Measurement of UV radiation in commercial aircraft
Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is significantly higher at aviation altitudes with respect to sea level.
Cockpit windshields protect pilots from UV-B radiation but studies have shown that this is not
necessarily the case for UV-A radiation. This work investigates the spectral properties of several
windshields under flight conditions. Only one of the investigated windshields showed good UV-A
attenuation. Furthermore, the altitude dependence of UV-A irradiance behind a windshield was
measured with high spatial resolution. Measurements of the maximal UV irradiance behind the
windshield surfaces and at the pilot ’s positio...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 21, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Kai Schennetten, Matthias M Meier and Markus Scheibinger Source Type: research
Dosimetry of indigenously developed 177 Lu patch source for surface brachytherapy —Experimental and
Monte Carlo methods
This paper describes the evaluation of dosimetry characteristics of an in-house developed 177 Lu
skin patch source for treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer. A 177 Lu skin patch source based on
Nafion-115 membrane backbone containing 3.46 ± 0.01 mCi of activity was used. Activity measurement
of the patch source was based on gamma ray spectrometry using a HPGe detector. The efficiencies of
the HPGe detector were fitted using an orthogonal polynomial function. The absorbed dose rate to
water at 5 μ m depth in water was determined using an extrapolation chamber, EBT3 Gafchromic film
and compared with Monte Carlo me...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 20, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Sridhar Sahoo, Vandana Shrivastava, T Palani Selvam, A K Bakshi, Rajesh Kumar, P Rama, D Datta, S Chinnaesakki, S K Saxena, Yogendra Kumar and A Dash Source Type: research
A simple method to monitor the dose rate of secondary cosmic radiation at altitude
Monitoring the ambient dose equivalent rate at aviation altitudes is an ambitious task, which
requires sophisticated dosemeter systems and the possibility to carry out such measurements on board
aircraft. A rather simple approach has been investigated in this study: soundings with weather
balloons up to an altitude of 30 km. This paper summarises the measurements carried out between 2011
and 2016. The results indicate that annual measurements of the ambient dose equivalent rate at
altitudes of around 20 km are a reliable tool to monitor the variation of the dose rate in the
atmosphere owing to the solar activity....
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 20, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: F Wissmann and Th Klages Source Type: research
Increased radiation dose and projected radiation-related lifetime cancer risk in patients with
obesity due to projection radiography
Purpose. Primarily to evaluate the radiation dose delivered to patients with obesity in projection
radiography and its relationship to the patient ’s size. A secondary purpose is to estimate the
subsequent projected radiation-related lifetime cancer risk to patients with obesity compared to
normal-weight patients. Method and material . Data from 1964 patients from a bariatric clinic in the
UK were reviewed with the relevant permission. 630 patients were identified to have a projection
radiography history and were included in the study. Patients ’ dose area product (DAP) data were
collected for all projection radi...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 20, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Saeed J M Alqahtani, Richard Welbourn, Judith R Meakin, Rachel M Palfrey, Susan J Rimes, Katharine Thomson and Karen M Knapp Source Type: research
Validation of the MCNP6 code for SFR shielding design analysis
In this paper, the uncertainty of the Monte Carlo code MCNP6 for the sodium-cooled fast reactor
(SFR) shielding design is studied. Shielding analysis, which ensures the radiation safety of the
core design, is challenging for the Monte Carlo modeling because it is associated with large
uncertainties. In order to evaluate the performance of the MCNP6 relative to the shielding design of
the SFR, four SFR shielding benchmarks from the Shielding Integral Benchmark Archive Database
benchmark suite, i.e. JANUS Phase VIII, SDT12, EURAC_Na and HARMO_Na were selected and analysed. In
this research, the weight window variance-r...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 4, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Tuan Quoc Tran, Sanggeol Jeong, Khang Nhat Hoang Nguyen, Hyunsuk Lee, Sooyoung Choi, Peng Zhang, Min Jae Lee, Jae-Yong Lim and Deokjung Lee Source Type: research
Formation of radioactive waste in Estonian water treatment plants
In northern Estonia, higher levels of Ra-226 and Ra-228 concentrations give rise to problems with
water treatment plants (WTPs) using Cambrian-Vendian (Cm-V) aquifer. During water treatment
processes, radionuclides accumulate in the filter material to a level where the material could be
classified as a radioactive material. In order to understand the scope of the problem, a nation-wide
survey was carried out among the Cm-V fed treatment plants. Filter material and water samples were
collected from 18 Estonian WTPs to analyse the activity concentration of Ra-226 and Ra-228 in filter
materials and also the radium treat...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 4, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: M Leier, M Kiisk, S Suursoo, T Vaasma and K Putk Source Type: research
Highlights of articles in this issue
Highlights of the articles in this issue are given in the PDF file. (Source: Journal of Radiological Protection)
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 26, 2018 Category: Physics Source Type: research
Erratum: Internal doses from radionuclides and their health effects following the Fukushima accident
(2018 J . Radiol. Prot . 38 [http://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/aadb4c] 1253 –68 )
Description unavailable (Source: Journal of Radiological Protection)
