Simulation of the dose rate per activity of beta-emitting radionuclides.

The dose rate per activity was simulated for 10 beta-emitting radionuclides and for different activity distributions (point source, areal sources and a semi-infinite volume source). The results are given for 7 different distances from the source (from 0.01 to 2 m) for both contributions: the beta- and electron-emission, and the X- and gamma-emission. Data are provided for both operational quantities and organ doses: Hp(0.07), Hp(3), Hp(10), Hskin and Hlens. Finally, a software applicaton to interpolate the dose rate per activity due to the beta-emission of arbitrary radionuclides is presented and a simple superposition of these data and of gamma-ray dose constants to calculate the total dose rate is described.

Comparison of two different types of LiF:Mg,Cu,P thermoluminescent dosimeters for detection of beta rays (beta-TLDs) from 90Sr/90Y, 85Kr and 147Pm sources.

Targeted radionuclide therapies in nuclear medicine departments increasingly depend on using unsealed beta radiation sources in the labeling of peptides and antibodies. Monitoring doses received by the fingers and hands during these procedures is best accomplished with TLD dosimeters that can be located at the fingertips. The present study examines the response of two TLD dosimeters (MCP-Ns and GR200A) to 90Sr/90Y, 85Kr, and 147Pm. The dosimeters were supplied by two different services, and all irradiations were performed at the PTB Institute in Germany. Each dosimetry service evaluated the dosimeters without knowledge that they had been purposefully irradiated. The accuracy and precision of the dosimeters were evaluated as a function of delivered dose, energy of beta particles and angular incidence. The results are compared to performance measures recommended by the IEC. Both dosimeter types displayed significant energy dependence. Angular dependence was moderate. Accuracy and precision as a function of dose (linearity) differed between the two systems, with the MCP-Ns being noticeably better than the GR200A. The superior precision makes the MCP-Ns much more useful for extremity dose measurements. The differences between these two dosimeter systems reinforce the need to evaluate a dosimeter carefully before using it in the daily work routine.

A new approach to determine 147Pm in irradiated fuel solutions.

Developments carried out in the Laboratory of Isotopic, Nuclear and Elementary Analyses in order to quantify (147)Pm in spent nuclear fuels analyzed at the CEA within the framework of the Burn Up Credit research program for neutronic code validation are presented here. This determination is essential for safety-criticality studies. The quantity and the nature of the radionuclides in irradiated fuel solutions force us to separate the elements of interest before measuring their isotopic content by mass spectrometry. The main objective of this study is to modify the separation protocol used in our laboratory in order to recover and to measure the (147)Pm at the same time as the other lanthanides and actinides determined by mass spectrometry. A very complete study on synthetic solution (containing or not (147)Pm) was undertaken in order to determine the yield of the various stages of separation carried out before obtaining the isolated Pm fraction from the whole of the elements present in the spent fuel solutions. With the lack of natural tracer to carry out the measurement with the isotope dilution technique, the great number of isotopes in fuel, the originality of this work rests on the use of another present lanthanide in fuel to define the output of separation. The yields were measured at the conclusion of each stage of separation with two others lanthanides in order to show that one of them could be used as a tracer to correct the measurement of the (147)Pm with the separation yield. The total yield (at the conclusion of the two stages of separation) was measured at the same time by ICP-MS and liquid scintillation. This last determination made it possible to validate the use of the (147)Sm (natural) to measure the (147)Pm in ICP-MS since the outputs determined in liquid scintillation and ICP-MS (starting from the radioactive decrease of the source having been used to make the synthetic solution) were equivalent. It is the first time that such measurement is performed in ICP-MS. The measurement of the (147)Pm was finally taken on fuels UOx and MOx by using the (153)Eu like a tracer of the separation yield. The results obtained are in very good agreement with those obtained from neutronic calculation code.

Direct determination of 90Sr and 147Pm in Chernobyl hot particles collected in Kiev using beta absorption method.

59 hot particles were collected in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1987. All but one were prepared from a moss carpet of 360 cm2 area. Radionuclide composition of the hot particles was investigated by gamma-spectrometry and beta absorption method. Pure beta emitters 90Sr and 147Pm were determined in 25 hot particles measuring the beta absorption curves of the hot particles with an end-window Geiger-Müller counter and decomposing the curves in order to obtain the contributions of 90Sr and 147Pm to the total beta counting rate. All but one of the hot particles were found to be the debris of the fuel. The activity ratio 90Sr:l44Ce was 0.052 in good agreement with theoretical calculations on core inventories. This means that strontium behaved as a nonvolatile element in the process of the formation of the hot particles investigated. The activity ratio 147Pm:144Ce was 0.078 which is half of the theoretical result. Although 147Pm is considered to be a refractory nuclide, it seems that significant part of 147Pm went to the homogeneous fraction of the general fallout. The surface density of hot particles (of higher than about 50 Bq activity) was about 1,600 m(-2) and that of the activities of the nuclides 90Sr, 106Ru, 134Cs, 137Cs, 144Ce and 147Pm as components of hot particles was 12.2, 54.3, 5.9, 9.7, 234 and 18.3 kBq m(-2) (activity values counted for 26 April 1986), respectively, in downtown Kiev city in 1987.

A Monte Carlo approach to assessing 147Pm in the liver of the adult phantom.

A low-background phoswich detector is used to detect small amounts of 147Pm--a pure beta-emitting nuclide--present in the liver of an occupational worker. The assessment was based on the measurement of bremsstrahlung radiation produced by the beta particles in the tissue. Computer programs based on Monte Carlo techniques for photon transport have been developed to calculate the response of an external phoswich detector to 1) a 147Pm point source embedded in tissue-equivalent slabs of various thicknesses; and 2) various source distributions of 147Pm in the liver of an adult phantom. The goal is to theoretically calibrate the phoswich detector for each source distribution and to study the variation of maxima of the spectra with the depth of the source in the adult phantom liver and tissue-equivalent slabs. The initial bremsstrahlung photon distribution of 147Pm in water has been computed using Wyard's and Pratt's methods. These calculations have been compared with experimental measurements using Perspex acrylic sheet slabs. Good agreements have been noted when the initial bremsstrahlung spectrum is obtained by using Wyard's method. These results find applications in monitoring the liver burdens in occupational workers handling 147Pm-based radioluminous paints.