Effective dose

The limiting dose quantity effective dose (E) represents the risk of cancer due to exposure to ionizing radiation. The corresponding unit is sievert (Sv).

The effective dose is obtained by multiplying the equivalent dose (H_T) for each organ T by the tissue weighting factor (w_T) for that organ, and subsequently sum all the products:

E = ∑ w_T H_T

In order to reduce the risk of stochastic radiation effects to an acceptable value, the Decree on Basic Standards Radiation Protection poses a limit on the anual effective dose (see table below).

Related quantities

• absorbed dose
• ambient dose equivalent
• collective effective dose
• committed effective dose
• committed equivalent dose
• directional dose equivalent
• equivalent dose
• exposure
• irradiation geometry
• kerma
• personal dose equivalent
• radiation weighting factor
• tissue weighting factor