Question

What level of radiation can cause death?

Answer 1

It takes a very high radiation exposure to cause acute radiation syndrome—more than 75 radHelpradThe U.S. unit used to measure absorbed radiation dose (the amount of radiation absorbed by an object or person). The international equivalent is the Gray (Gy). One hundred rads are equal to 1 Gray. (0.75 grayHelpgrayA gray is the international unit used to measure absorbed dose (the amount of radiation absorbed by an object or person). The U.S. unit for absorbed dose is the rad. One gray is equal to 100 rads.) in a short time span (minutes to hours). This level of radiation would be like getting the radiation from 18,000 chest x-rays distributed over your entire body in this short period.