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The increase in background radiation due to these tests peaked in 1963 at about 0.15 mSv per year worldwide, or about 7% of average background dose from all sources. The Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 prohibited above-ground tests, thus by the year 2000 the worldwide dose from these tests has decreased to only 0.005 mSv per year.
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.
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.
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]
The background rate for natural radiation varies considerably with location, being as low as 1.5 mSv/a (1.5 mSv per year) in some areas and over 100 mSv/a in others. The highest level of purely natural radiation recorded on the Earth's surface is 90 μGy/h (0.8 Gy/a) on a Brazilian black beach composed of monazite . [ 28 ]
For comparison, radiation levels inside the United States Capitol are 85 mrem/yr (0.85 mSv/yr), close to the regulatory limit, because of the uranium content of the granite structure. [14] The NRC sets the annual total effective dose of full body radiation, or total body radiation (TBR), allowed for radiation workers 5,000 mrem (5 rem). [15] [16]