Background Radiation (Also seen in GCSE Physics 2)

We are continuously exposed to a certain level of background radiation. In the lessons to come you must remember to subtract the background radiation from the recorded radiation level to get the true (or corrected) reading. The main contributors to background radiation are:

Radon and Thoron gas: 51%

Ground, rocks and buildings: 14%

Food and drink: 12%

Medical: 12%

Cosmic rays: 10%

Air travel: 0.4%

Nuclear weapons testing: 0.3%

Occupational: 0.2%

Nuclear power: 0.1%