Protection Quantities Research Articles

Effect of Using Different Data Libraries and Simulation Codes on the Calculation of Spectra and Operational Quantities for the D2O-252Cf Source at PTB

The neutron reference field produced by a heavy-water moderated 252Cf source is used at PTB for calibrating neutron-measuring devices. Knowledge of the precise neutron spectrum is very important for the investigation of operational radiation protection quantities. Recently, new fission spectrum data of 252Cf has been proposed based on the latest nuclear data library version. At PTB, earlier calculations for the D2O moderated 252Cf neutron source were carried out more than 20 years ago, thus updated and more detailed calculations are required. In this paper, a detailed simulation model of the PTB moderated 252Cf source assembly has been prepared and investigated using new spectral data and two different Monte Carlo transport codes MCNP6.1 and PHITS3.22, with ENDF/BVIII.0, ENDF/B-VII.1, ENDF/B-V, and ENDL85 evaluated nuclear data libraries. The results show that the evaluated nuclear data libraries influence the calculated operational quantities by (3-5) %. The dosimetric quantities calculated with the PHITS code and the ENDF/B-VII.1 data library agree well with the MCNP6 results.

Reflection on the proposed changes to dose quantities—an industrial perspective

In 2021, the ICRP initiated the revision of the general recommendations of the system of radiation protection, and part of it will focus on dose quantities. The recently published ICRP Publication 147 and ICRU Report 95 have described the extent of the proposed modifications and paved the way for the strategy to be adopted. These revisions would seek to simplify, improve the accuracy and extend the field of use of dose quantities. While the Radiological Protection Working Group of the World Nuclear Association recognises the notable improvement in the estimation of the protection quantities and the usefulness of such changes for the medical and research sector, the benefits of the proposed new system seem very limited for the nuclear industry and industries involving naturally occurring radioactive materials. The complexity associated with changing a long-standing and robust system and the risk incurred by the human factor seem unjustified, bearing in mind the likely cost.

Conversion coefficients from absorbed dose to tissue to the newly proposed ICRU/ICRP operational quantities for radiation protection for beta reference radiation qualities

The International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) has, jointly with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), recently proposed a set of new operational quantities for radiation protection in ICRU report 95. ICRU/ICRP supplied conversion coefficients for mono-energetic betas but not for beta reference radiation qualities defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in ISO 6980. Therefore, in this work, conversion coefficients from absorbed dose to tissue at a depth of 0.07 mm in a slab phantom to the newly proposed operational quantities are determined for beta reference radiation qualities. Finally, the impact of the newly proposed quantities on primary and calibration laboratories and on users and manufacturers of dosemeters is investigated, the latter by having a close look at the expected change of the response of dosemeters.

Neutron dose coefficients for the lens of the eye

The International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) Report Number 95 (2020 Operational quantities for external radiation exposure ICRU Rep. 95 J. ICRU 20) recommends new definitions ffor operational quantities as estimators of the International Commission on Radiological Protection radiation protection quantities. As part of this report, dose coefficients for neutron fluences are included for energies from 10−9–50 MeV. For lens of the eye dosimetry, several changes in the ICRU recommended quantities are of particular interest. First, an updated eye model is used that includes segmentation of the sensitive lens region. In addition, the use of absorbed dose instead of dose equivalent has been selected as the appropriate operational quantity since deterministic (i.e. non-stochastic) effects are of primary importance for the lens of the eye. The ICRU report also addresses computational parameters, such as absorbed dose tally volumes, depths, source areas and source rotational angles. In this work, neutron dose coefficients calculated for the lens of the eye in support of the ICRU report are presented. Dose coefficients for mono-energetic neutrons and reference neutron spectra are presented. The source is a parallel beam, and the mono-energetic dose coefficients are provided for rotational angles with respect to the front face of the head ranging from 0°–90°. In addition, monoenergetic dose coefficients for the parallel beam incident on the back of the head (180°) and for a rotational source geometry where the head is irradiated from all angles are reported. For all scenarios, absorbed doses to the complete lens and the sensitive volume of each eye were calculated. Eye lens absorbed dose coefficients, D p,slab(3,0)/Φ, were also calculated in an ICRU tissue slab phantom at a depth of 3 mm for a parallel beam irradiating the slab perpendicular to the front face, and these results are compared to the values determined using the eye phantom.

Pertussis Vaccine Candidate Based on Outer Membrane Vesicles Derived From Biofilm Culture.

