RE: Cool Fact: Radioactive People

["Heinmiller, Bruce" <heinmillerb@aecl.ca>]

As a follow-up to this and previous emails on two related topics, I note two
things:

One is that "Americans" should be substituted for "humans" below, for the 3-
to 4-mSv dose to be substantiated.

The other is that one of the links propagates the myth of 1 mrem/year from
spousal irradiation.  Even discounting shielding from other radiation
(which, as Dan Strom illustrated, you can't properly ignore), this would be
in error by more than an order-of-magnitude.

Bruce Heinmiller CHP
heinmillerb@aecl.ca

> ----------
> From: 	Karam, Andrew[SMTP:Andrew_Karam@URMC.Rochester.edu]
> Reply To: 	radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
> Sent: 	Friday, December 17, 1999 8:22 AM
> To: 	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: 	FW: Cool Fact: Radioactive People
> 
> Today's Cool Fact of the Day.  Not alarmist and the links are good, too.
> 
> Andy
> 
> (Andrew_Karam@urmc.rochester.edu)
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Learning Kingdom [mailto:fact@LearningKingdom.com] 
> Sent: Friday, December 17, 1999 3:00 AM
> To: Cool Fact list
> Subject: Cool Fact: Radioactive People
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>   The Learning Kingdom's Cool Fact of the Day for December 17, 1999
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>                    Are people normally radioactive?
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> Humans are constantly bathed in a sea of nuclear radiation, from many
> sources.  Such radiation is measured in units called millirems
> (mrem), and typically each human receives about 300-400 mrem per year.
> 
> A measurable part of that (30-40 mrem/year) comes from within our own
> bodies.  An essential nutrient called potassium always contains a
> fraction of radioactive atoms, and these are constantly decaying in
> our bodies and releasing nuclear particles.  As a result, people are
> among the most radioactive objects in our environment.
> 
> The largest source of natural radiation is radon, a radioactive gas
> released when elements in rocks decay.  Radon may accumulate near the
> ground, and people whose houses have basements may receive a higher
> radiation dose as a result.  Other natural sources of radiation
> include radioactive rocks and cosmic rays.
> 
> Radiation: Facts Versus Fears:
> http://www.prioritiesforhealth.com/1102/rad.html
> 
> How much radiation is considered safe?  The current legal limits:
> http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/tt/1994/jan05/33567.html
> 
> More Cool Facts about radiation:
> http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1998/07/28.html
> http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1999/01/21.html
> http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1999/03/23.html
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