Abstract
ABSTRACTThe earth is continually bombarded by high-energy cosmic ray particles, and the worldwide average exposure to cosmic rays represents about 13% of the total annual effective dose received by the population. Therefore, assessment of cosmic ray exposure at the ground level is of great interest to better understand population exposure to ionizing radiation. This paper presents and describes the European Annual Cosmic-Ray Dose Map at 1 km resolution (Main Map). The Main Map displays the annual effective dose that a person may receive from cosmic rays at the ground level, which ranges from 301 to 3955 μSv. Moreover, thanks to the availability of population data, the annual cosmic-ray collective dose has been evaluated and population-weighted average annual effective dose (per capita) due to cosmic ray has been estimated for each European country considered in this study. The accuracy of the present study has been confirmed by comparing our results with those obtained using other models.
Highlights
Natural ionizing radiation is considered the largest contributor to the collective effective dose received by the world population
The worldwide average exposure to cosmic rays contributes to about 13% of the total annual effective dose received by the population (UNSCEAR, 2008, Volume 1, Annex B, Figure 36)
These cosmic rays interact with the nuclei of atmospheric constituents, producing a cascade of interactions and secondary reaction products that contribute to cosmic ray exposure that decreases in intensity with depth in the atmosphere, from the stratosphere to aircraft altitudes down to the ground level
Summary
Natural ionizing radiation is considered the largest contributor to the collective effective dose received by the world population. The earth is continually bombarded by high-energy particles that originate in outer space These cosmic rays interact with the nuclei of atmospheric constituents, producing a cascade of interactions and secondary reaction products that contribute to cosmic ray exposure that decreases in intensity with depth in the atmosphere, from the stratosphere to aircraft altitudes down to the ground level. The primary types of radiation that originate in outer space and impinge on the top of the earth’s atmosphere consist of 87% protons, 11% α particles, about 1% nuclei of atomic number Z between 4 (beryllium) and 26 (iron), and about 1% electrons of very high energy 0.05% of primary protons penetrate to the sea level (Eisenbud & Gesell, 1997, Chap. 6)
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