How Much of a Radiation Dose Did the ISS Crew Just Receive??

Given all of the recent solar flare activity, how much extra radiation did
the ISS crew receive compared to a person on earth?? Do they wear dosimeters
and if so can they read them in real time??

What is the maximum dose they can receive before they exceed the goverment
standard for yearly radiation exposure. I would bet they have exceeded that
number whatever it is in the last couple of weeks.

News has been very quiet about this.

Dear Bernard Isker:
"Bernard Isker" wrote in message
...
Given all of the recent solar flare activity, how much extra radiation
did
the ISS crew receive compared to a person on earth?? Do they wear
dosimeters
and if so can they read them in real time??

URL:http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/STS-102/payload86.htm

A simple search on the 'net...

David A. Smith

I was pretty sure they had a high tech way of real time measurement of
radiation and total accumulated dose. My original question still has not
been answered though. I would guess that NASA would not release this
information since it is a personal measurement having to do with individuals
health.

My guess is that these X17 / X28 flares have really raised the astronauts
total dose to a value NASA would rather not have seen.
(formerly)" dlzc1.cox@net wrote in message
news:l0grb.23368$PD2.12162@fed1read05...
Dear Bernard Isker:
"Bernard Isker" wrote in message
...
Given all of the recent solar flare activity, how much extra radiation
did
the ISS crew receive compared to a person on earth?? Do they wear
dosimeters
and if so can they read them in real time??

URL:http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/STS-102/payload86.htm

A simple search on the 'net...

David A. Smith

Dear Bernard Isker:

"Bernard Isker" wrote in message
...
I was pretty sure they had a high tech way of real time measurement of
radiation and total accumulated dose. My original question still has not
been answered though. I would guess that NASA would not release this
information since it is a personal measurement having to do with
individuals
health.

You could release it without applying names, or average the numbers for the
crew.

My guess is that these X17 / X28 flares have really raised the astronauts
total dose to a value NASA would rather not have seen.

Probably as high as living in Bangladesh. A notoriously high background
radiation. Maybe even as high as a dental x-ray.

David A. Smith

On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 21:41:20 GMT, "Bernard Isker"
wrote:

Given all of the recent solar flare activity, how much extra radiation did
the ISS crew receive compared to a person on earth?? Do they wear dosimeters
and if so can they read them in real time??

What is the maximum dose they can receive before they exceed the goverment
standard for yearly radiation exposure. I would bet they have exceeded that
number whatever it is in the last couple of weeks.

News has been very quiet about this.

About government standards: a friend of mine is a chimist at the nuclear
powerplant of Gentilly in Quebec, Canada. He told me that one day, a friend of
him came in and set off ALL the alarms on her path. After investigation, they
found out that the day before, she had dental x-rays!! they are now
reevaluating their standards to more realistic values...
Good night!

Benoît Morrissette

Dear Benoit Morrissette:

"Benoit Morrissette" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 21:41:20 GMT, "Bernard Isker"

wrote:

Given all of the recent solar flare activity, how much extra radiation
did
the ISS crew receive compared to a person on earth?? Do they wear
dosimeters
and if so can they read them in real time??

What is the maximum dose they can receive before they exceed the
goverment
standard for yearly radiation exposure. I would bet they have exceeded
that
number whatever it is in the last couple of weeks.

News has been very quiet about this.

About government standards: a friend of mine is a chimist at the nuclear
powerplant of Gentilly in Quebec, Canada. He told me that one day, a
friend of
him came in and set off ALL the alarms on her path. After investigation,
they
found out that the day before, she had dental x-rays!! they are now
reevaluating their standards to more realistic values...

Good lord! They must have used X-rays in excess of 5 MeV in order to make
her radioactive. X-rays used in "regular" dental exams are a few keV.
They must have some very special film too, since such high energy X-rays
would pass even through metal fillings like so much smoke.

I think there was another cause. Dental X-rays don't make you radioactive.

David A. Smith

In message oQDrb.23922$PD2.11399@fed1read05, (formerly)"
writes
Dear Benoit Morrissette:

About government standards: a friend of mine is a chimist at the nuclear
powerplant of Gentilly in Quebec, Canada. He told me that one day, a
friend of
him came in and set off ALL the alarms on her path. After investigation,
they
found out that the day before, she had dental x-rays!! they are now
reevaluating their standards to more realistic values...

