Background Radiation

• Background Radiation is the low-level radiation that is present all the time, wherever u go
• mSv (milli-sieverts) r the units for radiation dose
• Radioactive radon gas is produced by certain underground rocks, especially granite
• The level of radon in an area depends on the type of rock
• Radon gas tends to get trapped inside houses and is linked to lung cancer
• Ventilation helps to prevent radon gas building up in homes
• BR should be taken into account when doing an experiment
• Measuring the activity of a source could be recorded higher than it actually is BR is ignored
• To allow for BR, measure the mean BR count rate over a long enough time. Then subtract this from the count rate u measure from a radioactive source