The Gender-Specific Chest Wall Thickness Prediction Equations for Routine Measurements of 239Pu and 241Am Within the Lungs Using HPGe Detectors

Abstract

The current chest wall thickness prediction equation is not applicable to use in routine lung counting measurements for detection of low energy photons (17--60 keV) within the lungs of male and female subjects. The current chest wall thickness prediction equation was derived for the NaI-CsI "phoswich" detection system, which is not the routine detection system in use; the subject position was supine, which is not the routine position; the equation did not account for the intercostal tissue thicknesses of muscle and adipose which significantly attenuate low energy photons (17--60keV); it was derived from male subjects only and is used to predict the chest wall thickness of female subjects for whom it is not applicable. The current chest wall thickness prediction equation yields unacceptable percent errors in the HPGe detection efficiency calibration for 239Pu and 241Am (17- and 59.5-keV photons, respectively) relative to the gender-specific HPGe chest wall thickness prediction equations of this paper (+284% to --73% for 239Pu; (+)42% to --39% for 241Am). As a result, use of the current chest wall thickness prediction equation yields unacceptable percent errors (proportional in magnitude to the percent errors in the detection efficiency calibration) in the calculation of the minimum detectable activity (Bq) or in an initial assessment of a radioactive contamination exposure detected by a routine lung count measurement.