EURADOS STRATEGIC RESEARCH AGENDA 2020: VISION FOR THE DOSIMETRY OF IONISING RADIATION.

Since 2012, the European Radiation Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) has developed its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), which contributes to the identification of future research needs in radiation dosimetry in Europe. Continued scientific developments in this field necessitate regular updates and, consequently, this paper summarises the latest revision of the SRA, with input regarding the state of the art and vision for the future contributed by EURADOS Working Groups and through a stakeholder workshop. Five visions define key issues in dosimetry research that are considered important over at least the next decade. They include scientific objectives and developments in (i) updated fundamental dose concepts and quantities, (ii) improved radiation risk estimates deduced from epidemiological cohorts, (iii) efficient dose assessment for radiological emergencies, (iv) integrated personalised dosimetry in medical applications and (v) improved radiation protection of workers and the public. This SRA will be used as a guideline for future activities of EURADOS Working Groups but can also be used as guidance for research in radiation dosimetry by the wider community. It will also be used as input for a general European research roadmap for radiation protection, following similar previous contributions to the European Joint Programme for the Integration of Radiation Protection Research, under the Horizon 2020 programme (CONCERT). The full version of the SRA is available as a EURADOS report (www.eurados.org).

CHARACTERIZATION OF CLYC SCINTILLATOR COUPLED WITH PHOTOMULTIPLIERS AND A LARGE SIPM ARRAY.

CERN Radiation Protection group has recently developed a novel radiation survey meter called B-RAD able to operate in the presence of a strong magnetic field. The B-RAD will be equipped with a series of probes for gamma dose rate, gamma spectrometry and surface contamination measurements. The feasibility of developing a probe for neutron dose rate and possibly spectral measurements is being investigated. The determination of the breakdown voltage of the SiPM as well as its uniformity between the pixels was performed. The energy resolution of the Cs2LiYCl6:Ce (CLYC) scintillator was measured with the SiPM and compared with two different PMT models: Bialkali and Superbialkali. The temperature sensitivity of the system CLYC + SiPM was measured from -10 to + 40°C.

SECONDARY NEUTRON DOSES IN A PROTON THERAPY CENTRE.

The formation of secondary high-energy neutrons in proton therapy can be a concern for radiation protection of staff. In this joint intercomparative study (CERN, SCK•CEN and IBA/IRISIB/ULB), secondary neutron doses were assessed with different detectors in several positions in the Proton Therapy Centre, Essen (Germany). The ambient dose equivalent H(*)(10) was assessed with Berthold LB 6411, WENDI-2, tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) and Bonner spheres (BS). The personal dose equivalent Hp(10) was measured with two types of active detectors and with bubble detectors. Using spectral and basic angular information, the reference Hp(10) was estimated. Results concerning staff exposure show H(*)(10) doses between 0.5 and 1 nSv/monitoring unit in a technical room. The LB 6411 showed an underestimation of H(*)(10), while WENDI-2 and TEPC showed good agreement with the BS data. A large overestimation for Hp(10) was observed for the active personal dosemeters, while the bubble detectors showed only a slight overestimation.

A Bonner Sphere Spectrometer for pulsed fields.

The use of conventional Bonner Sphere Spectrometers (BSS) in pulsed neutron fields (PNF) is limited by the fact that proportional counters, usually employed as the thermal neutron detectors, suffer from dead time losses and show severe underestimation of the neutron interaction rate, which leads to strong distortion of the calculated spectrum. In order to avoid these limitations, an innovative BSS, called BSS-LUPIN, has been developed for measuring in PNF. This paper describes the physical characteristics of the device and its working principle, together with the results of Monte Carlo simulations of its response matrix. The BSS-LUPIN has been tested in the stray neutron field at the CERN Proton Synchrotron, by comparing the spectra obtained with the new device, the conventional CERN BSS and via Monte Carlo simulations.

Leaching of radionuclides from activated soil into groundwater.

Soil samples collected from the CERN site were irradiated by secondary radiation from the 400 GeV/c SPS proton beam at the H4IRRAD test area. Water samples were also irradiated at the same time. Detailed gamma spectrometry measurements and water scintillation analysis were performed to measure the radioactivity induced in the samples. FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations were performed to benchmark the induced radioactivity in the samples and to estimate the amount of tritium produced in the soil. Two leaching procedures were used and compared to quantify the radioactivity leached by water from the activated soil. The amount of tritium coming from both the soil moisture and the soil bulk was estimated. The present results are compared with literature data for the leaching of (3)H and (22)Na.