Good lord! They must have used X-rays in excess of 5 MeV in order to make
her radioactive. X-rays used in "regular" dental exams are a few keV.
They must have some very special film too, since such high energy X-rays
would pass even through metal fillings like so much smoke.

I think there was another cause. Dental X-rays don't make you radioactive.

It sounds as if the story got mangled in the telling, but isotope tests
would certainly make your blood radioactive. Iodine for thyroid
problems, iron (IIRC) for blood tests.
I saw a news story about this quite recently. The levels are quite safe,
but then so is the activity from a radioactive source being used by a
terrorist if it's suitably packaged.
--
Rabbit arithmetic - 1 plus 1 equals 10
Remove spam and invalid from address to reply.

On Sun, 9 Nov 2003 20:44:20 -0700, \(formerly\)" dlzc1.cox@net
wrote:

Dear Benoit Morrissette:

"Benoit Morrissette" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 21:41:20 GMT, "Bernard Isker"

wrote:

Given all of the recent solar flare activity, how much extra radiation
did
the ISS crew receive compared to a person on earth?? Do they wear
dosimeters
and if so can they read them in real time??

What is the maximum dose they can receive before they exceed the
goverment
standard for yearly radiation exposure. I would bet they have exceeded
that
number whatever it is in the last couple of weeks.

News has been very quiet about this.

About government standards: a friend of mine is a chimist at the nuclear
powerplant of Gentilly in Quebec, Canada. He told me that one day, a
friend of
him came in and set off ALL the alarms on her path. After investigation,
they
found out that the day before, she had dental x-rays!! they are now
reevaluating their standards to more realistic values...

Good lord! They must have used X-rays in excess of 5 MeV in order to make
her radioactive. X-rays used in "regular" dental exams are a few keV.
They must have some very special film too, since such high energy X-rays
would pass even through metal fillings like so much smoke.

I think there was another cause. Dental X-rays don't make you radioactive.

David A. Smith

Apparently, no. The inside of the administrative building has ten times less
background radiation than the average background radiation around here and the
detectors are very sensitive. Some people are just paranoid...
Good night!

Benoît Morrissette

In article PBArb.23782$PD2.12248@fed1read05,
\(formerly\)" dlzc1.cox@net writes:
Probably as high as living in Bangladesh. A notoriously high background
radiation. Maybe even as high as a dental x-ray.

What shielding are you assuming from the Earth's magnetic field and
from the ISS structure? The unshielded dose looks quite a bit larger
than a dental X-ray, though nowhere near fatal levels. (Also, last
time I had a dental X-ray, the technician put a lead sheet over me to
avoid giving me a whole body dose. I wouldn't expect a lot of lead
sheets on ISS, nor would they do much good at 50-100 MeV.)

--
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
(Please email your reply if you want to be sure I see it; include a
valid Reply-To address to receive an acknowledgement. Commercial
email may be sent to your ISP.)

Dear Steve Willner:

"Steve Willner" wrote in message
...
In article PBArb.23782$PD2.12248@fed1read05,
\(formerly\)" dlzc1.cox@net writes:
Probably as high as living in Bangladesh. A notoriously high
background
radiation. Maybe even as high as a dental x-ray.

What shielding are you assuming from the Earth's magnetic field and
from the ISS structure?

An inconsequential amount of shielding from the magnetic field, as only
light charged particles with low energies will be directed elsewhere. They
have a little "hut" to hide in as the worst stuff hits. I'm sure the
shielding values are available on the 'net. Bet it would be really crowded
with a full complement...

The unshielded dose looks quite a bit larger
than a dental X-ray, though nowhere near fatal levels. (Also, last
time I had a dental X-ray, the technician put a lead sheet over me to
avoid giving me a whole body dose. I wouldn't expect a lot of lead
sheets on ISS, nor would they do much good at 50-100 MeV.)

Depends on what the 50-100 MeV is from. 50-100 MeV is sufficient to make
stable nucleii radioactive, delivered in a single package (like gamma).

David A. Smith