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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Conversions and Units." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants: Phase 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21874.
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Appendix C

Conversions and Units

Distance-Related Conversions
kilometers (km) and miles (mi) 1 km = 0.62 mi 1 mi = 1.6 km
km2 (square kilometers) and mi2 (square miles) 1 km2 = 0.39 mi2 1 mi2 = 2.59 km2
m (meters) and ft (feet) 1 m = 3.28 ft 1 ft = 0.30 m
m3 (cubic meters) and ft3 (cubic feet) 1 m3 = 35.32 ft3 1 ft3 = 0.03 m3
km/hr (kilometers per hour) and mph (miles per hour) 1 km/hr = 0.62 mph 1 mph = 1.6 km/hr
Radiation-Related Conversions
mSv (millisieverts), mrem (millirem), and mGya (milligray) 1 mSv = 100 mrem = 1 mGy 1 mrem = 0.01 mSv = 0.01 mGy
Bq (becquerels) and Ci (curies) 1 Bq = 2.7 × 10−11 Ci 1 Ci = 3.7 × 1010 Bq
Other
MJ (megajoules) and kWhr (kilowatt hours) 1 MJ = 0.28 kWhr 1 kWhr = 3.6 MJ
MPa (megapascals) and psi (pounds per square inch) 1 MPa = 145 psi 1 psi = 0.007 MPa
Celsius and Fahrenheit °C = (5/9)* (°F − 32°) °F = (9/5)* °C +32°
metric tons and pounds (lbs) 1 metric ton = 2204.6 lbs
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Conversions and Units." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants: Phase 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21874.
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Prefixes
pico- 10-12
micro- 10-6
milli- 10-3
kilo- 103
mega- 106
giga- 109
tera- 1012
peta- 1015

a Millisieverts and millirem are units of effective dose, whereas milligray is a unit of absorbed dose. They are numerically equivalent when exposure is from gamma rays and x-rays.

Unit of Measure Abbreviation Type of Measure
Becquerel Bq radiation activity
Celsius C temperature
centimeters cm distance
Fahrenheit F temperature
feet ft distance
gallon gal volume
gallons per minute gpm flow rate
Gray Gy absorbed radiation dose
Joule J energy
kilogram kg mass
kilometers km distance
kilopascals kPa pressure
kilovolts kV electrical potential
kilowatt kW electrical power
kilowatt-hour kWhr energy
liters per minute Lpm flow rate
megapascals MPa pressure
megawatts electric MWe electrical power
meters m distance
millimeters mm distance
millirem mrem effective radiation dose
millisievert mSv effective radiation dose
newton N force
pound lb mass
pounds per square inch psi pressure
volts V electrical potential
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Conversions and Units." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants: Phase 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21874.
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Page 215
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Conversions and Units." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants: Phase 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21874.
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Page 216
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The U.S. Congress asked the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a technical study on lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident for improving safety and security of commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. This study was carried out in two phases: Phase 1, issued in 2014, focused on the causes of the Fukushima Daiichi accident and safety-related lessons learned for improving nuclear plant systems, operations, and regulations exclusive of spent fuel storage. This Phase 2 report focuses on three issues: (1) lessons learned from the accident for nuclear plant security, (2) lessons learned for spent fuel storage, and (3) reevaluation of conclusions from previous Academies studies on spent fuel storage.

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