Internal contamination due to high-energy photon (HEP) emitters is assessed using a scanning bed whole-body monitor housed in a steel room at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The monitor consists of a (203 mm diameter × 102 mm thickness) NaI(Tl) detector and is calibrated using a Reference BOMAB phantom representative of an average Indian radiation worker. However, a series of different size physical phantoms are required to account for size variability in workers, which is both expensive and time consuming. Therefore, a theoretical approach based on Monte Carlo techniques has been employed to calibrate the system in scanning geometry with BOMAB phantoms of different sizes characterised by their weight (W) and height (H) for several radionuclides of interest ((131)I, (137)Cs, (60)Co and (40)K). A computer program developed for this purpose generates the detector response and the detection efficiencies (DEs) for the BARC Reference phantom (63 kg/168 cm), ICRP Reference male phantom (70 kg/170 cm) and several of its scaled versions. The results obtained for different size phantoms indicated a decreasing trend of DEs with the increase in W/H values of the phantoms. The computed DEs for uniform distribution of (137)Cs in BOMAB phantom varied from 3.52 × 10(-3) to 2.88 × 10(-3) counts per photon as the W/H values increased from 0.26 to 0.50. The theoretical results obtained for the BARC Reference phantom have been verified with experimental measurements. The Monte Carlo results from this study will be useful for in vivo assessment of HEP emitters in radiation workers of different physiques.
The adult reference male and female computational voxel phantoms recommended by ICRP are adapted into the Monte Carlo transport code FLUKA. The FLUKA code is then utilised for computation of dose conversion coefficients (DCCs) expressed in absorbed dose per air kerma free-in-air for colon, lungs, stomach wall, breast, gonads, urinary bladder, oesophagus, liver and thyroid due to a broad parallel beam of mono-energetic photons impinging in anterior-posterior and posterior-anterior directions in the energy range of 15 keV-10 MeV. The computed DCCs of colon, lungs, stomach wall and breast are found to be in good agreement with the results published in ICRP publication 110. The present work thus validates the use of FLUKA code in computation of organ DCCs for photons using ICRP adult voxel phantoms. Further, the DCCs for gonads, urinary bladder, oesophagus, liver and thyroid are evaluated and compared with results published in ICRP 74 in the above-mentioned energy range and geometries. Significant differences in DCCs are observed for breast, testis and thyroid above 1 MeV, and for most of the organs at energies below 60 keV in comparison with the results published in ICRP 74. The DCCs of female voxel phantom were found to be higher in comparison with male phantom for almost all organs in both the geometries.
The ICRP/ICRU adult male reference voxel phantom incorporated in Monte Carlo code FLUKA is used for estimating specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) for photons due to the presence of internal radioactive contamination in the human respiratory tract (RT). The compartments of the RT, i.e. extrathoracic (ET1 and ET2) and thoracic (bronchi, bronchioles, alveolar interstitial) regions, lymph nodes of both regions and lungs are considered as the source organs. The nine organs having high tissue weighting factors such as colon, lungs, stomach wall, breast, testis, urinary bladder, oesophagus, liver and thyroid and the compartments of the RT are considered as target organs. Eleven photon energies in the range of 15 keV to 4 MeV are considered for each source organ and the computed SAF values are presented in the form of tables. For the target organs in the proximity of the source organ including the source organ itself, the SAF values are relatively higher and decrease with increase in energy. As the distance between source and target organ increases, SAF values increase with energy and reach maxima depending on the position of the target organ with respect to the source organ. The SAF values are relatively higher for the target organs with smaller masses. Large deviations are seen in computed SAF values from the existing MIRD phantom data for most of the organs. These estimated SAF values play an important role in the estimation of equivalent dose to various target organs of a worker due to intake by inhalation pathway.
This paper describes a methodology to estimate embedded activity of (241)Am and Pu isotopes in a wound at an unknown depth. Theoretical calibration of an array of high-purity germanium detectors is carried out using the Monte Carlo code 'FLUKA' for a (241)Am source embedded at different depths in a soft tissue phantom of dimension 10 × 10 × 4 cm(3) simulating the palm of a worker. It is observed that, in the case of contamination due to pure (241)Am, the ratio of counts in 59.5 and 17.8 keV (Ratio 1) should be used to evaluate the depth, whereas the ratio of counts in 59.5 and 26.3 keV (Ratio 2) should be used when the contamination is due to a mixture of Pu and (241)Am compounds. Variations in the calibration factors (CFs) as well as in the Ratio 1 and Ratio 2 values are insignificant when source dimensions are varied from a point source to a 15-mm diameter circle. It is observed that tissue-equivalent polymethyl methacrylate material can be used in the phantom to estimate the embedded activity, when the activity is located at a depth of <1 cm, as the corresponding CFs do not show much variation with respect to those estimated using the phantom containing soft tissue material. In all other cases, an appropriate soft tissue-equivalent material should be used in the phantom for the estimation of CFs and ratios. The CFs thus obtained will be helpful in an accurate estimation of the depth of the wound and the activity embedded therein in the palm of a radiation worker.
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