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Background Radiation FACT SHEET Background Radiation WHAT IS RADIATION? Radiation can be defined as the emission of energy in Since one Sievert would represent a very large dose, in the form of waves or particles through space or practice the milliSievert (mSv) is commonly used (1 through a material medium. The word radiation comes milliSievert represents a thousandth of a Sievert). from the phenomenon of waves radiating, meaning traveling outward in all directions from a source. Radiation has always been present all around us. BACKGROUND RADIATION Background radiation is that ionizing radiation which Radiation can be ionizing and non-ionizing, is naturally and inevitably present in our environment. depending on its ability to knock electrons out of the It originates from a variety of sources. Sources include orbit of atoms when travelling through a medium. The radiation from space (cosmic radiation), radiation ionizing radiation can cause damage to matter, originating on Earth (terrestrial radiation), and intake particularly living tissue. At high levels ionizing of naturally-occurring radionuclides through ingestion radiation is therefore dangerous, so it is necessary to and inhalation. A person living in Canada can expect control our exposure. While humans possess no senses to receive around 1.8 milli-sieverts of background that can detect or feel radiation, radiation is readily radiation in one year, while the average person detected and measured with instruments, and world-wide can expect to receive 2.4 mSv. [1] exposure can easily be calculated and monitored. COSMIC RADIATION HOW IS RADIATION EXPOSURE MEASURED? Earth is continually bombarded by radiation coming In order to measure the health effect of low levels of from outer space originating from the sun and other ionizing radiation scientists use a unit called the celestial events in the universe. Much of this radiation “Sievert” (Sv). The Sievert is used to represent both the is absorbed in the atmosphere, but some will go risk of the effect of external radiation from sources through and will become absorbed by humans. The outside the body and the effect of internal irradiation radiation dose a person receives from cosmic radiation due to inhaled or ingested radioactive substances. varies and will depend on the location and altitude. CONTINUED... INGESTION This radiation is much more intense in the upper Some of the essential elements that make up the atmosphere, around the 10 km altitude typical for human body, mainly potassium and carbon, have airline flight paths, and hence is of particular concern radioactive isotopes that add significantly to our for airline crews and frequent passengers. During their background radiation dose. Other radioactive elements flights airline crews typically get an extra dose on the are present in the food and drink that we consume order of 2.2 mSv per year. [2] daily. One example is bananas which are naturally radioactive due to Potassium-40, which is a radioactive isotope of potassium. Note that your should not avoid TERRESTRIAL RADIATION eating bananas because of this – for example, you This is the radiation coming from the earth’s crust due would have to eat about 70,000 bananas to receive the to the presence of naturally occurring radioactive same radiation dose as you would receive from one substances such as uranium, potassium and thorium. chest x-ray CT-scan. From deposits in rocks and sediments, these radionuclides may migrate into soil, water and air. Some traces of these elements can also be found in CALCULATE YOUR RADIATION EXPOSURE building materials and so exposure to natural If you want to estimate your annual dose of radiation radiation can also occur indoors. received from different sources you can use the following online calculator: http://fedorukcentre.ca/resources/dosechart/index.php INHALATION Part of the uranium decay chain, radon is a radioactive odourless and colourless gas. Its presence in the soil varies largely by location. The only known health risk associated with high levels of radon in indoor air is an increased lifetime risk of developing lung cancer. [3, 4] Testing for radon concentrations in your home is therefore recommended no matter where you live in Canada. [5] RESOURCES [1] http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/resources/fact-sheets/natural-background-radiation.cfm [2] http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/commercialflights.html [3] http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/pubs_catalogue/uploads/January-2012-Radon-and-Health-eng.pdf [4] http://hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/radiation/radon/faq_fq-eng.php [5] http://radiationsafety.ca/community/home-radon-testing radiationsafety.ca WHAT ARE THE RISKS? from Cancer. Therefore, if a person were to receive a There are two main types of biological eects where dose of 10 milli-Sieverts, this would increase the