Total effective dose equivalent assessment after exposure to high-level natural radiation using the RESRAD code

The radiation dose to patients and personnel was estimated during 11 percutaneous renal stone extractions. For the patients the energy imparted, the mean absorbed dose to various organs, and the effective dose equivalent were estimated. For different personnel categories some organ doses and the effective dose equivalent were also estimated. Large differences in the radiation dose between patients were observed. The mean effective dose equivalent to the patient was 4.2 (range 0.6–8.3) mSv, and the energy imparted 285 (range 50–500) mJ. These figures are comparable to those reported for routine colon examination and urography. For the personnel there were also large differences between individuals and categories. The highest radiation dose was received by the radiologist. It was estimated that a radiologist who performs 150 percutaneous renal stone extractions per year will receive a yearly contribution to his/her effective dose equivalent of 2.4 mSv. Even when the contribution from other diagnostic and interventional radiologic procedures is added, the total effective dose equivalent hardly exceeds 5 mSv or 1/10 of the present dose limit for persons engaged in radiologic work. For the hands of the radiologist there is a risk of doses closer to the present limit for single organs or tissues of 500 mSv/year.

Download Full-text

Radiological consequences assessment of a hypothetical accident during transportation of spent nuclear fuel

Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection ◽

10.2298/ntrp180917003c ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 94-101

Author(s):

Bo Cao ◽

Weijie Cui

Keyword(s):

Effective Dose ◽

Effective Dose Equivalent ◽

Nuclear Fuels ◽

Dose Equivalent ◽

The Public ◽

Hypothetical Accident ◽

Ground Deposition ◽

Total Effective Dose Equivalent ◽

Reprocessing Plant ◽

Total Effective Dose

During the transportation of spent nuclear fuels, the potential release of the radioactive materials into the atmosphere in the case of an accident becomes a serious threat to public health and the environment. In China, a commercial reprocessing plant is planned to be commissioned around 2025 based on the China nuclear roadmap. After being cooled on site the spent nuclear fuels are transported to the reprocessing plant by train or truck. This requires the assessment of radiological consequences of such accidents during transportation, therefore dose calculations under hypothetical accident conditions have been presented in this paper. The total effective dose equivalent and ground deposition are calculated using the HotSpot health physics computer code with site-specific meteorological conditions. The results indicate that the total effective dose equivalent and ground deposition are both decreased with the increase of the downwind distance. The maximum of the total effective dose equivalent is about 1.4?101 Sv, which is larger than the regulation limit for the public. The TEDE counter plot shows that the inner regions marked with dose contours of 1.0?10?3 Sv are higher than the regulation limits for the public, however this needs no intervention but any unnecessary trip to this area should be avoided.

Download Full-text