Use of Transportable Radiation Detection Instruments to Assess Internal Contamination from Intakes of Radionuclides Part II: Calibration Factors and ICAT Computer Program.

The detonation of a radiological dispersion device or other radiological incidents could result in widespread releases of radioactive materials and intakes of radionuclides by affected individuals. Transportable radiation monitoring instruments could be used to measure radiation from gamma-emitting radionuclides in the body for triaging individuals and assigning priorities to their bioassay samples for in vitro assessments. The present study derived sets of calibration factors for four instruments: the Ludlum Model 44-2 gamma scintillator, a survey meter containing a 2.54 × 2.54-cm NaI(Tl) crystal; the Captus 3000 thyroid uptake probe, which contains a 5.08 × 5.08-cm NaI(Tl) crystal; the Transportable Portal Monitor Model TPM-903B, which contains two 3.81 × 7.62 × 182.9-cm polyvinyltoluene plastic scintillators; and a generic instrument, such as an ionization chamber, that measures exposure rates. The calibration factors enable these instruments to be used for assessing inhaled or ingested intakes of any of four radionuclides: Co, I, Cs, and Ir. The derivations used biokinetic models embodied in the DCAL computer software system developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Monte Carlo simulations using the MCNPX radiation transport code. The three physical instruments were represented by MCNP models that were developed previously. The affected individuals comprised children of five ages who were represented by the revised Oak Ridge National Laboratory pediatric phantoms, and adult men and adult women represented by the Adult Reference Computational Phantoms described in Publication 110 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. These calibration factors can be used to calculate intakes; the intakes can be converted to committed doses by the use of tabulated dose coefficients. These calibration factors also constitute input data to the ICAT computer program, an interactive Microsoft Windows-based software package that estimates intakes of radionuclides and cumulative and committed effective doses, based on measurements made with these instruments. This program constitutes a convenient tool for assessing intakes and doses without consulting tabulated calibration factors and dose coefficients.

A technical basis for the continued use of exposure as an acceptable operational quantity in radiation protection.

Within the tabulated values of the new [to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)] radiation weighting factors, it can be seen that a doubling of the neutron factor occurs for the 0.1 to 2 MeV neutron energy range. Hence, with the effective replacement of the quality factor by these new radiation weighting factors (for the protection quantities), it has been widely understood that the new changes will most definitely impact neutron dosimetry. However, it is less well understood that the new changes could also affect photon (and beta) dosimetry, i.e., photon reference fields, instrument design, and instrument calibrations. This paper discusses the ramifications, and ultimately concludes that the use of exposure for workplace measurements complies with both current and amended DOE requirements.

High-energy response of the PRESCILA and WENDI-II neutron rem meters.

WENDI-II was designed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) specifically as a wide-range rem meter, suitable for applications at particle accelerators, with response extension to 5 GeV. PRESCILA was also designed at LANL, mainly as a lightweight alternative to traditional rem meters, but has shown excellent response characteristics above 20 MeV. This Note summarises measurements performed over a span of 4 y to characterise the high-energy neutron response (>20 MeV) of these meters to several hundred million electron volts. High-energy quasi-monoenergetic beams utilised as part of this study were produced by the cyclotron facilities at the Université Catholique de Louvain (33 and 60 MeV) and the T. Svedberg Laboratory ( 46, 95, 143 and 173 MeV). In addition, measurements were also conducted at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, 800 MeV spallation neutron source, in broad energy fields with an average energy of 345 MeV. For the sake of completeness, data collected between 2.5 and 19 MeV in monoenergetic neutron fields at the German Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) facility are also included in this study.

A 3He counter version of the Thermo Fisher Scientific NRD neutron rem meter.

Thermo Fisher Scientific's NRD rem meter has been in production for almost 40 y and is the primary rem meter in use at many U.S. Department of Energy facilities. An upgrade project was initiated at the Los Alamos National Laboratory with the primary goal of increasing the NRD's neutron sensitivity through the substitution of pressurized 3He gas (4 atmospheres) for the stock counter tube's BF3 fill gas. Historically, BF3 counters were far less expensive relative to 3He and were usually chosen on the basis of cost. That is no longer the case, with pricing for both types of counters being similar. Test results have shown that the 3He counter version of the NRD exhibits stable operation at a reasonable bias voltage and good gamma rejection. Sensitivity has been increased by about a factor of four with no penalty in cost.

High-energy response of passive dosemeters in use at LANL.

