Radiation Poisoning
Main article:
Radiation poisoning
To gauge biological effects the dose in rads is multiplied by a 'quality factor' which is dependent on the type of
ionizing radiation. The modified dose is now measured in
rems (roentgen equivalent mammal, or man)
[4]. The number of rems is equal to
Q times the number of rads, where
Q is the quality factor.
Q varies between 1 and 20, but is typically 1 for x-rays and gamma rays and 10 for neutrons. A dose of under 100 rems is subclinical and will produce nothing other than blood changes. 100 to 200 rems will cause illness but will rarely be fatal. Doses of 200 to 1000 rems will likely cause serious illness with poor outlook at the upper end of the range. Doses of more than 1000 rems are almost invariably fatal
[5].