Radiation Protection Glossary
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Quality Factor
The Quality Factor is used to modify the Absorbed Dose
in Gray
(Gy) by multiplying to obtain a quantity called the Equivalent Dose
(Sv
). It is used because some types of radiation, such as Alpha Particles
, are more biologically damaging internally than other types such as the Beta Particle
. The factor is determined by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and is the same basic quantity as the Radiation weighting factor
as defined by the ICRP
.
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