Ludlum Measurements 2241-2, Manual

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Model 2241-2RK Technical Manual
Section 6
Ludlum Measurements, Inc. Page 6-10 July 2012
You can also use the same approach to looking at risks on the job:
Industry Type Est. life expectancy lost
All Industries 60 days
Agriculture 320 days
Construction 227 days
Mining and quarrying 167 days
Manufacturing 40 days
Occupational dose (300 mrem/yr) 15 days
Occupational dose (1 rem/yr) 51 days
These are estimates taken from the NRC Draft guide DG-8012 and were adapted from B.L Cohen and I.S.
Lee, "Catalogue of Risks Extended and Updates", Health Physics , Vol. 61, September 1991.
Another way of looking at risk, is to look at the relative risk of one in a
million chances of dying of activities common to our society:
Smoking 1.4 cigarettes (lung cancer)
Eating 40 tablespoons of peanut butter
Spending 2 days in New York City (air pollution)
Driving 40 miles in a car (accident)
Flying 2500 miles in a jet (accident)
Canoeing for 6 minutes
Receiving 10 mrem of radiation (cancer)
Adapted from DOE Radiation Worker Training, based on work by B.L Cohen, Sc.D.
Background Radiation
Naturally occurring background radiation is the main source of exposure for
most people. Levels typically range from about 150-350 mrem per year, but
can be more than 5rem/yr. The highest known level of background
radiation affecting a substantial population is in Kerala and Madras States in
India where some 140,000 people receive doses that average over 1.5
rem/year from gamma radiation, in addition to a similar dose from radon.
Comparable levels occur in Brazil and Sudan, with average exposures up to
about 4 rem/yr to many people.
Several places are known in Iran, India, and Europe where natural
background radiation gives an annual dose of more than 5 rem and up to
26 rem (at Ramsar in Iran). Lifetime doses from natural radiation range