Smoking Dose?

[karav@bnlux1.bnl.gov (Kara Villamil)]

Thanks to all who responded to my request for opinions on a proposed
radiation-related exhibit for our science museum here at Brookhaven Lab.
Your comments were all useful, and by combining them with the knowledge of
HPs here at BNL, I think we'll have a good exhibit. We're going to do BOTH
a "match the dose with the source" board with common manmade and natural
exposures, to test people's perception and knowledge of doses, AND a
hands-on Geiger counter demo of Fiesta ware, etc. with a real live HP.

But I have one other question, which my sources here have suggested I post
on RADSAFE:

What is the average pack-a-day smoker's WHOLE BODY ANNUAL DOSE? The latest
edition of Los Alamos Science (annual report) has a "Personal Radiation
Dose Chart" on page 48 that lists a mrem number of 870 for a pack-a-day
smoker, but has the caveat "(high degree of uncertainty)".

Can I use that number in my museum display to scare the bejeebers out of
our visitors? Or is there a more conservative number to use?

Thanks for your help, past present and future!

--Kara Villamil
Brookhaven National Laboratory Public Affairs Office
karav@bnl.gov