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Sources and Health Impacts of Chronic Exposure to Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material of Geologic Origins
Book chapter

Sources and Health Impacts of Chronic Exposure to Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material of Geologic Origins

Dustin May and Michael K Schultz
Practical Applications of Medical Geology, pp.403-428
Springer International Publishing
08/02/2021
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-53893-4_13

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Abstract

The average person in the U.S. receives 6.2 mSv year−1 in combined radiation dose, whereas the average person worldwide receives 3.0 mSv year−1. The difference in these doses is primarily due to greater exposure to radon/thoron gas and a greater use of radiation in medicine in the U.S. Of this exposure, in the U.S. and worldwide, 3.1 and 2.4 mSv are absorbed per year from natural sources, respectively. Of all sources of radiation exposure to the public, exposure to radon and thoron make up the largest dose source comprising up to 36% and 42% of total annual absorbed dose in the U.S. and worldwide, respectively. Due to the carcinogenic nature of radiation and its ubiquity in the environment, the sources of natural exposure must be understood and controlled to improve public health worldwide.
NORM Radioactivity Radium Radon TENORM Thorium Thoron Uranium

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