Appendix B - Appendix B to Part 191—Calculation of Annual Committed Effective Dose
The calculation of the committed effective dose (CED) begins with the determination of the equivalent dose, H
Table B.1—Radiation Weighting Factors, w
Radiation type and energy range 2 | w | Photons, all energies | 1 | Electrons and muons, all energies | 1 | Neutrons, energy <10 keV | 5 | 10 keV to 100 keV | 10 | >100 keV to 2 MeV | 20 | >2 MeV to 20 MeV | 10 | >20 MeV | 5 | Protons, other than recoil protons, >2 MeV | 5 | Alpha particles, fission fragments, heavy nuclei | 20 |
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1 All values relate to the radiation incident on the body or, for internal sources, emitted from the source.
2 See paragraph A14 in ICRP Publication 60 for the choice of values for other radiation types and energies not in the table.
The next step is the calculation of the effective dose, E. The probability of occurrence of a stochastic effect in a tissue or organ is assumed to be proportional to the equivalent dose in the tissue or organ. The constant of proportionality differs for the various tissues of the body, but in assessing health detriment the total risk is required. This is taken into account using the tissue weighting factors, w
Table B.2—Tissue Weighting Factors, w
Tissue or organ | w | Gonads | 0.25 | Breast | 0.15 | Red bone marrow | 0.12 | Lung | 0.12 | Thyroid | 0.03 | Bone surfaces | 0.03 | Remainder | 2 0.30 |
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1 The values are considered to be appropriate for protection for individuals of both sexes and all ages.
2 For purposes of calculation, the remainder is comprised of the five tissues or organs not specifically listed in Table B.2 that receive the highest dose equivalents; a weighting factor of 0.06 is applied to each of them, including the various sections of the gastrointestinal tract which are treated as separate organs. This covers all tissues and organs except the hands and forearms, the feet and ankles, the skin and the lens of the eye. The excepted tissues and organs should be excluded from the computation of H
For internal irradiation from incorporated radionuclides, the total absorbed dose will be spread out in time, being gradually delivered as the radionuclide decays. The time distribution of the absorbed dose rate will vary with the radionuclide, its form, the mode of intake and the tissue within which it is incorporated. To take account of this distribution the quantity committed equivalent dose, HΤ(τ) where is the integration time in years following an intake over any particular year, is used and is the integral over time of the equivalent dose rate in a particular tissue or organ that will be received by an individual following an intake of radioactive material into the body. The time period, τ, is taken as 50 years as an average time of exposure following intake:
for a single intake of activity at time tIf the committed equivalent doses to the individual tissues or organs resulting from an annual intake are multiplied by the appropriate weighting factors, w