Chest X-ray dose

["Otto G. Raabe" <ograabe@UCDAVIS.EDU>]

April 3, 2002

Davis, CA



On Friday, March 29, 2002, The Wall Street Journal ran a large article

entitled "Radiation in the Skies" [pages W1 and W4]. They collected their

own data on cosmic gamma and neutron exposures for passengers on commercial

airlines. They expressed their results in SI dose units AND as the number

of equivalent medical chest X-rays. It is not clear to me how they handled

the neutron exposure "dose", but cited the manufacturer of the neutron

survey instrument. Presumable the gamma dose is an "exposure" rather than

an absorbed dose. 



For example, for travel from New York City to London they listed the

radiation dose as 42.9 microsieverts or 2.1 chest X-ray equivalents. They

claimed "20 microsieverts equals one chest X-ray".



NCRP Report No. 100 shows average exposures at skin of about 20 mR per P/A

chest projection. 



Is "20 microsieverts equals one chest X-ray" a reasonable statement in this

case, given that the cosmic exposure is whole body? Does anyone known where

they got this?



Otto





 

**********************************************

Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP

Center for Health & the Environment

(Street Address: Bldg. 3792, Old Davis Road) 

University of California, Davis, CA 95616

E-Mail: ograabe@ucdavis.edu

Phone: (530) 752-7754   FAX: (530) 758-6140

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