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A banana contains naturally occurring radioactive material in the form of potassium-40.. Banana equivalent dose (BED) is an informal unit of measurement of ionizing radiation exposure, intended as a general educational example to compare a dose of radioactivity to the dose one is exposed to by eating one average-sized banana.
Banana equivalent dose, an illustrative unit of radiation dose representing the measure of radiation from a typical banana [37] [a] 250: nSv: U.S. limit on effective dose for general-use x-ray security screening systems such as those previously used in airport security screening [38] 5–10: μSv: One set of dental radiographs [39] 80: μSv:
The banana equivalent dose is the dose of ionizing radiation to which a person is exposed by eating one banana. Bananas contain potassium . Natural potassium consists of 0.0117% of the radioactive isotope 40 K (potassium-40) and has a specific activity of 30,346 becquerels per kilogram, or about 30 becquerels per gram.
The banana equivalent dose is sometimes used in science communication to visualize different levels of ionizing radiation. The collective radiation background dose for natural sources in Europe is about 500,000 man-Sieverts per year. The total dose from Chernobyl is estimated at 80,000 man-sieverts, or roughly 1/6 as much. [1]
Currently, the ICRP's definition of "equivalent dose" represents an average dose over an organ or tissue, and radiation weighting factors are used instead of quality factors. The phrase dose equivalent is only used for which use Q for calculation, and the following are defined as such by the ICRU and ICRP: ambient dose equivalent
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.
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The banana equivalent dose, defined as the additional dose a person will absorb from eating one banana, expresses the severity of exposure to radiation, such as resulting from nuclear weapons or medical procedures, in terms that would make sense to most people.