Outer membrane vesicles (OMV) derived from Bordetella pertussis—the etiologic agent of the resurgent disease called pertussis—are safe and effective in preventing bacterial colonization in the lungs of immunized mice. Vaccine formulations containing those OMV are capable of inducing a mixed Th1/Th2/Th17 profile, but even more interestingly, they may induce a tissue-resident memory immune response. This immune response is recommended for the new generation of pertussis-vaccines that must be developed to overcome the weaknesses of current commercial acellular vaccines (second-generation of pertussis vaccine). The third-generation of pertussis vaccine should also deal with infections caused by bacteria that currently circulate in the population and are phenotypically and genotypically different [in particular those deficient in the expression of pertactin antigen, PRN(-)] from those that circulated in the past. Here we evaluated the protective capacity of OMV derived from bacteria grown in biofilm, since it was observed that, by difference with older culture collection vaccine strains, circulating clinical B. pertussis isolates possess higher capacity for this lifestyle. Therefore, we performed studies with a clinical isolate with good biofilm-forming capacity. Biofilm lifestyle was confirmed by both scanning electron microscopy and proteomics. While scanning electron microscopy revealed typical biofilm structures in these cultures, BipA, fimbria, and other adhesins described as typical of the biofilm lifestyle were overexpressed in the biofilm culture in comparison with planktonic culture. OMV derived from biofilm (OMVbiof) or planktonic lifestyle (OMVplank) were used to formulate vaccines to compare their immunogenicity and protective capacities against infection with PRN(+) or PRN(-) B. pertussis clinical isolates. Using the mouse protection model, we detected that OMVbiof-vaccine was more immunogenic than OMVplank-vaccine in terms of both specific antibody titers and quality, since OMVbiof-vaccine induced antibodies with higher avidity. Moreover, when OMV were administered at suboptimal quantity for protection, OMVbiof-vaccine exhibited a significantly adequate and higher protective capacity against PRN(+) or PRN(-) than OMVplank-vaccine. Our findings indicate that the vaccine based on B. pertussis biofilm-derived OMV induces high protection also against pertactin-deficient strains, with a robust immune response.

Engineered Large Wood Structures in Stream Restoration Projects in Switzerland: Practice-Based Experiences

The effects of large wood (LW) presence in streams on river ecology and morphology are becoming widely researched and nowadays their ecological benefits are undisputed. Yet LW presence in most Swiss plateau streams is poor mainly due to anthropological pressure on river ecosystems. The use of anchored, engineered LW structures under various forms in stream restoration projects is now state of the art. However, binding benchmarks for the equivalent naturally occurring instream LW quantities and complex LW structures do not yet exist. Therefore, hydraulic engineers often find themselves in a conflict between acceptable instream LW quantities for flood protection, quantities desirable from an ecological point of view and, last but not least, quantities accepted by the public based on the current ideologies of landscape design. In the first section, this paper treats the complexity of defining benchmarks for LW quantities in restoration projects. In the second section, we provide a qualitative practical insight into relevant questions when planning engineered LW structures, such as placement, anchoring, naturalness, and effectiveness from a hydraulic engineer’s point of view. The third part presents three examples of restoration projects with different dimensions where various engineered LW structures with different outcomes were built and introduced into active streams. Finally, the conclusion provides further possible measures to retain LW in streams and to restore more natural LW dynamics in rivers.

Simplified Approach for Preliminary Evaluation of Effective Dose Rates for Field Applications of D-T Neutron Generators

Portable neutron generators are one of the most widespread sources of fast neutrons for different applications, from activation analysis to quantitative estimation of fissile and fertile materials in radioactive waste packages. New techniques based on these devices have been developed for homeland security, e.g. neutron interrogations of packages suspected of containing substances such as explosives. When using portable generators determination of radiation protection quantities is affected by a series of boundary conditions that could differ from an experimental set-up to another, and Radiation Protection Experts cannot assess operator exposure without the aid of time-expensive Monte Carlo simulations. As it is impossible to foresee all kind of scenarios involving such applications, and time is often a critical variable, safety assessment requires faster, even if less accurate, tools for exposure evaluation. In this article experimental measurements of dose rates in a real scenario involving a D-T neutron generator are considered, to validate the Monte Carlo model developed. Consequently, it was possible to demonstrate that the calibration factor at 14 MeV for a neutron dosimeter provides conservative dose estimates and to propose a stand-alone, fast, and easy-to-use calculation tool which is usable on field by the Radiation Protection Expert without full Monte Carlo calculations.

Measurement uncertainty analysis of radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter reader system based on GD-352M for estimation of protection quantity

At the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, physical human phantoms were developed to evaluate various radiation protection quantities, based on the mesh-type reference computational phantoms of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The physical human phantoms were fabricated such that a radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter (RPLGD) with a Tin filter, namely GD-352M, could be inserted into them. A Tin filter is used to eliminate the overestimated signals in low-energy photons below 100 keV. The measurement uncertainty of the RPLGD reader system based on GD-352M should be analyzed for obtaining reliable protection quantities before using it for practical applications. Generally, the measurement uncertainty of RPLGD systems without Tin filters is analyzed for quality assurance of radiotherapy units using a high-energy photon beam. However, in this study, the measurement uncertainty of GD-352M was analyzed for evaluating the protection quantities. The measurement uncertainty factors in the RPLGD include the reference irradiation, regression curve, reproducibility, uniformity, energy dependence, and angular dependence, as described by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These factors were calculated using the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement method, applying ISO/ASTM standards 51261(2013), 51707(2015), and SS-ISO 22127(2019). The measurement uncertainties of the RPLGD reader system with a coverage factor of k = 2 were calculated to be 9.26% from 0.005 to 1 Gy and 8.16% from 1 to 10 Gy. A blind test was conducted to validate the RPLGD reader system, which demonstrated that the readout doses included blind doses of 0.1, 1, 2, and 5 Gy. Overall, the En values were considered satisfactory.

