Key Facts about: Radioactivity
Artificial sources: Fallout
United Kingdom
|
Millisieverts (mSv) |
|||||
|
UK |
1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1990 | 1997 |
|
Average annual dose |
0.006 | 0.026 | 0.017 | 0.006 | 0.004 |
Fallout currently accounts for a small proportion (0.2 per cent) of total exposure and about 1 per cent of all internal exposure from radionuclides in the body.
- up to 1985, the main source of the exposure to fallout was the nuclear weapons testing that took place between the late 1940s and early 1960s; the average annual dose from this source reached a peak of 0.14 millisieverts (mSv) in the early 1960s
- as a result of the implementation of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, average annual dose fell steadily to 0.006 mSv in 1985
- the Chernobyl reactor incident in 1986 caused a near fivefold increase in average annual doses from fallout in that year, most notably for radio-caesium and iodine-131
- between 1986 and 1997 the average annual dose fell to the pre-Chernobyl levels
In Detail:
- Artificial sources of radiation:
- Fallout sources of radiation,
- Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET)
Further Information:
- Source:
- National Radiological Protection Board
- Key Facts:
- Sources,
- Artificial sources:
- Medical,
- Occupational,
- Products,
- Direct shine
Data Tables:
Download Chart Data: Microsoft Excel
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Page last modified: 16 September 2003
Page published: 10 September 2003