What does the reading on a Geiger meter equate to in physical effects?

Question

I know 0.2 isn’t very worrisome but 1.5 is. What is the difference in the physical effects between these readings and readings 2.0+?

Thanks 🙂

In: 40

Answer 1

“Geiger counters” usually measure in milli sieverts per hour. Which means that if you stood in that spot for an hour you would receive X miliseiverts of radiation.

It all depends on how long you are going to be exposed to that level of radiation. Radiation can hurt you one of two ways, either a massive amount will kill you quickly (think Chernobyl firemen) or a little every day will give you cancer (think skin cancer). As you probably saw in the TV show 3.6 isn’t great but not terrible either. You could work for a few hours in such conditions in an emergency. Unfortunately the real number was much much higher.

You can take a massive dose for a short period of time like the guys who cleaned off the roof at Chernobyl. They got the maximum “safe” dose in 90 seconds but they did not die from it. OTOH if you get an X-ray you will see the tech step out of the room when he shoots. One X-ray isn’t going to hurt you but he does a few hundred per day X 5 days a week X 20 years, that adds up fast. FYI a CT scan is a significant dose of radiation that you want to avoid if possible.

The real problem is radioactive dust that gets inside your body. That tiny speck of uranium gets down in your lungs and keeps blasting your lungs with radiation until it gives you cancer. Your body can deal with this to an extent, but there is a limit. This was the real problem at Chernobyl. Several tons of the radioactive fuel was blasted over the countryside.