Radiation Quantities

& Units
Arghya Chattaraj
Scientific Officer
Radiological Physics & Advisory Division
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
Mumbai
E-mail: [email protected]
➢ The International Commission on Radiation Units
and Measurements (ICRU, US, 1925) has objective
to develop quantities, units of radiation and
radioactivity, procedures for measurement &
application of these quantities in radiology,
radiation therapy, radiation biology, and industrial
operations.

➢ The International Commission on Radiological

Protection (ICRP, UK, 1928) is an advisory body
providing recommendations and guidance on
radiation protection against ionising radiation.
 QUANTITIES

➢ Activity (Ci or Bq)

➢ Energy (J or eV)
➢ Exposure (C/kg or R)
➢ Kerma (J/kg or Gy)
➢ Absorbed Dose (J/kg or Gy)
➢ Equivalent Dose (Sv)
➢ Effective Dose (Sv)
 ACTIVITY
Henri Becquerel
• Quantity of radioactive material France, 1852-1908

• The number of disintegrations or transformations

take place per unit time.

• Quantity (intensity) of radiation released from a

source is proportional to its activity.

• Activity of a radiation source and hence intensity of

radiation reduce along with time.
 Activity
Si unit: Becquerel (1 Bq=1 dps)
Old unit: Curie (Ci)
1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010 dist. per sec
= 3.7 x 1010 Bq Maria Curie
Russia, 1867-1934

Multiples & sub-multiples

1 Ci = 10-6 Ci 1 KCi = 10+3 Ci

1 mCi = 10-3 Ci 1 KBq = 10+3 Bq
1 MBq = 10+6 Bq
= 37 MBq
1 GBq = 10+9 Bq
 ENERGY
Energy indicates the quality
(penetrating power) of radiation.

Conventionally electron volts (eV)

and its multiples are used for
expressing the energy of radiation.

1000 eV = 1 keV
1000 keV = 1 MeV.
Release of radiation energy into the medium
through ionization takes place either,

• Directly ionizing radiation

(coulomb interactions of charged particles)
example: Alpha, beta, proton

• Indirectly ionizing radiation

(release of charged particles and transfer of
energy )

example: Photons, x-rays, gamma, n

 Exposure (X)
• It quantifies the amount of indirectly ionizing radiation
(photons) present at any point in air.
• A quantity used to indicate the amount of ionization in air
produced by x- or gamma-ray radiation
• Quantification is done by collecting the ions and
measuring their charge.
• Exposure is defined as the amount of charge (in coulomb)
produced by radiation in 1 kg of air.
Unit : Coulomb per kg (C/kg)
Old unit : Roentgen (R)
1 R = 1 electrostatic unit of charge (esu) = 2.58 x 10-4 C/kg
1 cc of air at STP
 KERMA (K)
KERMA- Kinetic Energy Released in the
Medium.

It is a measure of amount of total energy

transferred by photons (x-rays or gamma
rays) interacting in the medium.

Kerma is defined as the sum of the initial

kinetic energies of all charged particles
liberated by radiation in material of mass 1 Kg.
 Kerma
Kerma is usually expressed in terms of the distribution (E)
of the uncharged particle fluence with respect to energy

The kerma is then given by:


K = (E) E ( tr ) dE


Where tr/ is the mass energy transfer coefficient of the

material for uncharged particles of energy E
 Mass Energy
Absorption Coefficient
The mass energy absorption coefficient,
en/, is related to the mass energy transfer
coefficient, tr/, by the following equation:
en tr
 
= (1 – g)

where g is the fraction of initial secondary

electron energy that is radiated as
bremsstrahlung
 Photon Interactions
h3
Volume (V)
of material T’

e-
T h4
h1

h2

Kerma = h1 - h2 = T

Absorbed Dose = h1 - h2 - h3 – T’ = T – h3 - T’

 Tale of Two Kermas

Kerma is often described as having two

components:

• collision kerma (Kc) and

• radiative kerma (Kr)

K = Kc + Kr
 Tale of Two Kermas

• Kc is the kinetic energy transferred to the

charged particles that results in ionization
and excitation, and

• Kr is kinetic energy transferred to charge

particles that is ‘carried away’ from the
volume by photons in the bremsstrahlung
interaction
 KERMA

