Why is background radiation higher in some places than others?

Natural background radiation is all around us. Background radiation varies from place to place and over time, depending on the amount of naturally-occurring radioactive elements in soil, water and air. Altitude and latitude can also influence the level of background radiation at any one site.

Are people exposed to background radiation all the time?

What are the sources of radiation exposure? Background radiation is all around us all the time. Most of it forms naturally from minerals.

What areas have high levels of background radiation?

The highest known level of background radiation affecting a substantial population is in Kerala and Madras States in India where some 140,000 people receive doses which average over 15 millisievert per year from gamma radiation in addition to a similar dose from radon.

What causes the most radiation?

By far the largest source of natural radiation exposure comes from varying amounts of uranium and thorium in the soil around the world. The radiation exposure due to cosmic rays is very dependent on altitude, and slightly on latitude: people who travel by air, thereby, increase their exposure to radiation.

What is the biggest source of natural background radiation in the US?

radon
More than half of the average annual radiation exposure of people in the United States comes from natural sources. The natural radionuclide, radon, is the largest natural source of exposure. Radon is a natural radioactive gas that gets into homes and buildings.

What is the average background radiation exposure in the US?

On average, Americans receive a radiation dose of about 0.62 rem (620 millirem) each year. Half of this dose comes from natural background radiation. Most of this background exposure comes from radon in the air, with smaller amounts from cosmic rays and the Earth itself.

What factors affect a person’s level of exposure to background radiation?

The actual amount of radiation that a person is exposed to depends on where they live, what job they do and many other things. Scientists must always take into consideration the amount of background radiation when working or experimenting with radioactive sources and discount it from their results.