# Banana equivalent radiation dose

By [louis131420](https://paragraph.com/@louis131420) · 2021-10-29

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As with all living things on earth, potassium-containing bananas emit [radioactivity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactivity) at very low levels occurring naturally from [potassium-40](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium-40) (40K or K-40),[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-frame-22) which is one of several [isotopes of potassium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_potassium).[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-Brod78-23)[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-CassWu07-24) The [banana equivalent dose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose) of radiation was developed in 1995 as a simple teaching-tool to educate the public about the natural, small amount of K-40 radiation occurring in every human and in common foods.[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-bed-25)[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-edwards-26) The K-40 in a banana emits about 15 [becquerels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becquerel) or 0.1 micro-[sieverts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert) (units of radioactivity exposure),[\[27\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-munroe-27) an amount that does not add to the total body radiation dose when a banana is consumed.[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-frame-22)[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#cite_note-edwards-26)

This is because the radiation exposure from consuming one banana is only 1% of the average daily exposure to radiation, 50 times less than a typical [dental x-ray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_radiography) and 400 times less than taking a [commercial flight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airliner) across the United States.

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*Originally published on [louis131420](https://paragraph.com/@louis131420/banana-equivalent-radiation-dose)*