Convert radiation dosage and radioactivity units including Sieverts (Sv), Millisieverts (mSv), Microsieverts (µSv), Grays (Gy), Rem, and Rad.
0.01 Millisievert
Ionizing radiation consists of subatomic particles or high-energy electromagnetic waves (alpha, beta, gamma, X-rays, neutrons) that have enough energy to detach electrons from atoms. Radiological dosimetry measures radiation in three contexts: Radioactivity (Bq, Ci), Absorbed Physical Dose (Gy, rad), and Biological Equivalent Dose (Sv, rem).
Eating a banana (potassium-40 isotope): ~0.1 µSv; Dental intraoral X-ray: ~5 µSv; Airport security body scan: ~0.05 µSv; Flight from NY to LA: ~40 µSv; Chest X-ray: ~100 µSv (0.1 mSv); Chest CT scan: ~7 mSv; US annual occupational limit for radiation workers: 50 mSv (5 rem); Single dose causing temporary radiation sickness: ~1,000 mSv (1 Sv); Lethal dose without medical treatment: ~4 to 5 Sv (400–500 rem).
The SI units Sievert (Sv) and Gray (Gy) officially replaced the legacy US units Rem and Rad. 1 Sievert = 100 Rem, and 1 Gray = 100 Rad. For X-rays and gamma rays in human tissue, 1 Gy absorbed dose equals 1 Sv equivalent dose.
A Gray (Gy) measures the physical absorbed dose of radiation energy deposited in matter (1 Joule per kilogram). A Sievert (Sv) measures the biological damage (equivalent dose), multiplying absorbed dose by radiation and tissue biological weighting factors.
There are exactly 1,000 millisieverts (mSv) and 1,000,000 microsieverts (µSv) in 1 Sievert (Sv).
The average global background radiation exposure from cosmic rays, radon gas, and soil isotopes is approximately 2.4 mSv (2,400 µSv) per year.
1 rem equals exactly 10 millisieverts (mSv), or 0.01 Sieverts. Therefore, 1 millirem (mrem) = 10 microsieverts (µSv).
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