Other sources of radiation exposure (per incident)
Airline travel
0.001–0.014/hour of flight
Dental x-rays
0.005
Chest x-ray (back-to-front view)
0.02
Chest x-ray (two views: back-to-front and side-to-side)
0.1
Mammography
0.4
Computed tomography of the head
2
Computed tomography of the chest, abdomen, or pelvis
6-8
Barium enema
8
Nuclear medicine (for example a bone scan)
4.2
* Average value. Most people receive much lower doses each year, from examinations such as dental x-rays and mammograms, whereas a smaller number of ill or injured people require numerous imaging tests and thus receive much larger doses.
Data from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Ionizing radiation exposure of the population of the United States. NCRP Report No. 160 National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD, 2009.
