Rumour mill - potentially huge news, page-18

As far as radiation levels are concerned, this a mockery of the Malaysian standard.

The difference between a sievert (Sv) and a becquerel (Bq) is that a sievert is a unit of effective dose of radiation, while a becquerel is a unit of radioactivity.

Effective dose is a measure of the biological damage that radiation can cause. It takes into account the type of radiation, the energy of the radiation, and the weight of the organs that are exposed to the radiation.

Radioactivity is a measure of the number of radioactive decays that occur in a material per second. It does not take into account the type of radiation, the energy of the radiation, or the biological effects of the radiation.

For example, a person who is exposed to 1 Sv of alpha radiation will receive a higher effective dose than a person who is exposed to 1 Sv of gamma radiation. This is because alpha radiation is more damaging to biological tissue than gamma radiation.

Becquerels are often used to measure the radioactivity of environmental samples, such as soil, water, and air. Sieverts are often used to measure the effective dose of radiation that people receive from medical procedures, occupational exposure, and environmental exposure.

The following table shows the conversion factors between sieverts and becquerels for different types of radiation:

Type of radiation	Conversion factor
Alpha particles	20 Sv/Bq
Beta particles	1 Sv/Bq
Gamma rays	1 Sv/Bq

It is important to note that these conversion factors are only approximate. The actual effective dose of radiation received from a given amount of radioactivity depends on a number of factors, including the age and health of the person exposed, the type of radiation, and the energy of the radiation.