Among Other Problems with Smoking, There Is a Danger from Radiation

question 100

Multiple Choice

Among other problems with smoking, there is a danger from radiation, according to the following report. "Tobacco plants are grown in soils with high phosphate fertilizers that are naturally contaminated with the alpha-particle emitting radionuclide polonium-210. In one year, the average smoker will irradiate the bronchial epithelium with 8 to 9 rem, the equivalent dose of radiation from 250 to 300 chest X-ray films per year" (Pediatrics, September 1993, p. 464) . How does this annual dose from tobacco compare to an average annual dose of 3.6 mSv that a nonsmoker receives from background radiation? (1 Sv = 100 rem)

• A)about 250 times more
• B)about 25 times more
• C)about 3 times more
• D)about 1/4 as much
• E)about 1/3 as much

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Definitions:

Longitudinal Design

A research strategy where data is collected from the same subjects repeatedly over a period of time.

Different Ages

Distinct stages in life characterized by unique physical, psychological, and social milestones.

Single Group

A group consisting of subjects who are exposed to an experimental or treatment condition, without a separate control group for comparison.

Cross-sectional

A research design that collects data from different participants at a single point in time to compare across groups or variables.