Sievert Nuclear Regulatory Commission permits the use of the units curie, rad, and rem alongside SI units, the European Union European units of measurement directives required that their use for "public health ... purposes" be phased out by 31 December 1985. An older unit for the dose equivalent is the rem, still often used in the United States. One sievert is equal to 100 rem: Sievert The sievert (symbol: Sv) is a derived unit of ionizing radiation dose in the International System of Units (SI) and is a measure of the health effect of low levels of ionizing radiation on the
Non-ionizing radiation on this matter. Currently regulatory bodies around the world have not seen the need to change current safety standards. Near ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwave, radio waves, and low-frequency radio frequency (longwave) are all examples of non-ionizing radiation. By contrast, far ultraviolet light, X-rays, gamma-rays, and all particle radiation from radioactive decay are regarded as ionizing. Visible and near ultraviolet electromagnetic radiation may induce photochemical reactions, or accelerate radical reactions, such as photochemical aging of varnishes or the breakdown of flavoring compounds in beer to produce the "lightstruck flavor". Near ultraviolet radiation, although technically non-ionizing, may still excite and cause