Orders of magnitude (radiation)


Recognized effects of higher acute radiation doses are described in more detail in the article on radiation poisoning. Although the International System of Units defines the sievert as the unit of radiation dose equivalent, chronic radiation levels and standards are still often given in units of millirems, where 1 mrem equals 1/1000 of a rem and 1 rem equals 0.01 Sv. Light radiation sickness begins at about 50-100 rad.
The following table includes some dosages for comparison purposes, using millisieverts . The concept of radiation hormesis is relevant to this table – radiation hormesis is a hypothesis stating that the effects of a given acute dose may differ from the effects of an equal fractionated dose. Thus 100 mSv is considered twice in the table below – once as received over a 5-year period, and once as an acute dose, received over a short period of time, with differing predicted effects. The table describes doses and their official limits, rather than effects.
Level Level in standard form DurationHourly equivalent Description
0.001Hourly 1Cosmic ray dose rate on commercial flights varies from 1 to 10 μSv/hour, depending on altitude, position and solar sunspot phase.
0.01Daily 0.4Natural background radiation, including radon
0.06Acute-Chest X-ray
0.07Acute-Transatlantic airplane flight.
0.09Acute-Dental X-ray
0.1Annual 0.011Average USA dose from consumer products
0.15Annual 0.017USA EPA cleanup standard
0.25Annual 0.028USA NRC cleanup standard for individual sites/sources
0.27Annual 0.031Yearly dose from natural cosmic radiation at sea level
0.28Annual 0.032USA yearly dose from natural terrestrial radiation
0.46Acute-Estimated largest off-site dose possible from March 28, 1979 Three Mile Island accident
0.48Day 20USA NRC public area exposure limit
0.66Annual 0.075Average USA dose from human-made sources
0.7Acute-Mammogram
1Annual 0.11Limit of dose from man-made sources to a member of the public who is not a radiation worker in the USA and Canada
1.1Annual 0.131980 average USA radiation worker occupational dose
1.2Acute-Abdominal X-ray
2Annual 0.23USA average medical and natural background
Human internal radiation due to radon, varies with radon levels
2Acute-Head CT
3Annual 0.34USA average dose from all natural sources
3.66Annual 0.42USA average from all sources, including medical diagnostic radiation doses
4Duration of the pregnancy 0.6Canada CNSC maximum occupational dose to a pregnant woman who is a designated Nuclear Energy Worker.
5Annual 0.57USA NRC occupational limit for minors
USA NRC limit for visitors
5Pregnancy 0.77USA NRC occupational limit for pregnant women
6.4Annual 0.73High Background Radiation Area of Yangjiang, China
7.6Annual 0.87Fountainhead Rock Place, Santa Fe, NM natural
8Acute-Chest CT
10Acute-Lower dose level for public calculated from the 1 to 5 rem range for which USA EPA guidelines mandate emergency action when resulting from a nuclear accident
Abdominal CT
14Acute-18F FDG PET scan, Whole Body
50Annual 5.7USA NRC/ Canada CNSC occupational limit for designated Nuclear Energy Workers
1005 years 2.3Canada CNSC occupational limit over a 5-year dosimetry period for designated Nuclear Energy Workers
100Acute-USA EPA acute dose level estimated to increase cancer risk 0.8%
12030 years 0.46Exposure, long duration, Ural mountains, lower limit, lower cancer mortality rate
150Annual 17USA NRC occupational eye lens exposure limit
170AcuteAverage dose for 187 000 Chernobyl recovery operation workers in 1986
175Annual 20Guarapari, Brazil natural radiation sources
2502 hours 125 000 Whole body dose exclusion zone criteria for US nuclear reactor siting
250Acute-USA EPA voluntary maximum dose for emergency non-life-saving work
260Annual 30Calculated from 260 mGy per year peak natural background dose in Ramsar
400-9004–Annual 46-103Unshielded in interplanetary space.
500Annual 57USA NRC occupational whole skin, limb skin, or single organ exposure limit
500Acute-Canada CNSC occupational limit for designated Nuclear Energy Workers carrying out urgent and necessary work during an emergency.
Low-level radiation sickness due to short-term exposure
750Acute-USA EPA voluntary maximum dose for emergency life-saving work
1000Hourly 1 000 000Level reported during Fukushima I nuclear accidents, in immediate vicinity of reactor
3000Acute-Thyroid dose exclusion zone criteria for US nuclear reactor siting
4800Acute- in humans from radiation poisoning with medical treatment estimated from 480 to 540 rem.
5000Acute-Calculated from the estimated 510 rem dose fatally received by Harry Daghlian on 1945 August 21 at Los Alamos and lower estimate for fatality of Russian specialist on 1968 April 5 at Chelyabinsk-70.
5000. Most commercial electronics can survive this radiation level.
16 000AcuteHighest estimated dose to Chernobyl emergency worker diagnosed with acute radiation syndrome
20 000Acute Interplanetary exposure to solar particle event of October 1989.
Acute-Calculated from the estimated 2100 rem dose fatally received by Louis Slotin on 1946 May 21 at Los Alamos and lower estimate for fatality of Russian specialist on 1968 April 5 Chelyabinsk-70.
Acute-Roughly calculated from the estimated 4500 + 350 rad dose for fatality of Russian experimenter on 1997 June 17 at Sarov.
Acute-Roughly calculated from the estimated 6000 rem doses for several Russian fatalities from 1958 onwards, such as on 1971 May 26 at the Kurchatov Institute. Lower estimate for a Los Alamos fatality in 1958 December 30.
Acute-Roughly calculated from the estimated 10000 rad dose for fatality at the United Nuclear Fuels Recovery Plant on 1964 July 24.
The most radiation-hardened electronics can survive this radiation level.
Hourly 70 000 000 000 000Estimated dose rate for the inner wall in ITER