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Displayed background gamma radiation level is 9.8 μR/h (0.82 mSv/a) This is very close to the world average background radiation of 0.87 mSv/a from cosmic and terrestrial sources. Cloud chambers used by early researchers first detected cosmic rays and other background radiation. They can be used to visualize the background radiation
The definition of the BRET unit is apparently unstandardized, and depends on what value is used for the average annual background radiation dose, which varies greatly across time and location. The 2000 UNSCEAR estimate for worldwide average natural background radiation dose is 2.4 mSv (240 mrem), with a range from 1 to 13 mSv. A small area in ...
Background radiation is from naturally radioactive materials and cosmic radiation from space. [5] People are exposed to this radiation from the environment continuously, with an annual dose of about 3 mSv. [5] Radon gas is a radioactive chemical element that is the largest source of background radiation, about 2mSv per year. [17]
The worldwide average background dose for a human being is about 3.5 mSv per year , mostly from cosmic radiation and natural isotopes in the earth. The largest single source of radiation exposure to the general public is naturally occurring radon gas, which comprises approximately 55% of the annual background dose.
The definition was refined in 1950 as "that dose of any ionizing radiation which produces a relevant biological effect equal to that produced by one roentgen of high-voltage x-radiation." [ 19 ] Using data available at the time, the rem was variously evaluated as 83, 93, or 95 erg /gram. [ 20 ]
Therapeutic doses of radiation therapy are often given and tolerated well even at higher doses to treat discrete, well-defined anatomical structures. The same dose given over a longer period of time is less likely to cause ARS. Dose thresholds are about 50% higher for dose rates of 20 rad/h, and even higher for lower dose rates. [4]
A unit sometimes used for low-level doses of radiation is the BRET (Background Radiation Equivalent Time). This is the number of days of an average person's background radiation exposure the dose is equivalent to. This unit is not standardized, and depends on the value used for the average background radiation dose.
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 units of millirems (mrem), where 1 mrem equals 1/1,000 of a rem and 1 rem equals 0.01 Sv.