Calculated Internal Radiation Dose from Ingestion of Meat Sterilized by Electron Irradiation

摘要

The production of radionuclides in food irradiated with high energy electrons can be predicted reasonably well with the equation presented by R. A. Meyer. Using this equation and others derived from the reports of the International Commission on Radiological Protection it is possible to estimate the amount of radiation received by humans consuming meat irradiated by high energy electrons. The estimated annual internal doses decrease with storage time. At the maximum energy treated the dose would decrease from a maximum of 2.36 mrem/year to a minimum of 0.113 mrem/year with a storage time of 7 days and two years, respectively. The calculated values represented approximately 0.1 to 2% of the average mean radiation exposure of humans, 130 mrem/year due to natural environmental radiation. (Author)