Radiation Protection Glossary

A radiation protection glossary for Radiation Protection Supervisors (RPS), Radiation Protection Advisers (RPA) and anyone else interesting in radiation safety terms and definitions. The glossary is a mixture of health physics , phrases related to radiation protection legislation, transport, practical safety, technical terms and similar.

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Probabilistic Effects

Published: Oct 12, 2018

With respect to Radiation Protection, probabilistic effects (also referred to as Stochastic) represent radiation harm for which there is no threshold (see Linear Dose-Response). Even the smallest quantity of Ionising Radiation exposure can be said to have a finite probability of causing an effect, and this effect being either cancer in the individual or genetic damage. Dose Limits are set to ensure that these effects are minimised to broadly acceptable levels. Also, see Deterministic Effects.

In radiation protection I spend most of my time explaining to clients what they do not need to worry about.

– Mark Ramsay -