A new version of the LUPIN detector: improvements and latest experimental verification.

LUPIN-II is an upgraded version of LUPIN, a novel rem counter first developed in 2010 specifically conceived to work in pulsed neutron fields (PNFs). The new version introduces some modifications that improve the performance of the detector, in particular extending its upper detection limit in PNFs. This paper discusses the characteristics and the performance of the instrument. Measurements have been carried out in radiation fields characterized by very different conditions: the detector has first been exposed in PNFs with intensity up to 5 µSv per burst, where it could keep the H*(10) underestimation below 20% up to 500 nSv per burst. It has then been tested in operational conditions around particle accelerators, where it has shown performances similar to that of ionization chambers. Its proper functioning has also been verified in high energy mixed fields, where the experimental results matched the Monte Carlo predictions. Its neutron/photon discrimination capability has been tested in a steady-state photon field where, via an innovative technique based on a threshold set on the derivative of the current signal, it was capable of rejecting a photon H*(10) rate of about 25 mSv/h, and in a mixed neutron/photon field, where a time-based discrimination method was employed.

High-energy quasi-monoenergetic neutron fields: existing facilities and future needs.

The argument that well-characterised quasi-monoenergetic neutron (QMN) sources reaching into the energy domain >20 MeV are needed is presented. A brief overview of the existing facilities is given, and a list of key factors that an ideal QMN source for dosimetry and spectrometry should offer is presented. The authors conclude that all of the six QMN facilities currently in existence worldwide operate in sub-optimal conditions for dosimetry. The only currently available QMN facility in Europe capable of operating at energies >40 MeV, TSL in Uppsala, Sweden, is threatened with shutdown in the immediate future. One facility, NFS at GANIL, France, is currently under construction. NFS could deliver QMN beams up to about 30 MeV. It is, however, so far not clear if and when NFS will be able to offer QMN beams or operate with only so-called white neutron beams. It is likely that by 2016, QMN beams with energies >40 MeV will be available only in South Africa and Japan, with none in Europe.

Sensitivity study of CR39 track detector in an extended range Bonner sphere spectrometer.

Bonner sphere spectrometers (BSS) are being used widely in neutron spectrometry since 1960. The response to neutrons of these moderating detectors spans over a broad energy range. This work discusses the measurement of the sensitivity of an extended range BSS hosting a CR39 nuclear track detector coupled to a boron converter. Two kinds of boron converters were tested, the first made by natural boron and a second one enriched in (10)B. The BSS response functions were calculated with Monte Carlo simulation using the MCNPX 2.4.0. and the FLUKA codes.

The problems associated with the monitoring of complex workplace radiation fields at European high-energy accelerators and thermonuclear fusion facilities.

The European Commission is funding within its Sixth Framework Programme a three-year project (2005-2007) called CONRAD, COordinated Network for RAdiation Dosimetry. The organisational framework for this project is provided by the European Radiation Dosimetry Group EURADOS. One task within the CONRAD project, Work Package 6 (WP6), was to provide a report outlining research needs and research activities within Europe to develop new and improved methods and techniques for the characterisation of complex radiation fields at workplaces around high-energy accelerators, but also at the next generation of thermonuclear fusion facilities. The paper provides an overview of the report, which will be available as CERN Yellow Report.

Radiation protection aspects of a 4 MW target.

The CERN Superconducting Proton Linac (SPL) is expected to provide a 2.2 GeV, 4 MW proton beam to feed facilities such as, for example, a neutrino factory or a neutrino superbeam. Material activation in such facilities is an important aspect that has to be taken into account at an early stage in designing it. In particular, the choice of the target has consequences on the induced radioactivity and dose rates in the target station and its surroundings. In the present work, the radiological aspects of a stationary target made up of tantalum pellets are compared with those of a free-surface jet of mercury. An estimation of the hadronic inelastic interactions and the production of residual nuclei in the target, the two concentric magnetic horns, the decay tunnel, the surrounding rock and a downstream dump were performed for both targets using the Monte Carlo code FLUKA. The aim was to assess the dose-equivalent rate that is to be expected during maintenance work and to evaluate the amount of residual radioactivity, which will have to be disposed of after the facility has ceased operation. The problem of after-heat in the tantalum target and the consequences of raising the proton beam energy from 2.2 to 4 GeV were also investigated.

