On the Conservativity of Hp(10)

Abstract

For neutrons, numerical values for the Personal Dose Equivalent, Hp(10,alpha)_, in the ICRU TE slab phantom were recently recommended in an international standard (IEC-1323, 1995) and are intended for calibrating individual dosemeters fixed to the front of the phantom, with respect to energy and angle of incidence. These recommended conversion factors are compared with the present MCNP calculations of conversion coefficients hP_(10;E,alpha), and with calculations of Effective Dose, E (ICRP 60), and Effective Dose Equivalent, HE (ICRP 26), in the anthropomorphic ADAM phantom for monoenergetic and parallel neutron radiation (expanded field) with an angle of incidence varying from 0o (A-P) up to 75o to the left side of the phantom in the energy range from thermal up to 10 MeV. For the calculation of the conversion coefficients hp_(10;E,alpha) and the Effective Dose Equivalent, HE, in the phantom, a quality factor is applied which takes into account the revised Q(L) relationship of ICRP 60 and the new stopping power data for protons and alpha particles of ICRU Publication 49 (1993). For the calculation of Effective Dose, E, the smooth radiation weighting factor wR of ICRP 60 is used.