• KERMA = Absorbed Dose, when

averaged over a large mass of material
(e.g., tissue)

• KERMA  Absorbed Dose, when a small

mass is considered near the interface of
another medium (e.g., air). The absorbed
dose and kerma are different.
Relationship Between Exposure
and Kerma
• The exposure X is the ionization equivalent of the
collision kerma Kc in air, for x and gamma rays.
_
• The exposure, X, in air is related to the Kc by:

X = (Kc)air (e/W)air = (Kc)air / 34

_

Where (Kc)air is in J/kg, W is the mean energy

expended in air per ion pair formed (34 eV/ip)
X is the exposure in C/kg
Relationship Between Exposure
and Kerma
The exposure, X, in units of C kg-1, can also
be related to the air kerma as follows:
Ka (1 – g) e
X =
W

where “W” is the average energy spent by

an electron to produce an ion pair and “e” is
the electronic charge
 Absorbed Dose (D)
It is a measure of amount of
energy absorbed per unit mass of
the matter at the point of interest Harold Gray
UK, 1905-1965
A fraction of Kerma will be radiated
out from the medium in the form of
bremsstrahlung.

Absorbed dose = Kerma – Bremsstrahlung loss

Greater the absorbed dose a person receives, the greater

the damage or the risk of damage from the radiation
exposure.
 UNITS OF ABSORBED DOSE
Old unit : rad (Radiation Absorbed Dose)
1 rad = 100 ergs / gm = 10-2 Gy
1 Gy=100 rad

1 R exposure ~ 87.6 ergs/g of air

~ 95 ergs/g muscle tissue
1 rad ~ tissue dose of 100 ergs/gm
1 Roentgen = 1 RAD
 Energy absorption in air per unit R

When exposure of 1R in air, Dair is given by:

Dair = 1 R x 2.58 x 10-4 C/Kg/R x 34 J/C

Dair = 8.772 x 10-3 J/Kg = 8.772 x 10-3 Gy

= 0.877 rad

Dose to tissue or dose to any other medium at

that point can be given as:

Under CPE D = Kc =  (µen / )

DT / Dair = Kcol,T / Kcol,air

= T (µen/)T / air (µen/)air

= (µen/)T,air

DT = Dair (µen/)T,air

(en/)T,air (for 1MeV gamma ray and for soft tissue in air) = 1.10072

DT = 0.877 rad x 1.10072

DT = 0.965 rad
 Dose in air, when Exposure is in C/kg

• Dose to air is given by:

• Dair = 1 C/Kg x (1 ion pair/ 1.6x 10-19C) x ( 34 eV/ion pair )

x (1.6 x 10-19 J/eV)
= 34 J/Kg = 34 Gy in air

• Dose to tissue can be given as:

• DT = Dair (en/)T,air
• DT = 34Gy x 1.10072 = 37.42 Gy
 Unit : Joule per kg (J/kg)
SI Unit : Gray (Gy)

• Air kerma due to an exposure of

• 1 R = 2.58 x 10-4 (C/Kg) x 33.97 (J/C)
= 87.6 ergs/g
• or 0.00876 Gy or 1 Gy = 114 R
• 1 Gy air kerma is resulted by an exposure
of 114 R
 Equivalent Dose (HT)
❖ Biological damage caused by the radiation
depends on the nature of radiation, their
specific ionization and LET.

❖ Biological damage produced by the same

dose of different radiation may be
different.

❖ Equivalent dose accounts for the different

biological effectiveness of different types
of radiation.
 Relative Biological Effectiveness

We need to
do something
After exposure to 1 Gy to correct for After exposure to 1 Gy
of gamma rays of neutrons
this effect . . .
 Equivalent Dose
The equivalent dose in tissue T is given by
the expression:

HT =  WR DT,R

where DT,R is the absorbed dose averaged

over the tissue or organ T, due to radiation
R.
 Equivalent Dose
• WR is selected for the type and
energy of the radiation incident on
the body
Rolf Sievert
Sweden, 1896-1966
• This weighted absorbed dose,
called the equivalent dose, is
strictly a dose

• Unit of equivalent dose is the joule

per kilogram or sievert (Sv)
 Radiation Weighting Factors
Type and Energy Range wR
Gamma, X-ray, Beta, muons 1
Alpha particles, fission 20
fragments, heavy ions
Neutrons Continuous
function of
neutron energy
Protons, charged pions 2
ICRP – 103, 2007
 Radiation Weighting Factors
Photons, electrons, and muons:

Photons, electrons, and muons are radiations with LET

values of less than 10 keV/lm. These radiations have
always been given a radiation weighting of 1.
† wR for protons decreases from a value of 5 to 2.

