e-Digest Statistics about: Radioactivity
Sources of radioactivity
The table 'Exposure of the population from all sources of radiation' gives estimates of the average and ranges of annual individual dose to members of the UK population from natural and artificial sources of radiation. The relative proportions are shown on the pie chart in figure above. The results are mainly from a review of radiation exposure of the UK population covers the period from 1992 to 1997, with a particular focus on 1997, carried out by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) [1]. The average annual dose from natural radiation in the UK is 2.2 millisieverts (mSv) (about 85 per cent of the total). The average annual dose in the UK from artificial radiation is 0.4 mSv (less than 15 per cent of the total), almost all of which comes from medical sources.
The individual dose to members of the public from artificial sources, excluding medical procedures, must by UK law be below 1 mSv per year [2]. The level of 1mSv/yr has been used for many years by the environmental regulators in the UK and was accepted in a White Paper "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy" published in July 1995 [3]. The level became law when the European Union Directive on basic safety standards was brought into UK legislation in May 2000. A dose of 1 mSv is equivalent to an average risk of about 1 in 20,000 of fatal cancer. Cancer from all causes accounts for about 1 in 4 deaths in the UK.
Further Information:
- Key Facts:
- Sources
- Natural sources: Radon, Gamma, Cosmic, Food and drink
- Artificial sources: Discharges, Medical, Fallout, Occupational, Products
Data Tables:
| No | Title | Download
file type |
| 1 | Exposure of the population from all sources of radiation |
- References, further reading and links to other resources:
- [1] Hughes, J S, National Radiological Protection Board (1999). Ionising Radiation Exposure of the UK Population: 1999 Review, NRPB-R311. TSO.
- [2] The Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999, Statutory Instrument 1999 No 3232. TSO.
- [3] Department of the Environment (1995). Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy - Final Conclusions (Cm 2919). TSO.
- Internet Links:
- Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra): What is radiation
- International Commission on Radiological Protection
- National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB)
- NRPB: Ionising radiation and how we are exposed to it
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Page last modified: 16 September 2003
Page published: 10 September 2003