Radioactivity concentrations in non-nuclear industries

Abstract Radiation and radionuclides are natural phenomena. Small quantities of radionuclides, for example, are always released into the environment when materials are burnt or heated. Large-scale conventional energy sources such as coal and nuclear power have been well investigated for many years with regard to the emission of radionuclides, while emissions from the combustion of peat and wood and from other non-nuclear industries have not been investigated to the same extent. For the nuclear industry in Sweden, the annual dose limit to the public arising from regulated outlets to air and water must not exceed 0.1 mSv year −1 and the global collective effective dose must not exceed 5 person Sv year −1 per GW. A proposed radiation limit for peat power plants in Sweden is also 0.1 mSv year −1 . Like most human pursuits, power-generating and other industrial activities affect the environment negatively but the radiation hazard is generally small compared with other hazards and natural radiation.