Radiation protection to workers and public in general, in installations that use industrial radioisotopes
Abstract
This paper verifies the fulfilment that the dose rates in the surroundings of an installation that operates radioisotopes for industrial use with activities of at least 50 Ci. If it also meets the requirements established by the International Protocols for Radiation Protection for workers and public in general. In this particular case, it was validated the installation of nuclear radiations labs at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. The procedure was based in the construction of the geometry of the installation code MCNPX, detectors were placed at various points within and outside the installation, which allowed calculating photon fluency that cross the different containment barriers designed for this purpose. Using the respective conversion factors established by the International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP-74, 1997) for fluency conversion to dose which were achieved through calculating the different dose rates at these points, which were compared with experimental measurements. The results confirm that the installation meets the requirements for radiation protection and the most importantly fact is that some prevention tips were recommended.
Keywords
dose rate, radiation protection, industrial radiography.
Author Biography
Segundo Agustín Martínez Ovalle
Físico, Doctor en Bioingeniería y Física Médica, Profesor Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Grupo de Física Nuclear Aplicada y Simulación, Tunja - Boyacá, Colombia.
Faustino Reyes Caballero
Físico, Doctor en Ciencias-Física, Profesor Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Grupo de Física Nuclear Aplicada y Simulación, Tunja-Boyacá, Colombia
Laura Ximena González Puin
Física, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Grupo de Física Nuclear Aplicada y Simulación, Tunja-Boyacá, Colombia.
References
- BS 4094-1. (1996). British Standards Institution. Recommendation for data on shielding from ionizing radiation. Part. 1. Shielding from gamma radiation.
- ICRP 74. (1997). International commission on Radiological Protection. Conversion coefficients for use in radiological protection against external radiation.
- ICRP 103. (2007). International commission on Radiological Protection. Recommendations of the International commission on radiological protection.
- ICRU 57. (1996). International Commission on Radiation Units & Measurements. Conversion coefficients for use in radiological protection against external radiation.
- Martínez Ovalle, S.A., Barquero, S.A., Gómez Ros, R., Gómez Ros, J.M., Lallena, A.M. (2012). Ambient neutron dose equivalent outside concrete vault rooms for 15 and 18 MV radiotherapy accelerators. Radiation Protection Dosimetry. 148 (4), 457-464.
- OIEA. (1996). Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica. Manual práctico de seguridad radiológica. Manual sobre gammagrafía industrial.
- Pelowitz, D.B. (2005). MCNPX User’s Manual Version 2.5.0, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- Safety Reports-13. (1999). Radiation Protection and Safety in Industrial Radiography. IAEA, Austria.
- British Standards Institution [BS 4094-1] (1996). Recommendation for data on shielding from ionizing radiation. Part. 1. Shielding from gamma radiation.
- International commission on Radiological Protection [ICRP 74] (1997). Conversion coefficients for use in radiological protection against external radiation.
- International commission on Radiological Protection [ICRP 103] (2007). Recommendations of the International commission on radiological protection.
- International Commission on Radiation Units & Measurements [ICRU 57] (1996). Conversion coefficients for use in radiological protection against external radiation.
- Martínez Ovalle, S.A., Barquero, S.A., Gómez Ros, R., Gómez Ros, J.M., Lallena, A.M. (2012). Ambient neutron dose equivalent outside concrete vault rooms for 15 and 18 MV radiotherapy accelerators. Radiation Protection Dosimetry. 148 (4), 457-464.
- Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica [OIEA] (1996). Manual práctico de seguridad radiológica. Manual sobre gammagrafía industrial.
- Pelowitz, D.B. (2005). MCNPX User’s Manual Version 2.5.0, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- Safety Reports-13. (1999). Radiation Protection and Safety in Industrial Radiography. IAEA, Austria.