Jump to content

Banana equivalent dose: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Remove bit which flouts EP:EL and links to a page which quotes an earlier version of this article available in a self-pub from a publisher which is on WP's spam blacklist.
Remove perjorative. Remove cite of a web page which quotes an earlier version of this article available in a self-pub from a publisher which is on WP's spam blacklist.
Line 1: Line 1:
{{expert-subject|Health|date=March 2011}}
{{expert-subject|Health|date=March 2011}}


A '''banana equivalent dose''' ('''BED''') is a flawed concept that tries to place in scale the dangers of [[radiation]] by comparing exposures to the radiation generated by a common [[banana]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://boingboing.net/2010/08/27/bananas-are-radioact.html |title=Bananas are radioactive—But they aren't a good way to explain radiation exposure |author=Maggie Koerth-Baker (author and journalist)|date=August 27, 2010 |publisher=[http://boingboing.net boingboing.net] }}</ref> It originated in a nutritional guide written for dietitians and nutritionists: Bowes and Church's ''Food Values of Portions Commonly Used''.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Jean A. Thompson|last1= Pennington|first2=Judith Spungen |last2=Douglass|title=Bowes & Church's food values of portions commonly used|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LTGFV2NOySYC|year=2005|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=9780781744294}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=March 2011|reason=perhaps it's in there somewhere, but I could not confirm it by searching online}}
A '''banana equivalent dose''' ('''BED''') is a concept that tries to place in scale the dangers of [[radiation]] by comparing exposures to the radiation generated by a common [[banana]]. > It originated in a nutritional guide written for dietitians and nutritionists: Bowes and Church's ''Food Values of Portions Commonly Used''.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Jean A. Thompson|last1= Pennington|first2=Judith Spungen |last2=Douglass|title=Bowes & Church's food values of portions commonly used|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LTGFV2NOySYC|year=2005|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=9780781744294}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=March 2011|reason=perhaps it's in there somewhere, but I could not confirm it by searching online}}


[[Radioactive decay|Radioactivity]] is measured in disintegrations per second (dps), in [[curie]]&nbsp;(Ci), or in [[becquerel]]&nbsp;(Bq). [[Equivalent dose|Radiation dose equivalent]] is measured in [[roentgen equivalent man]]&nbsp;(rem) or in [[sievert]]&nbsp;(Sv).
[[Radioactive decay|Radioactivity]] is measured in disintegrations per second (dps), in [[curie]]&nbsp;(Ci), or in [[becquerel]]&nbsp;(Bq). [[Equivalent dose|Radiation dose equivalent]] is measured in [[roentgen equivalent man]]&nbsp;(rem) or in [[sievert]]&nbsp;(Sv).

Revision as of 09:14, 23 March 2011

A banana equivalent dose (BED) is a concept that tries to place in scale the dangers of radiation by comparing exposures to the radiation generated by a common banana. > It originated in a nutritional guide written for dietitians and nutritionists: Bowes and Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used.[1][page needed]

Radioactivity is measured in disintegrations per second (dps), in curie (Ci), or in becquerel (Bq). Radiation dose equivalent is measured in roentgen equivalent man (rem) or in sievert (Sv).

Many foods are naturally radioactive, and bananas are particularly so, due to the radioactive potassium-40, or 40K they contain. Bananas are sufficiently radioactive to be detected by radiation sensors used to detect possible illegal smuggling of nuclear material at U.S. ports.[2] A medium-sized banana contains about 450 mg of potassium.[3] 40K makes up 0.0117% of this, or about 53 μg, which produces 14 Becquerel (Bq), or 0.37 nCi of radiation.

According to Bowes and Church the dose equivalent of eating a banana is about 0.01 mrem. The body of a 70 kg person contains about 140 g of Potassium, most of which is located in muscle tissue. 40K is the predominant radioactive component in the body and many foods. However, Potassium in the body is under strict homeostatic control.[4] The human body does a pretty good job of regulating potassium, and thus there isn't much of a chance of getting a buildup of 40K, so the additional potassium (radio-active or not) is quickly eliminated from the body.[5]

A radiation dose equivalent of 100 μSv (10 mrem, or 1,000 BED) increases an average adult human's risk of death by about one micromort—the same risk as driving 40 miles in a car, eating 40 tablespoons of peanut butter, or of smoking 1.4 cigarettes.[6]

Comparison to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl

After the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) detected radioactive iodine in local milk at levels of 0.74 Bq/l (20 pCi/l).[7] Thus a 12 fl oz glass of the slightly radioactive milk would have about 1/75th BED.

Following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, levels of caesium-137 increased by more than tenfold throughout Europe, and wild mushrooms in the area contained radiation with up to an effective dose of 20 μSv/kg.[8]

Other foods

Nearly all foods are slightly radioactive. All food sources combined expose a person to around 0.4 mSv (40 mrem or 4,000 BED) per year on average, or more than 10% of the total dose from all natural and man-made sources.[9]

Some other foods that have above-average levels are potatoes, kidney beans, nuts, and sunflower seeds.[10] Among the most naturally radioactive foods known are Brazil nuts, with activity levels that can exceed 444 Bq/kg (12 nCi/kg).[11][12][clarification needed]

References

  1. ^ Pennington, Jean A. Thompson; Douglass, Judith Spungen (2005). Bowes & Church's food values of portions commonly used. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 9780781744294.
  2. ^ Issue Brief: Radiological and Nuclear Detection Devices. Nti.org. Retrieved on 2010-10-19.
  3. ^ "Bananas"
  4. ^ Eisenbud, Merril; Gesell, Thomas F. (1997). Environmental radioactivity: from natural, industrial, and military sources. Academic Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 9780122351549. It is important to recognize that the potassium content of the body is under strict homeostatic control and is not influenced by variations in environmental levels. For this reason, the dose from 40K in the body is constant.
  5. ^ Environmental and Background Radiation, Health Physics Society.
  6. ^ Radiation and Risk. Physics.isu.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-19.
  7. ^ A Brief Review of the Accident at Three Mile Island
  8. ^ ScienceDirect - Food Chemistry : A review of edible mushroom radioactivity
  9. ^ Radiation. Risks and Realities, US Environmental Protection Agency
  10. ^ Internal Exposure from Radioactivity in Food and Beverages, U.S. Department of Energy (archived from the original on 2007-05-27).
  11. ^ Brazil Nuts. Orau.org. Retrieved on 2010-10-19.
  12. ^ Natural Radioactivity. Physics.isu.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-19.
Look up banana equivalent dose in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Banana_equivalent_dose&oldid=420292780"