Radiation
We live with radiation every day. We are exposed from outer space, from the ground, from our homes and from the food and water eat. We benefit from radiation used in medical treatments such as xrays, mammograms, and CT scans. To get an idea how much radiation you are exposed to, please refer to the attached chart and total up the amount of radiation you get each year. From the chart please note that a mammogram will give you 4,200 times the radiation dose that you would get by living within 50 miles from a nuclear plant. The same would be true if spent neuclear fuel was store in Yucca Mountain and you lived within 50 miles of Yucca. Just due to the elevation, people living in Reno get 1600 times more radiation from outer space than the added dose people would get living within 50 miles of Yucca Mountain.
Radiation Dose Chart:
How is radiation measured? The units used to measure radiation are the rem and the millirem (1/1,000th of a rem). The international unit for measuring radiation exposure is the sievert (Sv), and 1 Sv = 100 rems. Therefore, to convert from the mrem values above to mSv (millisievert), divide the value by 100.
Download the Radiation Dose Chart (PDF viewer req’d)
Alternative chart from Information is Beautiful:
