Health Physics

Filyushkin, I. V.

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After the Chernohyl accident, a number of radiation protection criteria for the early and intermediate phases of the accident were set up by the authorities to protect the public in affected areas. For the late phase, an intervention level of 350 mSv over a lifetime, the so-called 350-mSv concept, has been recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) in the USSR. This concept has been strongly criticized by opponents in the affected republics as being far too high and therefore inhumane. However, a lifetime dose of 350 mSv would impose on an individual an average annual risk of the order of 10

Adair, Robert K.

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Analyses of electric and magnetic fields in the human body generated upon exposure to external pulsed electric fields are used to consider possible biological effects at the cellular level. For peak external field strengths as high as 100 kV m

Darwin, Roy F.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is revising its Protective Action Guides (PAGs), which specify recommended dose levels at which actions should be taken to protect the public during an accident at a nuclear facility. The appropriateness of these PAGs depends on the health risks that could be avoided by the protective actions relative to both the costs and adverse health impacts of taking the actions. According to the optimization principle of radiation protection, the cost of measures designed to protect people from ionizing radiation should be commensurate with the risks avoided. This article evaluates the recommended protective actions with respect to the optimization principle. The evaluation is based on both recent radiation risk estimates and a derivation of the monetary value of a reduction in risk. It is estimated that evacuation of a population sector should be carried out only if the evacuation will reduce the collective dose equivalent to the population by 1 person-Sv or more for every U.S. $34,000 to $250,000 in net evacuation costs. Therefore, the decision to evacuate should be based on the dose that would be avoided by the evacuation and predetermined site-specific evacuation costs, rather than simply projected dose to the population. Findings further suggest that separate PAGs for the thyroid and skin are unnecessary for protecting against stochastic effects because use of the effective dose equivalent concept eliminates the need for these guides. Separate PAGs for specific organs need only ensure that significant nonstochastic effects are prevented.

Schlafke-Stelson, Audrey

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Operators of in-vivo counters often encounter unusual photopeaks, some of which may be attributed to nuclear medicine radiopharmaceuticals recently received by the subject. This article lists the most common radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine, their common uses, their half lives and principal decay energies, and the half lives and decay energies of any contaminants or daughter products they may contain. The purpose is to help the in-vivo counter operator track down and eliminate causes of such unusual photopeaks.

Phillips, C. R.

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The response of the unattached

Tseng, Po-Wen

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Powdered thermoluminescent dosimeters, CaSO

Cohen, Bernard L.

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A large variety of risks are quantified in terms of the loss of life expectancy they cause in the United States. Risks considered include the following: diseases; accidents of various types at home, at work, in public, and in motor vehicles; unemployment; poor social connections; use of small cars; smoking; air pollution; other environmental pollutants leading to cancer and non-cancer effects; purposely ingested substances; sports participation; geography; medical care; epidemics; natural hazards; socioeconomic factors; Rn and other radiation; and energy conservation. A few suggestions for applications of this catalog of risks are offered.

Wilson, John W.

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The biological risk for energetic ion exposure cannot be reliably estimated exclusive of the target nuclear reaction products produced within the local tissue. A theoretical basis is derived for evaluating target fragment contributions that are evaluated for the newly proposed quality factor.

Hahn, Fletcher F.

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Plutonium-239 or

Shaykewich, C.

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The effects of activated carbon (AC) and mordenite (termed additives here) on the fluence rate of Rn gas from soil over a range of moisture contents and temperatures were examined in an effort to develop mitigation strategies for Rn in indoor environments. It is possible that an additive-an effective sorbent for Rn-could be mixed with the layer of soil placed adjacent to the substructure of buildings during their construction. The following variables and levels within each variable were examined: additive-0, 25, and 50 wt% mixed with the top 20% of the soil in columns; degree of water saturation, S-5, 30, and 55%; and temperature-5, 13, and 21°C. At any level, mordenite was not effective in decreasing the Rn fluence rate from soil. On the other hand, when AC was present at the 25% level (at S = 30% and temperature = 13°C), the fluence rate was about 5 mBq m