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From activity to dose

Presentation of average effective radiation doses from natural and artificial radiation sources as well as of activity Dose and activityFor statements about the possible health hazard to humans, the measured activity (per mass or volume) of a radioactive substance must be converted into a dose.

The radioactive contamination of materials - regardless of whether that is air, water, soil, building materials or food - is usually expressed

In particular cases, the activity can also be related to the surface area, for example in the case of the deposition of radionuclides on the ground after the Chornobyl reactor accident (unit: becquerel per squaremeter or per squarekilometer (Bq/m² or Bq/km²)).

How is the activity of a radionuclide measured?

The activity of a radionuclide is purely a measurement parameter. It indicates the number of atomic nuclei decaying per second.

The activity of a radionuclide in a sample can be measured very sensitively using special measurement instruments in the laboratory, either directly (in the case of gamma emitters) or following radiochemical processing of the sample (in the case of alpha and beta emitters). However, the activity does not reveal how dangerous the radionuclide can be for humans.

Which factors determine the harmfulness of a radionuclide?

The potential hazard to human health depends not only on the type of radionuclide and its activity, but also on whether the radionuclide acts upon the human body externally or whether it finds its way into it.

An alpha emitter, for example, is completely harmless outside the body, as it is already fully shielded by a few centimetres of air, regardless of its activity level. However, if this alpha emitter is whirled up and if a larger amount of it (higher activity) gets into the human body via inhaled air, this may cause damage to health.

Dose values make radiation exposure levels comparable

In order to be able to make statements about possible hazards to human health, the measured activities (per mass or volume) of the radioactive substances have to be converted into doses (organ dose or effective dose, unit: sievert (Sv)).

Only these calculated doses can be considered as a measure of the possible health damage to an organ (organ dose) or to the entire human body (effective dose). By using these doses (not the activities!), the hazard levels of various radionuclides can be compared among each other or with other exposures to ionising radiation such as radiation exposure from X-rays or cosmic radiation.

Dose from radioactive substances outside the human body

In the case of radioactive substances which act upon the human body externally (external radiation exposure), the dose level depends on the type of radionuclide and its activity and also on its distribution within the environment (e.g. in the soil, in building materials) as well as on the place and duration of stay or residence of the individual.

Dose from radioactive substances within the human body

When radioactive substances find their way into the human body (internal radiation exposure), the dose level is determined by

State of 2023.02.17

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