Abstract
In the event of an accidental release of radioactive elements from a nuclear power plant, it has been shown that the radionuclides contributing the most to long-term exposure are 134Cs and 137Cs. In the case of nuclear power plant fallout, with subsequent intake of radionuclides through the food chain, the internal absorbed dose to target tissues from protracted intake of radionuclides needs to be estimated. Internal contamination from food consumption is not caused by a single intake event; hence, the committed equivalent dose, calculated by a dose coefficient or dose per content function, cannot be easily used to calculate the cumulative absorbed dose to relevant target tissues in the body. In this study, we calculated updated absorbed dose rate coefficients for 134Cs and 137Cs based on data from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) on specific absorbed fractions. The absorbed dose rate coefficients are provided for male and female adult reference phantoms, respectively, assuming a steady-state distribution of Cs that we calculated from the ICRP biokinetic model for Cs. With these coefficients, the absorbed dose to the listed target tissues, separately and to the total body, are related to the number of nuclear transitions (time-integrated activity) in each listed source region. Our new absorbed dose rate coefficients are given for the complete set of target tissues and have not been presented before. They are also provided for aggregated categories of organs to facilitate epidemiological studies.
Highlights
IntroductionThe assessment of internal radiation dose is generally based on estimations of intake of a given radionuclide by inhalation or ingestion that can be estimated from, e.g. ambient measurements or bioassays
In the event of an accidental release of radioactive elements from a nuclear power plant or in case of a radioecological transfer from a nuclear weapon fallout, it has been shown that the long-lived radionuclides 134Cs (T1/2 = 2.1 years) and 137Cs (T1/2 = 30.1 years) contribute the most to the cumulative internal effective dose (e.g. UNSCEAR 2000)
Based on data on specific absorbed fraction (SAF) published by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) (2016a), updated values of S-coefficients for absorbed dose per nuclear transition (Gy Bq−1 s−1) or, equivalently, absorbed dose rate per activity (Gy s−1 Bq−1) have been calculated for males and females, respectively
Summary
The assessment of internal radiation dose is generally based on estimations of intake of a given radionuclide by inhalation or ingestion that can be estimated from, e.g. ambient measurements or bioassays. For the latter, a biokinetic model describing the time-dependent transfer of the radionuclide in the body is required to derive the intake. The internal radiation dose, expressed as the committed effective dose, can be calculated as the product of the inhaled or ingested activity and a dose coefficient (units Sv Bq−1) for the radionuclide and route of intake. ICRP has provided extensive data files, permitting the committed equivalent dose to be estimated for target tissues (ICRP 2016a, supplementary material (available online at stacks.iop.org/JRP/41/1213/mmedia))
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
