260 | Annual | 30 | Calculated from 260 mGy per year peak natural background dose in Ramsar[11] |
400-900 | Annual | 46-103 | Unshielded in interplanetary space.[12] |
500 | Annual | 57 | USA NRC occupational whole skin, limb skin, or single organ exposure limit |
500 | Acute | - | Canada CNSC occupational limit for designated Nuclear Energy Workers carrying out urgent and necessary work during an emergency.[5] Low-level radiation sickness due to short-term exposure[citation needed] |
750 | Acute | - | USA EPA voluntary maximum dose for emergency life-saving work[2] |
1000 | Hourly | 1 000 000 | (1000 mSv/hour) level reported during Fukushima I nuclear accidents, in immediate vicinity of reactor[13] |
3000 | Acute | - | Thyroid dose (due to iodine absorption) exclusion zone criteria for US nuclear reactor siting[10] (converted from 300 rem) |
4800 | Acute | - | LD50 (actually LD50/60) in humans from radiation poisoning with medical treatment estimated from 480 to 540 rem.[14] |
5000 | Acute | - | Calculated from the estimated 510 rem dose fatally received by Harry Daghlian on 1945 August 21 at Los Alamos and lower estimate for fatality of Russian specialist on 1968 April 5 at Chelyabinsk-70.[15] |
5000 | 5 000 - 10 000 mSv. Most commercial electronics can survive this radiation level.[16] | ||
20 000 | Acute | 2 114 536 | Interplanetary exposure to solar particle event (SPE) of October 1989.[17][18] |
21 000 | Acute | - | Calculated from the estimated 2100 rem dose fatally received by Louis Slotin on 1946 May 21 at Los Alamos and lower estimate for fatality of Russian specialist on 1968 April 5 Chelyabinsk-70.[15] |
48 500 | Acute | - | Roughly calculated from the estimated 4500 + 350 rad dose for fatality of Russian experimenter on 1997 June 17 at Sarov.[15] |
60 000 | Acute | - | Roughly calculated from the estimated 6000 rem doses for several Russian fatalities from 1958 onwards, such as on 1971 May 26 at the Kurchatov Institute. Lower estimate for a Los Alamos fatality in 1958 December 30.[15] |
100 000 | Acute | - | Roughly calculated from the estimated 10000 rad dose for fatality at the United Nuclear Fuels Recovery Plant on 1964 July 24.[15] |
200 000 | 170 000 | For over 1100 hours (170 mSv) Some Chernobyl emergency workers' doses[13] | |
1 000 000 000 | The most radiation-hardened electronics can survive this radiation level.[19] |
See also
External links
- unh.edu: The Carrington event: Possible doses to crews in space from a comparable event, received in 2004 and concludes a interplanetary dose for a Carrington event at 34 - 45 Gy depending on type of flare spectrum and using a 1 gram/cm² aluminium shield (3.7 mm thick). Dose can be decreased down to 3 Gy through the use of a 10 gram/cm² alumunium shield (3.7 cm thick).
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Oak Ridge National Laboratory (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/env_rpt/aser95/tb-a-2.pdf)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Health Physics Society (http://www.hps.org/documents/meddiagimaging.pdf)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Oak Ridge National Laboratory (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/env_rpt/aser95/appa.htm)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Radiation Protection Regulations, Canada
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ [1]
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10 CFR Part 100.11 Section 1
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ ieee.org - Radiation Hardening 101: How To Protect Nuclear Reactor Electronics
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