Protons : Sources are cosmic radiation fields or fields near

high-energy particle accelerators, very high-energy protons
dominate. Protons with energies of a few MeV are of minor
significance. A single wR value for protons of all is
recommended. The range of 10 MeV protons in tissue is 1.2 mm
and decreases with lower energies. These protons will be
absorbed in skin. A single radiation weighting factor of 2 is
recommended for external proton radiation.
Pions:

Are -vely or +vely charged or neutral particles

resulting from interactions of primary cosmic rays
with nuclei at high altitudes in the atmosphere.
These particles contribute to exposures in aircraft.
They are also behind shielding of high-energy
particle accelerators and thus contribute to the
occupational exposure of accelerator staff. The
energy distribution of pions is very broad, a WR of
2 is recommended for all charged pions.
The radiation weighting factor for
neutrons reflects their relative
biological effectiveness following
external exposure.

The biological effectiveness of

neutrons incident on the human
body is strongly dependent on
neutron energy.

The most significant changes

compared to the data in
Publication 60 are the decrease of † wR for neutrons is a
wR in the low-energy range, which continuous function (instead
takes account of the large of a step function in ICRP
contribution of secondary Publication 60) and is
photons to the absorbed dose in approximately halved for low-
the human body, and the decrease energy (<10 keV) and for high-
of wR at neutron energies above energy neutrons (>100MeV)
100 MeV.
to a value of 2.5.
. The production of secondary photons by neutron
absorption in tissue which increases with decreasing
neutron energy;

.The increase of the energy of recoil protons with increasing

neutron energy;

.The release of heavier charged particles at higher neutron

energies;

And nuclear spallation processes at very high neutron

energies.
When the human body is exposed to neutrons with
energies below 1 MeV, a significant fraction of the
absorbed dose is deposited by secondary photons mainly
from the H(n, γ) reaction, which reduces the biological
effectiveness.

In this energy range this effect on RBE is much larger than

the influence of the change in the LET distribution of the
neutron-produced secondary charged particles, mainly
protons.

It has been shown that for neutrons below about 1 MeV,

the consideration of the secondary photons in an
anthropomorphic phantom results in considerably lower
values for mean quality factors, and thus of wR, than
those given in Publication 60.
Alpha particles.

Humans may be exposed to alpha particles from internal

emitters, e.g., from inhaled radon progeny or ingested alpha-
emitting radionuclides such as isotopes of plutonium, polonium,
radium, thorium, and uranium.

A number of epidemiological studies, as well as animal data,

provide information on the risk from incorporated alpha emitters.
However, the distribution of radionuclides in organs and tissues
is complex and the estimation of dose depends on the models
used. Hence the calculated doses are associated with
substantial uncertainties and result in a broad range of RBE
values from epidemiological as well as experimental studies.

As recent data do not provide compelling evidence for a change

of the radiation weighting factor for alpha particles, the wR value
of 20 adopted in Publication 60 (ICRP, 1991b) is retained.
Fission fragments: Doses from fission fragments are of
importance in internal dosimetry, and the WR is similar to alpha
particles. The short ranges of heavy ions and fission fragments
in organs and tissues and the resulting ionisation density have
a strong influence on their RBE. A WR of 20 which equals that
for alpha particles, is recommended .

Heavy ions: Heavy ions are encountered in external radiation

fields in aviation at high altitudes and in space exploration. Data
on RBE for heavy ions are very limited and mostly based on in
vitro experiments. The radiation quality of heavy charged
particles incident on and stopped in the human body changes
markedly along the track of the particle. The selection of a
single wR value of 20 for all types and energies of heavy
charged particles is a conservative estimate and is
recommended as sufficient for general application in
radiological protection
 Effective Dose (ET)
❑ Radio-sensitivity of different tissues in
human body is different.

