Like, if I receive 1 mSv/h, in 5 hours my dose will be 5 mSv?
If I receive 5 mSv/h, in 200 hours I’ll get 1 Sv? Would that mean that I would have radiation sickness?
Or does Sv/h has nothing to do with the final dose?
In: 0
You’ll be sick from 2-10 sieverts in a short period (1-2 weeks). Over a long time, the body will repair some of the damage and you’ll need more to get sick.
100 mSv in a year is the lowest level at which any increase in cancer risk is clearly evident. Background is 2-3 mSv/year and and OSHA limits workplace exposure to 20 mSv/year.
Okey, so basically the basics of radiation are:
– The amount of energy, that is being emitted by a radioactive material (radiation energy) is dependent on the number of atoms decaying per time measurement and is written in Becquerel (1/s). Each decaying atom then shoots around certain particles, that have a certain ionisation-energy (that you could write down in Joule).
For example: 10 Becquerel would equal 10 decaying atoms per second, each shooting around particles, each havin a certain amount of energy.
– Then, a step further we have the “Energy-dosis”, wich essentially tells you how much radiation energy you get into contact with per certain mass and is normally written in Gray (J/kg).
For example: 10 Gray, would mean your body absorbed 10 Joules of energy per kg of body mass.
– At last there is Sievert, letting you compare the amount of “damage” you recieve from said amount of radiation-energy you absorb. The thing is, that depending on which type of radiation you are exposed to, different particles are being shot at you from the core of the atom (for example alpha-/ beta+/-, beta-/-, or gamma rays). Because (like already said) they have a different levels of “danger” to the human body, Sievert was invented to make them comparable nonetheless.
This is done by simply multiplying your Energy-dosis with a certain factor, dependant on the kind of particles you where exposed to. For example that would be 20 for alpha, 1 for beta and gamma or 10 for Neutrons.
So that’s basically it – Sievert is one of the last measures to quantify the radiation you was exposed to.
(Sorry for typos, commas and stuff like that. Not a native speaker and it’s nearly midnight where I come from 🙂 )
Latest Answers