Re: A Question on Background -Reply

[Charles Willis <CAW@nrc.gov>]

Mike,

I believe the term "background" is a carry-over from the days when health
physicists all were instrumentation specialists.  "Background" is the radiation that
you are not interested in; it is just there and tends to interfere with your
measurements.  Thus it is inappropriate to refer to natural radiation as
"background" when your interest is in that natural radiation.  On the other hand,
medical radiation may be "background radiation" if your interests are in
occupational exposure from a regulatory perspective, or something else that does
not include medical doses.

Charlie Willis
caw@nrc.gov