Factors
Common Sources of Radiation
Your Annual Dose
Where
You
Live
Cosmic Radiation
(from outer space)
Exposure depends on your elevation (how much air is above you to block radiation). Amounts listed are per year.
at sea level (26 mrem)
0-1000 ft (28 mrem)
1-2000 ft (31 mrem)
2-3000 ft (35 mrem)
3-4000 ft (41 mrem)
4-5000 ft (47 mrem)
5-6000 ft (52 mrem)
6-7000 ft (66 mrem)
7-8000 ft (79 mrem)
8-9000 ft (96 mrem)
26 mrem
Terrestrial
(from the ground)
I live in a state that borders the Gulf or Atlantic coasts (16 mrem)
I live in the Colorado Plateau area (around Denver) (63 mrem)
I live elsewhere in the continental U.S. (30 mrem)
30 mrem
House Construction
I live in a stone, adobe, brick, or concrete building (7 mrem)
0 mrem
Power Plants
I live within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant (0.01 mrem)
I live within 50 miles of a coal-fired power plant (0.03 mrem)
0 mrem
Food
Water
Air
Internal Radiation
From food (Carbon-14 and Potassium-40) and from water (radon dissolved in water)
40 mrem
From air (radon)
200 mrem
How
You
Live
Weapons test fallout (less than 1 mrem)
1 mrem
Jet plane travel hours:
(0.5 mrem per hour in the air)
0 mrem
I have porcelain crowns or false teeth (0.07 mrem)
0 mrem
I've gone through luggage inspection at the airport (0.002 mrem)
0 mrem
I watch TV (1 mrem)
0 mrem
I use a video display terminal (computer screen) (1 mrem)
0 mrem
I have a smoke detector (0.008 mrem)
0 mrem
I use a gas camping lantern (0.2 mrem)
0 mrem
I wear a plutonium-powered pacemaker (100 mrem)
0 mrem
Medical
Tests
Medical Diagnostic Tests
Number of millirems are per procedure and are average values. Actual numbers may vary. Enter the number of procedures per year.
X-Ray - Extremity (arm, hand, foot, leg):
(1 mrem)
0 mrem
X-Ray - Dental:
(1 mrem)
0 mrem
X-Ray - Chest:
(6 mrem)
0 mrem
X-Ray - Pelvis/Hip:
(65 mrem)
0 mrem
X-Ray - Skull/Neck:
(20 mrem)
0 mrem
X-Ray - Barium Enema:
(405 mrem)
0 mrem
X-Ray - Upper GI:
(245 mrem)
0 mrem
Nuclear Medicine (e.g. thyroid scan):
(14 mrem)
0 mrem
Your Estimated Annual Radiation Dose: 296 mrem
Primary sources for this information are National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Reports: #92 Public Radiation Exposure from Nuclear Power Generation in the Untired States (1987); #93 Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States (1987); #94 Exposure of the Population in the United States and Canada from Natural Background Radiation (1987); #95 Radiation Exposure of the U.S. population from Consumer Products and Miscellaneous Sources, (1987); and #100 Exposure of the U.S. Population from Diagnostic Medical Radiation (1989).