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 23, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Tetsuo Ishikawa, Masaki Matsumoto, Tatsuhiko Sato, Ichiro Yamaguchi and Michiaki Kai Source Type: research
68 Ga-DOTA-TATE —a source of eye lens exposure for nuclear medicine department workers
Introduction. Obtaining 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE (a radioconjugate consisting of the somatostatin analogue
tyrosine-3-octreotate (Tyr3-octreotate or TATE) labelled with the positron emission tomography
tracer gallium 68 Ga via the macrocyclic chelating agent dodecanetetraacetic acid (DOTA)) is a
complex process and, as with any radiopharmaceutical whose basis is a short-lived radionuclide
generator, it is based on a sequence of procedures beginning from the 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generator
elution, labelling ligands with a radioisotope, dispensing doses of 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE for patients and
finally injection of the preparation to patient...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 23, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: M Wrzesie ń and Ł Albiniak Source Type: research
Reply to Comment on ‘Environmental monitoring through the use of silica-based TLD’
Description unavailable (Source: Journal of Radiological Protection)
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 22, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Z Siti Rozaila, M U Khandaker, S F Abdul Sani, Siti Norbaini Sabtu, Y M Amin, M J Maah and D A Bradley Source Type: research
Professional ethics in radiological protection
Professionals in the field of radiological protection from sources of ionising radiation are subject
to various codes of ethics published by the professional organisations and associations representing
the community of radiological scientists and practitioners. The community and its individual members
accept the codes ’ terms and conditions, and understand the professional consequences of
non-compliance. However, while these codes of ethics may be prescriptive with respect to the general
understanding of ‘ethical behaviour’ or ‘professional conduct’ of radiological protection
professionals, they often provi...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 22, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Alexander Brandl and Manfred Tschurlovits Source Type: research
Effect of age-related baseline risk on radiation dose response for coronary heart disease
We attempted to estimate the mortality risk of radiation-associated coronary heart disease (CHD) by
using a model in which radiation was assumed to participate in the atherosclerotic process jointly
with ageing. Model parameters were determined by fitting the Life Span Study data of atomic bomb
survivors. According to the model, the excess relative risk (ERR) varies depending on the baseline
risk; when applied to the death statistics of Japan and the USA, the estimated ERR was consistently
higher in the Japanese population. The absolute risk showed an opposite trend, such that the
estimated lifetime attributable risk...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 6, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Shogo Horita, Tomoko Kusama and Nobuhiko Ban Source Type: research
Study of CdTe detection efficiency for medical applications using Geant4-based stochastic
simulations
The determination of detection efficiency and peak-to-total ratios has been performed for
rectangular CdTe detectors for various x-ray and low-energy γ -ray source configurations including
parallel beams, point, and cylindrical sources. The dependence of efficiency values on axial and
off-axial distances, detector thickness and area, and source dimensions has been studied. The
detector model developed in this work has been validated by comparing the Monte Carlo simulated
values of detector efficiency for a parallel incident beam with the available published data and
good agreement has been found with discrepancies r...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 6, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Abdul Basit, M Tariq Siddique, Sikander M Mirza, Shakeel Ur Rehman and M Y Hamza Source Type: research
Large-scale individual thyroid monitoring following nuclear accidents by means of non-spectrometric
devices
In order to properly respond to an emergency caused by an accident in a nuclear power plant with a
spread of radionuclides in the atmosphere, we propose a field procedure to perform a large-scale
individual thyroid monitoring of internal contamination due to inhalation of 131 I, by means of
non-spectrometric equipment, in particular dose rate meters. Specific attention is paid to the
individual monitoring of children, because of the very high radiosensitivity of the child ’s thyroid
to the carcinogenic effects of ionising radiation. The device performance was evaluated by measuring
mock iodine sources provided in t...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 6, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: I Vilardi, G Antonacci, P Battisti, S Bortoluzzi, C-M Castellani, GM Contessa, N Di Marco, I Giardina, G Iurlaro, G La Notte, L Sperandio and S Zicari Source Type: research
Radiation interaction parameters of dosimetric importance for some commonly used compensators in
IMRT using Monte Carlo simulation code
Radiotherapy is one of the commonly used treatments for cancer. A compensator is a device used in
intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatments to compensate for the irregularities of the body.
One can provide a more uniform distribution of dose for the treatment of tumors using compensators
in IMRT to obtain a better therapeutic outcome. A variety of compensators are used in IMRT. One high
Z (cerrobend), two medium Z (brass and steel) and one low Z (lucite) compensators are selected for
the present study. The mass attenuation coefficients have been computed in an energy range of 15 keV
to 15 MeV using XCOM prog...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - October 9, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Ashok Kumar, Ramandeep Kaur, M G Dong, M I Sayyed and H O Tekin Source Type: research