The high-energy neutron response of three passive dosemeters in use at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has been investigated using metrology-grade fields. The dosemeters include the LANL Model 8823 TLD badge and the LANL PN3 track etch device. Both are dosemeters of record at LANL. The third device was the Personal Neutron Dosemeter (PND), a superheated emulsion device, manufactured by Bubble Technology Industries, Inc. (BTI). The response of the three dosemeters at neutron energies exceeding 10 MeV was assessed with monoenergetic neutrons at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt facility (14.8 and 19 MeV). For the sake of completeness, data collected at lower energies are also included in this study. High-energy quasi-monoenergetic beams produced by the cyclotron facilities at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and the The Svedberg Laboratory (TSL) were also utilised as part of this study. These measurements were made to better understand and help interpret dosemeter readings obtained by workers at high-energy accelerators, such as the 800 MeV spallation neutron source facility located at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE).

Application of a sitting MIRD phantom for effective dose calculations.

In typical realistic scenarios, dose factors due to 60Co contaminated steel, used in consumer products, cannot be approximated by standard exposure geometries. It is then necessary to calculate the effective dose using an appropriate anthropomorphic phantom. MCNP calculations were performed using a MIRD human model in two settings. In the first, a male office worker is sitting in a chair containing contaminated steel, surrounded by contaminated furniture. In the second, a male driver is seated inside an automobile, the steel of which is uniformly contaminated. To accurately calculate the dose to lower body organs, especially the gonads, it was essential to modify the MIRD model to simulate two sitting postures: chair and driving position. The phantom modifications are described, and the results of the calculations are presented. In the case of the automobile scenarios, results are compared to those obtained using an isotropic fluence-to-dose conversion function.

Development of a portable high-energy neutron spectrometer.

The design of a portable high-energy (20-800 MeV) neutron spectrometer based on CsI or BaF2 is described. The particle discrimination properties of these scintillators allow the light-ion spallation products (p, d, t and alpha) from neutron interactions to be identified uniquely. One or more of the resulting pulse-height spectra can be unfolded to reveal the incident neutron spectrum. Dosimetric quantities can then be calculated based on the unfolded spectrum. Due to the high stopping power of these scintillators, modest-sized crystals are suitable for this application. Combined with advances in electronics, a lightweight instrument capable of on-line particle discrimination with a real-time display of neutron-induced count rate is feasible. Preliminary experimental data are presented, and the importance of validating MCNPX-generated response functions is discussed. A brief discussion on future work follows.

PRESCILA: a new, lightweight neutron rem meter.

Conventional neutron rem meters currently in use are based on 1960's technology that relies on a large neutron moderator assembly surrounding a thermal detector to achieve a rem-like response function over a limited energy range. Such rem meters present an ergonomic challenge, being heavy and bulky, and have caused injuries during radiation protection surveys. Another defect of traditional rem meters is a poor high-energy response above 10 MeV, which makes them unsuitable for applications at high-energy accelerator facilities. Proton Recoil Scintillator-Los Alamos (PRESCILA) was developed as a low-weight (2 kg) alternative capable of extended energy response, high sensitivity, and moderate gamma rejection. An array of ZnS(Ag) based scintillators is located inside and around a Lucite light guide, which couples the scintillation light to a sideview bialkali photomultiplier tube. The use of both fast and thermal scintillators allows the energy response function to be optimized for a wide range of operational spectra. The light guide and the borated polyethylene frame provide moderation for the thermal scintillator element. The scintillators represent greatly improved versions of the Hornyak and Stedman designs from the 1950's, and were developed in collaboration with Eljen Technology. The inherent pulse height advantage of proton recoils over electron tracks in the phosphor grains eliminates the need for pulse shape discrimination and makes it possible to use the PRESCILA probe with standard pulse height discrimination provided by off-the-shelf health physics counters. PRESCILA prototype probes have been extensively tested at both Los Alamos and the German Bureau of Standards, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. Test results are presented for energy response, directional dependence, linearity, sensitivity, and gamma rejection. Initial field tests have been conducted at Los Alamos and these results are also given. It is concluded that PRESCILA offers a viable, ergonomically superior, alternative to traditional rem meters that is effective for a wide range of neutron fields. The probe is capable of excellent sensitivity (40 counts per minute per microSv h-1 for 241AmBe) and extended energy response to beyond 20 MeV. Directional response is uniform (+/-15%) over a wide range of energies. Response linearity has been characterized to over 20 mSv h-1. Gamma rejection is effective in gamma fields up to 2 mSv h-1. The PRESCILA technology has been commercialized and is now offered under license by Ludlum Measurements, Inc.