Radiation issues in a radioactive ion decay ring.

In a beta-beam facility, a pure beam of electron neutrinos, or their antiparticles, are produced by the decay of fully stripped radioactive ions (6He and 18Ne) circulating in a storage ring. Since the beam is not extracted from the ring, all the particles will eventually be lost somewhere in the machine and thus activate the accelerator components and the surrounding concrete and rock. In particular, as nuclei change their charge in beta-decay, a large part of the particles will be lost in the arcs of the decay ring and mainly irradiate the magnets. The density of inelastic interactions of hadrons in the magnets, concrete and rock and the track-length distribution of secondary hadrons were calculated by means of the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. These values were used to estimate the induced radioactivity in the facility, the dose rates expected in the decay ring and the consequences for the environment.

The response of a bonner sphere spectrometer to charged hadrons.

Bonner sphere spectrometers (BSSs) are employed in neutron spectrometry and dosimetry since many years. Recent developments have seen the addition to a conventional BSS of one or more detectors (moderator plus thermal neutron counter) specifically designed to improve the overall response of the spectrometer to neutrons above 10 MeV. These additional detectors employ a shell of material with a high mass number (such as lead) within the polyethylene moderator, in order to slow down high-energy neutrons via (n,xn) reactions. A BSS can be used to measure neutron spectra both outside accelerator shielding and from an unshielded target. Measurements were recently performed at CERN of the neutron yield and spectral fluence at various angles from unshielded, semi-thick copper, silver and lead targets, bombarded by a mixed proton/pion beam with 40 GeV per c momentum. These experiments have provided evidence that under certain circumstances, the use of lead-enriched moderators may present a problem: these detectors were found to have a significant response to the charged hadron component accompanying the neutrons emitted from the target. Conventional polyethylene moderators show a similar behaviour but less pronounced. These secondary hadrons interact with the moderator and generate neutrons, which are in turn detected by the counter. To investigate this effect and determine a correction factor to be applied to the unfolding procedure, a series of Monte Carlo simulations were performed with the FLUKA code. These simulations aimed at determining the response of the BSS to charged hadrons under the specific experimental situation. Following these results, a complete response matrix of the extended BSS to charged pions and protons was calculated with FLUKA. An experimental verification was carried out with a 120 GeV per c hadron beam at the CERF facility at CERN.

High-energy neutron dosimetry with superheated drop detectors.

A systematic analysis of the response of dichlorodifluoromethane superheated drop detectors was performed in the 46-133 MeV energy range. Experiments with quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were performed at the Université Catholique de Leuvain-la-Neuve, Belgium and the Svedberg Laboratory, Sweden, while tests in a broad field were performed at CERN. To determine the response of the detectors to the high-energy beams, the spectra of incident neutrons were folded over functions modelled after the cross sections for the production of heavy ions from the detector elements. The cross sections for fluorine and chlorine were produced in this work by means of the Monte Carlo high-energy transport code HADRON based on the cascade exciton model of nuclear interactions. The new response data permit the interpretation of measurements at high-energy accelerators and on high-altitude commercial flights, where a 30-50% under-response had been consistently recorded with respect to neutron dose equivalent. The introduction of a 1 cm lead shell around the detectors effectively compensates most of the response defect.

Narrow beam dosimetry for high energy hadrons and electrons.

Organ doses and effective dose were calculated with the latest version of the Monte Carlo transport code FLUKA in the case of an anthropomorphic mathematical model exposed to monoenergetic narrow beams of protons, pions and electrons in the energy range 10-400 GeV. The target organs considered were right eye, thyroid, thymus, lung and breast. Simple scaling laws to the calculated values are given. The present data and formulae should prove useful for dosimetric estimations in the case of accidental exposures to high energy beams.

A reference radiation facility for dosimetry at flight altitude and in space.

