Quality factor, effective

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The Radiological Protection Ordinance of 1989 uses the quality factor Q or the effective quality factor Q_eff instead of the radiation weighting factor. The effective quality factor considers the probability of stochastic radiation effects, depending on the respective radiation type. The values of the effective quality factor Q _eff depend on the exposure conditions and the type and energy of incident radiation. In the case of external whole-body irradiation and generally also for other exposure conditions the following values may be used for the effective quality factor Q_eff.

Radiation	Qeff
Roentgen and gamma radiation, beta radiation, electrons, positrons	1
Neutrons of unknown energy	10
Alpha radiation	20

Effective quality factor, Radiological Protection Ordinance of 1989

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