Dose equivalent, quality factor

Dose equivalent (rem) is a measure of biological damage that is calculated by multiplying absorbed dose by quality factor for the type of radiation involved. The unit of dose is the rem. The TEDE (total dose equivalent) is a term that combines the effects of both the internal and external exposures. 

Rem—A unit of dose equivalent that is used in the regulatory, administrative, and engineering design aspects of radiation safety practice. The dose equivalent in rem is numerically equal to the absorbed dose in rad multiplied by the quality factor (1 rem is equal to 0.01 sievert). 

Sievert (Sv)—The SI unit of any of the quantities expressed as dose equivalent. The dose equivalent in sieverts is equal to the absorbed dose, in gray, multiplied by the quality factor (1 sievert equals 100 rem). 

Dose equivalent or rem is a special radiation protection quantity that is used, for administrative and radiation safety purposes only, to express the absorbed dose in a manner which considers the difference in biological effectiveness of various kinds of ionizing radiation. The ICRU has defined the dose equivalent, H, as the product of the absorbed dose, D, and the quality factor, Q, at the point of interest in biological tissue. This relationship is expressed as H = D x Q. The dose equivalent concept is applicable only to doses that are not great enough to produce biomedical effects. 

Table D-3. Quality Factors (Q) and Absorbed Dose Equivalencies...

Tvne of radiation Quality factor (O) Absorbed dose equal to a unit dose equivalent ... 

RBE is used to denote the experimentally determined ratio of the absorbed dose from one radiation type to the absorbed dose of a reference radiation required to produce an identical biologic effect under the same conditions. Gamma rays from cobalt-60 and 200-250 keV x-rays have been used as reference standards. The term RBE has been widely used in experimental radiobiology, and the term quality factor used in calculations of dose equivalents for radiation safety purposes (ICRP 1977 NCRP 1971 UNSCEAR 1982). RBE applies only to a specific biological end point, in a specific exposure, under specific conditions to a specific species. There are no generally accepted values of RBE. 

MeV. WL-R = 100% x WL/radon concentrations (pCi/1). The dose conversion factor of 0.7 rad/working level month (WLM) (Harley and Pasternack, 1982) was used to calculate the mean absorbed dose to the epithelial cells and a quality factor (OF) of 20 was applied to convert the absorbed dose to dose equivalent rate. For example, from the average value of (WL) obtained from the arithmetic mean radon concentrations measured in the living area during winter and summer in South Carolina (Table I), the calculated dose equivalent rate is 4.1 rem/yr, e.g.,... 

The dose to bone included a relative damage factor, n, in addition to the quality factor, QF (then termed RBE). The n factor represented the relative effectiveness of the dose from the radionuclide as compared with the dose equivalent from 226Ra. The assumptions used by both NCRP and ICRP in making this comparison of bone seeking radio-... 

Rem (Roentgen equivalent in man) Special unit of any quantity expressed as a dose equivalent the dose equivalent in rems is equal to the absorbed dose in rads multiplied by the quality factor (1 rem = 0.01 Sv). 

Contemporary radiation protection systems (ICRP, 1977a 1991 NCRP, 1987 1993) include dose limits expressed in such a quantity. To obtain the quantity, absorbed doses are first multiplied by a quality factor (ICRP, 1977a) or a radiation weighting factor (ICRP, 1991), selected for the type and energy of the radiation incident upon the body, yielding, respectively, the dose equivalent in the tissue (ICRP, 1977a) or equivalent dose in the tissue (ICRP, 1991). Therefore ... 

For low-LET radiation, the quality factor and radiation weighting factor have the value of one. Therefore, dose equivalent and equivalent dose have the same numerical value. 

Dose Equivalent The amount of effective radiation when modifying factors have been taken into account. The product of absorbed dose multiplied by a quality factor multiplied by a distribution factor, expressed numerically in units of REMS. 

The biological effectiveness of dose depends on the type of radiation and also on the mass and sensitivity of the irradiated tissue. For alpha irradiation, a quality factor of 20 is assumed (ICRP, 1981), and the dose in Sieverts is 20 times the dose in Grays. In addition, ICRP recommends a weighting factor of 0.12 for irradiation of the whole lung and 0.06 for irradiation of bronchial epithelium only. Thus the effective dose equivalent , symbol HE, is defined as the dose to the whole body which carries the same risk as the given dose to the organ or tissue. This, for irradiation of bronchial tissue is 20 x 0.06 = 1.2 times the dose to the organ in Gy. 

Sievert Sv Dose equivalent, equal to dose in Gy multiplied by quality factor (unity for X, y and fi rays, 10 for neutrons, 20 for a particles)... 

Natural radionuclides contaminate air, food, and water. The annual per capita intake of natural radionuclides has been estimated to range from 2 Becquerels (Bq) for 232Th to about 130 Bq for 4 K (Sinclair 1988). The Bq is the International System of Units (SI) unit of radioactivity 1 Bq = 1 radioactive disintegration per second. The previously used unit of radioactivity is the Curie (Ci) 1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010 disintegrations per second, and 1 Bq = 27 x 10-12 Ci. The quantity of radiation or energy absorbed is expressed in Sievert (Sv), which is the SI unit of dose equivalent. The absorbed dose (in Gy) is multiplied by a quality factor for the particular type of radiation. Rem is the previously used unit for dose equivalent 100 rem = 1 Sv. 

Rem This older term is the short abbreviation for roentgen equivalent man. It is defined as the dose of radiation absorbed, multiplied by a modifying factor called quality factor Q, or relative biological effectiveness, RBE that takes into account the type of radiation (of any kind) and how the radiation is absorbed. Thus, for beta, gamma and X-rays, the quality factor is 1 for alpha radiation it may be as high as 20, and for neutrons it varies from 3 to 10. 

Different types of radiation affect biological materials in different ways, so a different unit is needed to describe the dose necessary to produce an equivalent biological damage. Historically, this unit is the rem (roentgen-equivalent-man). The dose in rem is equal to the dose in rad multiplied by a quality factor, which varies with the type of radiation. For )3 -, y-, and X-ray radiation, the quality factor is 1 for neutrons, it is 2-11, depending upon the energy of the particle and for a-particles, the quality factor is 20. The SI unit for equivalent dose is the sievert (Sv), which is equivalent to 100 rem. 

Dose equivalent. Although the biological effects of radiation are dependent upon the absorbed dose, some types of particles produce greater effects than others for the same amount of transferred energy. In order to account for these variations when describing human health risk from radiation exposure, the quantity dose equivalent is used. This is the absorbed dose multiplied by certain quality and modifying factors... 

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