Radiation and background radiation, what dose a person receives in a year

Hearing the word "radiation", you probably just imagine a nuclear power plant and people in special suits with dosimeters and in the ears have a slight crack. What do you know about the background radiation, what is its norm and what it consists in the modern world? Interesting? Then now I'll tell you everything in detail.

What is radiation

So, first, let's find out what is radiation. Radiation - is ionizing radiation (photon flux, particle nuclei or atoms) that is capable of ionizing the substance. It does not sound quite clear, right? To put it simply, the radiation - this radiation, which has a particular (often negative) impact on the living organism.

Where does it come

So, the main sources of radiation are:

1. Natural (natural) radioactive substances which surround and are within us (73% of the background).

2. A variety of medical procedures (fluorography and m. P. About 13% of the background).

3. The radiation from space (14% of the background).

In addition, there is another source of radiation, but it is to the natural background does not matter. I am referring to man-made disasters (such as the infamous Chernobyl accident).

In addition, over the past 50 years it produced a huge amount of nuclear tests, which also contributed to the increase in the total radiation background of our planet.

As a result of explosions total content of such element in the atmosphere as carbon-14 increased by 2.6%. And to date, such tests have increased radiation load per person for 1 mrem / year, equivalent to about 1% of the total annual dose of radiation.

In addition, energy is also making its own adjustments. Indeed, we produce huge amounts of oil, coal, gas, among which rise to the surface of such elements as potassium-40, uranium-238 and thorium-232.

And if we measure the radiation level near the CHP, we can see that the approximate annual dose will be from 0.5 to 5 mrem / year.

It seems little, but what is "mrem" do not know? I'll explain now.

The units of measure for radiation

In order to measure the radiation energy use different quantities. For example, among medical radiation measured in sievert which characterizes an equivalent dose of radiation received by the body for the procedure. It is in this value is usually measured radiation level.

But, such a unit as a Becquerel used to determine the radioactivity of water, soil and so on. D. per unit volume.

The maximum allowable radiation dose

Everyone who has ever studied this subject, immediately the question arose, and what level of radiation is safe?

So, naturally, and thus it is considered a safe background background of about 0.1 - 0.2 mSv / h.

Is considered to be a constant background of greater than 1.2 mSv / h dangerous for humans (here to be understood a clear distinction between permanent and short-term exposure).

"Do it a lot?" - you ask. So, for example, the radiation background near the "Fukushima -1" immediately after the accident exceeded the permitted limit of 1600 times, and was recorded in the level of 161 mSv / h.

And the Chernobyl radiation level reached the value of several thousand mikroziverov per hour.

The pilots and the passengers airliners, flying even on the so-called clean areas for the three-hour flight receive a radiation dose of 30 mSv.

If you still have old CRT monitor, TV, or well, then two hours watching you get the same dose as if you went to the fluoroscopy room.

But fans of smoke with nicotine and other oils obtained exposure of 2.7 mSv per year (subject to smoking one cigarette per day).

At present, that's all I wanted to tell you about radiation and background radiation. In future articles, I'll tell you about how to affect the body with various doses of radiation, as well as how to protect themselves from unnecessary radiation. So sign up and make a repost with huskies (unless of course you like material).