A reference facility for the intercomparison of active and passive detectors in high-energy neutron fields is available at CERN since 1993. A positive charged hadron beam (a mixture of protons and pions) with momentum of 120 GeV/c hits a copper target, 50 cm thick and 7 cm in diameter. The secondary particles produced in the interaction are filtered by a shielding of either 80 cm of concrete or 40 cm of iron. Behind the iron shielding, the resulting neutron spectrum has a maximum at about 1 MeV, with an additional high-energy component. Behind the concrete shielding, the neutron spectrum has a pronounced maximum at about 70 MeV and resembles the high-energy component of the radiation field created by cosmic rays at commercial flight altitudes. The facility is used for a variety of investigations with active and passive neutron dosimeters. Its use for measurements related to the space programme is discussed.

Radiation protection at high energy proton accelerators.

The radiological problems associated with proton accelerators having maximum energies higher than a few GeV are discussed. Examples are given from accelerators where the authors have had practical experience for a number of years. The main focus will be on those problems which are unique to high energy proton accelerators, and which may not be necessarily associated with the proton beam operation itself.

Special radiation protection aspects of medical accelerators.

Radiation protection aspects relevant to medical accelerators are discussed. An overview is first given of general safety requirements. Next, shielding and labyrinth design are discussed in some detail for the various types of accelerators, devoting more attention to hadron machines as they are far less conventional than electron linear accelerators. Some specific aspects related to patient protection are also addressed. Finally, induced radioactivity in accelerator components and shielding walls is briefly discussed. Three classes of machines are considered: (1) medical electron linacs for 'conventional' radiation therapy, (2) low energy cyclotrons for production of radionuclides mainly for medical diagnostics and (3) medium energy cyclotrons and synchrotrons for advanced radiation therapy with protons or light ion beams (hadron therapy).

Neutron measurements in the stray field produced by 158 GeV c(-1) per nucleon lead ion beams.

This paper discusses measurements carried out at CERN in the stray radiation field produced by 158 GeV c(-1) per nucleon 208Pb82+ ions. The purpose was to test and intercompare the response of several detectors, mainly neutron measuring devices, and to determine the neutron spectral fluence as well as the microdosimetric (absorbed dose and dose equivalent) distributions in different locations around the shielding. Both active instruments and passive dosimeters were employed, including different types of Andersson-Braun rem counters, a tissue equivalent proportional counter, a set of superheated drop detectors, a Bonner sphere system, and different types of ion chambers. Activation measurements with 12C plastic scintillators and with 32S pellets were also performed to assess the neutron yield of high energy lead ions interacting with a thin gold target. The results are compared with previous measurements and with measurements made during proton runs.

Secondary neutron and photon dose in proton therapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The dose due to secondary neutrons and photons in proton therapy was estimated with Monte Carlo simulations. Three existing facilities treating eye and deep-seated tumours were taken into account. The results of the calculations related to eye proton therapy were verified with measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The simulations were performed with the FLUKA code. Neutron fluence was measured inside an Alderson phantom (type ART) with activation techniques. RESULTS: The maximum dose due to secondaries produced in a passive beam delivery system was estimated to be of the order of 10(-4) and 10(-2) Gy per therapy Gy for eye and deep tumour treatments, respectively. In the case of irradiations of deep-seated tumours carried out with an active system, the dose was of the order of 10(-3) Gy per therapy Gy. CONCLUSIONS: The dose due to secondaries depends on the geometry of the beam delivery system and on the energy of the primary beam and is lower in the healthy tissues distant from the target volume.

Proton beam dosimetry: a comparison between the Faraday cup and an ionization chamber.

From the theoretical point of view, the Faraday cup (FC) is an absolute instrument for fluence measurements of proton beams. As the FC is easily manufactured it can be considered an 'in-house' calibration system. Moreover, at the moment no national standards for proton dosimetry are available. Up to now the experimental tests of these instruments show that much study still has to be done to better understand their use in reference dosimetry. To investigate the possibility of using an FC as a secondary standard, an FC was jointly designed by the 'TERA Collaboration' and 'Centre Antoine-Lacassagne' (Nice, France) to evaluate the main parameters of the instrument. A comparison between two FCs of different designs--the 'TERA FC' and the 'Nice FC'--and an ionization chamber (IC) used for routine proton dosimetry was carried out. Results show that the two FCs agree to within 1.5-3.6%. While the differences between FC and IC are larger--6% for the 'TERA FC' and 8.2% for the 'Nice FC', the FC giving a lower dose evaluation--they follow the same trend shown by the calorimetric measurements. The data show that once the beam characteristics are defined, the fluence measurements are reproducible and show a good accuracy.