The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority will measure the radioactivity of students and staff at the campus of the University of Tampere on 22–26 January.
The measurements to be carried out by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) in Tampere are part of STUK's programme to measure the radioactivity of the population, which began in the 1960s. The STUK truck to be parked on the University of Tampere campus, is equipped with measuring equipment to detect gamma-emitting substances in humans. The fifteen-minute measurement reveals how much radioactivity is present in the body and what the radioactive substances are.
Volunteers have been sought for the measurements by offering measurement appointments to the University of Tampere staff and students.
On the basis of population measurements, STUK calculates the radiation doses that Finns receive from radioactive substances in their bodies and how much of this radiation dose comes from man-made, artificial radioactive substances.
The most significant of the artificial radioactive substances is cesium-137. The average annual radiation dose from caesium-137 is less than five microsieverts. These substances in the body do not endanger health.
Most of the radiation dose received by Finns is due to various external sources, especially indoor radon. The radiation dose caused by cesium-137 is less than one-thousandth of the total annual average dose of 5.9 millisieverts received by Finns from various sources.
