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The standard unit of radiation related to biological hazard is known as sievert denoted by Sv. The smaller unit for the same is called rem (100 rem is 1 Sv). The difference between the unit of absorbed dose(Gray / rad) and Sv is that sievert also takes into account the biological effectiveness of the different types of radiation
The sievert is a unit of radiation dose equivalent, used to measure the biological effect of ionizing radiation on living tissue. It takes into account the type of radiation, the energy of the radiation, and the specific tissues or organs affected. The sievert is the standard unit for measuring radiation doses in the International System of Units (SI).
A (milli)severt is a unit used to measure the amount of radiation to which a human body is exposed.
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rem
REM is used to quantify the amount of a radiation source absorbed by a tissue.
The Rem used to be used in Health Physics to measure radiation dose, it is an acronym for Rontgen Equivalent Man.(The methodology allows for the different effects of different types of radiation). The unit now used is the Sievert (Sv), 1 Sievert = 100 Rem. This is a large unit, so millisieverts are used for practical personnel radiation measures, so 1 millisievert = 100 millirem. Recommended radiation levels for nuclear workers are set by the ICRP (International Committee for Radiation Protection). These used to be set at 5 Rem/year (50 milliSv) but now the level is 20 milliSv/year ie 2 Rem/year. The use of Rem and millirem has been discontinued in the nuclear industry in favour of Sieverts and millisieverts. However as someone with nuclear experience going back to 1958 I find it difficult to think in Sieverts. For example I know that 500 Rem will kill roughly 1/2 the people exposed to it within a month, now I have to change that to 5 Sieverts. Fortunately that level of exposure has only happened once (at Chernobyl).
Unit used to measure radiation dosage (1/1000 of a rem)
1 rem = 0.01 Sv
Sieverts and milliSieverts are used now. They replaced the old rem and millirem. There is a factor 100 difference, so 1 Sievert = 100 Rem. The current limit for nuclear industry employees is 20 milliSv/year, though the actual average level in the US is about 2.4 milliSv.
Negative of the radio are the radiation effects that affect of radiation Two ways in which radiation can hurt people are radiation poisoning and cancer from radiation. Radiation poisoning occurs when a person is exposed to large amounts of radiation. to get an idea of how much 300 rem is, it might help to know that we are exposed to about 0.2 rem each year just by living our normal lives. A person who received 300 rem, A unit for measuring absorbed doses of radiation, equivalent to one roentgen of x-rays or gamma rays,( roentgen -a unit measuring a radiation dose) if untreated, will probably die soon after of radiation poisoning.
Roentgen (or Becquerel)Rad (or Grey)Rem (or Sievart)Depending on what you want to measure