FACT SHEET radiation is concerned: deterministic eects, and probability from 25% to 25.04%. stochastic eects. RISKS IN PERSPECTIVE DETERMINISTIC EFFECTS The regulatory framework in Canada currently sets the A deterministic eect is one that takes place over a maximum legal dose a worker can receive. The dose limit short period, and after reaching a threshold dose of is based on balancing workplace hazards and is set at, on radiation there are known biological eects that are average, 20 milli-Sieverts per year. This implies that if a certain to occur. An example of a deterministic person was working with nuclear substances and got the eect would be hearing loss after exposure to highest allowable dose every year, for 50 consecutive extremely loud environments. At normal years during their career, their total lifetime dose would conversational sound levels of about 50 dB, there is be 1,000 milli-Sieverts. This would represent an increased no risk to your hearing. After the sound level cancer risk of about 4%. In practice, it is incredibly rare to Radiation Doses and increases past 100 dB however, damage to hearing is nd a worker who exceeds this dose limit, and in fact Relative Risks certain to occur. The same is true of radiation workers are required to wear devices that monitor their exposures. Depending on which tissue or organ exposure if they are likely to approach even 10% of the where the radiation dose is received and the type of dose limit. radiation, a dose of about 1,000-2,000 milli-Sieverts WHAT IS RADIATION? is needed in a short period for deterministic eects Radiation is a generic term scientists use when to occur. Examples of deterministic eects of describing the emission of energy. For example, the radiation present in the environment. A typical ionizing radiation include skin burns and production signal from a radio station radiates away from the Canadian can expect to receive between 2 to 4 of cataract. antenna. When most people hear the word radiation, milli-Sieverts of radiation dose per year. (1 milli-Sievert they are likely picturing ionizing radiation, such as that is 1/1000 of a Sievert). associated with x-ray imaging or nuclear power. STOCHASTIC EFFECTS Typical sources of typical background doses to A stochastic eect is one in which we can only Ionizing radiation is often due to an atom having too Canadians are: attribute a certain probability of risk. An example of a stochastic health eect would be the risk of much energy. Such an atom is said to be unstable. ○ 0.9 milli-Sieverts per year due to inhalation of radon Unstable atoms can emit particles such as electrons, gas in the home developing lung cancer after smoking. If a person smokes it cannot be said for certain that they will neutrons, or protons away from the nucleus to become ○ 0.3 milli-Sieverts per year due to ingestion of naturally stable. This process is referred to as radioactive decay. occurring isotopes, such as Potassium in bananas develop lung cancer, only that it increases the likelihood of developing lung cancer. The same is ○ 0.3 milli-Sieverts per year due to cosmic radiation It is referred to as ionizing radiation because these from the sun true with radiation exposures. Due to possible DNA damage, small quantities of radiation received over emitted particles have a lot of energy! When they pass ○ 0.2 milli-Sieverts per year due to small amounts of through matter, they can separate electrons from an naturally occurring radioactive materials such as long periods of time may increase the likelihood of atomic nucleus. If the radiation passes through human uranium and thorium that are present in all soils and in developing certain types of cancers. The current tissue, this ionization can cause damage to cells, composition of building materials such as granite or understanding of long term radiation exposures is including DNA. concrete. that for a typical population of workers there is a 4% increase in cancer risk per 1000 milli-Sieverts of Due to geological and geographic dierences, people radiation dose received. Based on 2010 estimates, HOW IS RADIATION MEASURED? living in dierent regions within Canada may receive approximately 1 in 4 (25%) of Canadians will die The eect of radiation on humans is measured in a unit dierent annual radiation doses. For example, in called a Sievert, and describes an amount of radiation Winnipeg where there is more radon present in dose. It is named after the scientist Rolf Sievert who buildings the annual dose may be about 4 contributed greatly to the study of the biological milli-Sieverts, whereas in Vancouver it is closer to 1 eects of radiation on humans. There is always milli-Sievert. WHAT ARE THE RISKS? from Cancer. Therefore, if a person were to receive a There are two main types of biological eects where dose of 10 milli-Sieverts, this would increase the radiation is concerned: deterministic eects, and probability from 25% to 25.04%.
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