Question:
Which of the following statements best describes 'background radiation'?
Which of the following statements best describes 'background radiation'?
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Always present, comes from cosmic rays, soil, radon, and the body itself.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Radiation in the background of nuclear reactors
- Radiation in the background during radiological investigations
- Radiation present constantly from natural sources
- Radiation from nuclear fall out
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Background radiation is the ever-present, low-level ionizing radiation that everyone is exposed to all the time, independent of any medical or industrial activity.
Step 2: Its main sources are natural. They include cosmic rays from space, terrestrial gamma rays from radioactive elements in soil and rocks such as uranium, thorium, and potassium-40, radon gas in air, and naturally occurring radionuclides inside the body.
Step 3: Option C captures this idea exactly: radiation present constantly from natural sources. This is the textbook definition.
Step 4: Why the others are wrong. Radiation near reactors and radiation from nuclear fallout are man-made and event-specific, not the constant baseline. Radiation during radiological investigations is medical exposure added on top of background, not background itself.
Step 5: So background radiation is the constant radiation from natural sources.
Answer: Option C.
Step 2: Its main sources are natural. They include cosmic rays from space, terrestrial gamma rays from radioactive elements in soil and rocks such as uranium, thorium, and potassium-40, radon gas in air, and naturally occurring radionuclides inside the body.
Step 3: Option C captures this idea exactly: radiation present constantly from natural sources. This is the textbook definition.
Step 4: Why the others are wrong. Radiation near reactors and radiation from nuclear fallout are man-made and event-specific, not the constant baseline. Radiation during radiological investigations is medical exposure added on top of background, not background itself.
Step 5: So background radiation is the constant radiation from natural sources.
Answer: Option C.
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