Vol. I-3.
1 Activity
• Activity of the Radioactive Material
• Radioactive “Strength”
• Measured in terms of Disintegrations per Second
(dps)
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• Does not measure biological or radiological effect
• Does not measure type, number or energy of
emissions
• 1 Ci of 60Co is about 4 times more dangerous
than 1 Ci of 137Cs
• Is not related to the amount (volume or mass) of
material present.
Units of Measure – Slide 1 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3.1 Units of Activity
• S.I. unit is becquerel (Bq) = the amount of material
giving 1 Disintegration per second (dps)
• Imperial Unit is the curie (Ci), which is equivalent to
the Activity of one Gram of Radium. This gives
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3.7x1010 dps
1 Ci = 3.7x1010 becquerels
1 pCi 1 nCi 1 µCi 1 mCi 1 Ci
37 mBq 37 Bq 37 kBq 37 MBq 37 GBq
Units of Measure – Slide 2 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3.2 Half Life
•Time required for a radioactive substance to lose 50%
of its activity by decay
•Each Nuclide has a characteristic Half Life
100%
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Activity
(source
strength)
50%
25%
12.5%
1 2 3
Half Lives
Units of Measure – Slide 3 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3.2 Half Life of Common Nuclides
137
Cs 30.2 years
Artificial
241
Am 433 years
Isotopes
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60
Co 5.2 years
Tritium (H3) 12.4 years
131
I 8 days
232
Th 1.4x1010 years
238
U 4.5x109 years
Natural
Isotopes
40
K 1.3x109 years
Units of Measure – Slide 4 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3.3 Exposure
X: The amount of ionization in a
unit mass of air caused by X-rays
or gamma rays.
Schlumberger Private
SI Units are coulombs per
kilogram (C/kg).
1 roentgen (R) = 2.58 X10-14 C/kg
Units of Measure – Slide 5 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3.4 Absorbed Dose
D: Energy per unit mass transferred to any
medium by radiation is referred to as the
Absorbed Dose.
Original Unit is the rad (Radiation Absorbed
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Dose):
1 rad (r) = 100 ergs per gram
SI unit is the gray:
1 gray (Gy) = 1 joule per
kilogram
1 gray (Gy) = 100 rad
Units of Measure – Slide 6 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3.5 Dose Equivalent
H: Measures the Biological Significance of the Absorbed
Dose.
Is only valid for humans and for low doses.
Is the Absorbed Dose x Quality Factor (QF) for particular
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radiation:
Radiation QF
X-rays 1
H = D X QF Gamma rays 1
Beta particles 1
Thermal Neutrons 2
Fast Neutrons 10
l a
Alpha particles 20
Ap h
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Vol. I-3.5 Dose Equivalent
H(dose equivalent) = QF(quality factor) x D(absorbed
dose)
Original Unit is the rem (roentgen equivalent man):
H (rem) = D (rad) x QF
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SI Unit is the sievert (Sv):
H (sievert) = D (gray) x QF
1sievert = 100 rem
100 µrem 1 mrem 10 mrem 100 mrem 1 rem
1 µSv 10 µSv 100 µSv 1 mSv 10 mSv
Units of Measure – Slide 8 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3.5 Dose Equivalent
• 1 gray of alpha exposure
gives 20 sievert of Dose
Equivalent Radiation QF
• 1 gray of gamma X-rays 1
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exposure gives 1 sievert Gamma rays 1
of Dose Equivalent
Beta particles 1
• 1 rad of fast neutron Thermal Neutrons 2
exposure gives 10 rem
(100 millisievert) of Dose Fast Neutrons 10
Equivalent Alpha particles 20
A h
• 1 gray of beta exposure
gives 1 sievert (100 rem)
of Dose Equivalent
Units of Measure – Slide 9 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-3 Relationship of Units
For Gamma Rays:
1 roentgen (in air) = 0.98 rad (in water)
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Thus For Gamma Rays:
1 roentgen = 1 rad = 1 rem (quality factor of 1)
Gamma Ray Meters are calibrated in mR (milliroentgen) per
hour
This is the same as mrem (millirem) per hour for Gamma rays
Units of Measure – Slide 10 Schlumberge
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Vol. I-[Link] Deep Dose Equivalent
DDE: Used for
External Whole
Body Doses.
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DDE is measured
in rem or sievert
This is what we
normally see on
badge reports
Units of Measure – Slide 11 Schlumberge
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