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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Published: Oct 12, 2018
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.
The definition of 'safe' is not strictly an engineering term; it's a societal term. Does it mean absolutely no loss of life? Does it mean absolutely no contamination with radiation? What exactly does 'safe' mean?