Background Radiation

• Natural sources of background radiation are:

  • cosmic rays
  • radon gas
  • rocks and soil
• Artificial sources of background radiation are:

  • nuclear fuel
  • nuclear waste
  • nuclear fallout from weapon testing
  • medical x-rays
• when exposed to radiation, living cells are damaged or killed
• Personal exposure to radiation can be measured using radiation monitoring badges
• Equivalent dose rate allows us to compare different types of radiation that have been absorbed
• Equivalent dose rate is the equivalent dose absorbed per unit of time