❑ Effect of radiation exposure of individual

tissues contributes differently to the total
health of the exposed person, depending
upon the seriousness of the damage in
individual tissues and its curability.

❑ Hence the detriment produced by the same

equivalent dose may be different for
different tissues.
 Effective Dose
The effective dose is the sum of the weighted
equivalent doses in all the tissues and organs
of the body. It is given by:

E = wT HT

where HT is the equivalent dose in tissue or

organ T and wT is the weighting factor for
tissue T.
 Concept of Effective Dose
The relationship between the probability of
stochastic effects (cancer and genetic effects)
and equivalent dose is found to depend on the
organ or tissue irradiated.

The effective dose combines the equivalent

doses to the various body organs and tissues
in a way which correlates well with the total of
the stochastic effects.
 Tissue Weighting Factors
WT represents the relative contribution of each organ
or tissue T to the total risk due to stochastic effects
resulting from uniform irradiation of the whole body.

The total detriment (risk) is mortality and morbidity

risks from cancer, the risk of severe hereditary effects
for all generations, and the length of life lost due to
these effects.

WT values are useful for converting equivalent dose

received by one or more tissues (in partial body
irradiation) to effective dose, which is whole body
exposure equivalent.
 ICRP – 103, 2007

Tissue Weighting Factors

Tissue / organ WT  WT
Bone marrow (red), Colon, Lung, 0.12 0.72
Stomach, Breast, remainder tissues*
Gonads 0.08 0.08
Bladder, Oesophagus, Liver, Thyroid 0.04 0.16
Bone surface, Brain, Salivary glands, 0.01 0.04
Skin.
Total 1.00

The values have been developed from a reference population of equal

numbers of both sexes and a wide range of ages. In the definition of eff.
dose they apply to workers, to the whole population, and to either sex.
Tissue-weighting factors have again been changed and
extended to a wider range of organs:

† wT value for gonads decreases from 0.2 to 0.08. This

difference is mainly due to the restriction in risk to the first
two generations rather than the previously used equilibrium
value (many generations);

† wT value for breast increases from 0.05 to 0.12;

† wT value for bladder, oesophagus, liver and thyroid slightly

decrease from 0.05 to 0.04;

† wT values for two organs (brain and salivary gland) are

introduced for the first time;
 Tissue Weighting Factors
Remainder Organs
• Adrenals • Oral Mucosa
• Extra Thoracic region • Spleen
• Gall bladder • Thymus
• Heart , Kidney • Uterus
• Lymphatic nodes • Muscle
• Small Intestine • Prostate
• Pancreas • Uterus/cervix
wT value of 0.12 is shared among 14 remaining organs
 Old & New Units
Unit
Quantity Relationship
Old New

Radioactivity Ci Bq 1 Bq = 0.27 x 10-10 Ci

Exposure R C / Kg 1 C Kg -1 = 3876 R

Air Kerma - Gy 1 Air Kerma = 114 R

Dose Rad Gy 1 Gy = 100 Rad

Equivalent
Rem Sv 1 Sv = 100 rems
Dose
The ICRP clearly prescribes the use (and misuse) of effective
dose E:

† E is calculated using reference values for reference person

or group (not for an individual);

† E should be used for the planning of prospective

situations;

† E should not be used for retrospective dose and risk

assessments of exposure of individuals;

† E should not be used for epidemiological studies.

 Questions
• Convert 500 mCi into MBq
- 1 mCi = 37 x 106 Bq
• A person gets an exposure X of 5.16 X 10-5
C/kg Convert this exposure in Roentgen
- 1 C/kg (X unit) = 3881 R
• 2.75 mGy = ---- Rad ( 1 Gy = 100 rads)
• 2 Rem = ----mSv (1 rem = 0.01 Sv)

• If 4 J of energy is deposited in 200 gm of a

material, what is the amount of absorbed
dose?
• WR depends on
a) Type of radiation
b) Energy range of the radiation
c) Activity of the source
d) Radiosensitivity of the tissue

• WT depends on --------

• Calculate the equivalent dose for

20 mGy of γ-radiation
10 mGy of α- radiation
• Calculate the equivalent dose for 5 Gy
of β- radiation

• A persons stomach and bladder receive

a dose of 100 mGy each due to γ-
radiation calculate the effective dose.