Thread: Your Radiation Dose Chart

Radiation Dose Chart

We live in a radioactive world - humans always have. Radiation is part of our natural environment. We are exposed to radiation from materials in the earth itself, from naturally occurring radon in the air, from outer space, and from inside our own bodies (as a result of the food and water we consume). This radiation is measured in units called millirems (mrems).

The average dose per person from all sources is about 620 mrems per year. It is not, however, uncommon for any of us to receive less or more than that in a given year (largely due to medical procedures we may undergo). International Standards allow exposure to as much as 5,000 mrems a year for those who work with and around radioactive material.

The interactive Dose Chart appears below, but you can also download a printable version.

For an interactive version of the Dose Chart which is based on the internationally recognized units (Sieverts and millisieverts) go here.

Common Sources of Radiation

All figures for radiation exposure are average values.

Your Annual Dose

Where You Live

• Cosmic Radiation (from outer space)
  
  Exposure depends on your elevation (how much air is above you to block radiation). Amounts listed are per year.
  
  at sea level (26 mrem)0-1000 ft (28 mrem)1-2000 ft (31 mrem)2-3000 ft (35 mrem)3-4000 ft (41 mrem)4-5000 ft (47 mrem)5-6000 ft (52 mrem)6-7000 ft (66 mrem)7-8000 ft (79 mrem)8-9000 ft (96 mrem)
  26 mrem
  
  Elevations: Atlanta 1050; Chicago 595; Dallas 436; Denver 5280; Las Vegas 2000; Minneapolis 815; Pittsburg 1200; St. Louis 455; Salt Lake City 4400; Spokane 1890. USGS GNIS Search.
• Terrestrial (from the ground)
  
  I live in a state that borders the Gulf or Atlantic coasts (16 mrem)
  I live in the Colorado Plateau area (63 mrem)
  I live elsewhere in the continental U.S. (30 mrem)
  30 mrem
• House Construction
  
  I live in a stone, adobe, brick, or concrete building (7 mrem)
  0 mrem
• Power Plants
  
  I live within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant (0.01 mrem)
  I live within 50 miles of a coal-fired power plant (0.03 mrem)
  0 mrem

Food, Water, and Air

• Internal Radiation *
• From food (Carbon-14 and Potassium-40) and from water (radon dissolved in water)
  40 mrem
• From air (radon)
  228 mrem

How You Live

• Jet plane travel hours: (0.5 mrem per hour in the air)
  0 mrem
• I have porcelain crowns or false teeth (0.07 mrem) **
  0 mrem
• I've gone past luggage x-ray inspection at the airport (0.002 mrem)
  0 mrem
• I view a TV or computer screen which uses CRT technology (1 mrem) †
  0 mrem
• I smoke 1/2 pack of cigarettes every day of the year (18 mrem)
  0 mrem
• I have a smoke detector (0.008 mrem)
  0 mrem

Medical Tests

• Medical Diagnostic Tests ‡
  
  Number of millirems are per procedure and are average values. Actual numbers may vary.
  Enter the number of procedures per year.
• X-Ray - Chest (10 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Mammography (42 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Skull (10 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Cervical Spine (20 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Lumbar Spine (600 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Upper GI (600 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Abdomen (kidney/bladder) (700 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Barium Enema (800 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Pelvis (60 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Hip (70 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Dental Bitewing/Image (0.5 mrem)
  0 mrem
• X-Ray - Extremity (hand/foot) (0.5 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Head (200 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Chest (700 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Abdomen/Pelvis (1000 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Extremity (10 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Angiography (heart) (2000 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Angiography (head) (500 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Spine (1000 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Whole Body (1000 mrem)
  0 mrem
• CT Scans - Cardiac (2000 mrem)
  0 mrem

Your Estimated Annual Radiation Dose:
324 mrem

*Average values.
**Some of the radiation sources listed in this chart result in an exposure to only one part of the body. For example, false teeth and crowns result in a radiation dose to the mouth. The annual dose numbers given here represent the "effective dose" to the whole body.
†The value is less than 1, but adding a value of 1 would be reasonable.
‡Exposures for medical tests vary depending upon equipment and the patient. The doses listed are an average for an actual exposure.


How is radiation measured? The units used to measure radiation are the rem and the millirem (1/1,000th of a rem). The international unit for measuring radiation exposure is the sievert (Sv), and 1 Sv = 100 rems. Therefore, to convert from the mrem values above to mSv (millisievert), divide the value by 100.
Primary sources for this information are National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Reports: #92 Public Radiation Exposure from Nuclear Power Generation in the United States (1987); #93 Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States (1987); #94 Exposure of the Population in the United States and Canada from Natural Background Radiation (1987); #95 Radiation Exposure of the U.S. population from Consumer Products and Miscellaneous Sources, (1987); #100 Exposure of the U.S. Population from Diagnostic Medical Radiation (1989); and #160 Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States (2009).

@ http://www.ans.org/pi/resources/dosechart/

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