New Operational Quantities for Radiation Protection by ICRU and ICRP: Impact on Workplaces at Accelerators

New Operational Quantities for Radiation Protection by ICRU and ICRP: Impact on Workplaces at Accelerators

The use of dose quantities in radiological protection: ICRP publication 147 Ann ICRP 50(1) 2021

The International Commission on Radiological Protection has recently published a report (ICRP Publication 147; Ann. ICRP 50, 2021) on the use of dose quantities in radiological protection, under the same authorship as this Memorandum. Here, we present a brief summary of the main elements of the report. ICRP Publication 147 consolidates and clarifies the explanations provided in the 2007 ICRP Recommendations (Publication 103) but reaches conclusions that go beyond those presented in Publication 103. Further guidance is provided on the scientific basis for the control of radiation risks using dose quantities in occupational, public and medical applications. It is emphasised that best estimates of risk to individuals will use organ/tissue absorbed doses, appropriate relative biological effectiveness factors and dose–risk models for specific health effects. However, bearing in mind uncertainties including those associated with risk projection to low doses or low dose rates, it is concluded that in the context of radiological protection, effective dose may be considered as an approximate indicator of possible risk of stochastic health effects following low-level exposure to ionising radiation. In this respect, it should also be recognised that lifetime cancer risks vary with age at exposure, sex and population group. The ICRP report also concludes that equivalent dose is not needed as a protection quantity. Dose limits for the avoidance of tissue reactions for the skin, hands and feet, and lens of the eye will be more appropriately set in terms of absorbed dose rather than equivalent dose.

Economic valuation of ecosystem services: application of a choice experiment approach on mount Guna services, North West of Ethiopia

Guna Mountain is the highest point with an elevation of 4,113 m above sea level and located in South Gondar Zone. It is surrounded by Estie, Lay Gayint, Begemidir Guna, and Farta Woredas and served as a source of livelihood for the nearby communities. However, the area of Mount Guna has been still unprotected because of a lack of suitable conservation measures and weak control of inappropriate practices. Moreover, empirical investigations on the value of the mountain in terms of its ecosystem service are scanty available. This study aims at valuing ecosystem services of Guna Mountain using the choice experiment method and hence identifying farmer's choices of ecosystem service attributes. By considering farmers' preferences, watershed protection service, harvesting of medicinal plants, and water supply together with the cost of management attribute were identified as ecosystem service attributes. Primary data were collected from randomly selected respondents and the Random Parameter Logit model (RPL) was employed for estimation. Results of this model revealed that revealed that the signs of attribute levels are positive except for watershed protection service level 25%, and harvesting of a medicinal plant 20%. In addition to this, socioeconomic variables were significant such as family size and farm distance with a negative sign, education, and land size with a positive sign. The estimated MWTP from the basic model of RPL for non-monetary attribute levels were Ethiopian Birr (ETB)11During the study period, 2019: 1$ = 27 Ethiopian Birr (ETB). 8.575 and 175.526 per household per year for watershed protection service level 25% and watershed protection service level 50%. It was ETB 1.190 and 24.487 per household per year for the harvesting of a medicinal plant at 10% and harvesting of a medicinal plant at 20%. The contribution was ETB 116.868, 112.042, and 26.776 for water supply at two seasons of the year, water supply at three seasons of the year, and water supply for all seasons of the year attribute levels respectively. Valuing watershed protection was more than water supply followed by harvesting of medicinal plants attribute. To improve the quality and quantity of protection and water supply service, the government and farmers should work together.

Antiseizure potential of peptides from the venom of social wasp Chartergellus communis against chemically-induced seizures

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases in the world. The objective of this research was to investigate a new peptide from the venom of the social wasp Chartergellus communis useful to the study or pharmacotherapy of epilepsy. The wasps were collected, and their venom was extracted. Afterward, the steps of fractionation, sequencing, and identification were carried out to obtain four peptides. These molecules were synthesized for behavioral evaluation tests and electroencephalographic assays to determine their antiseizure potential (induction of acute seizures using the chemical compounds, pentylenetetrazole – PTZ, and pilocarpine - PILO) and analysis of neuropharmacological profile (general spontaneous activity and alteration in motor coordination). Chartergellus-CP1 (i.c.v. - 3.0 μg/animal) caused beneficial alterations in some of the parameters evaluated in both models: PTZ (latency and duration of maximum seizures) and PILO (latency and duration of, and protection against, maximum seizures, and reduction of the median of the seizure scores. When evaluated in 3 doses in the seizure model induced by PILO, the dose of 3.0 μg/animal protected the animals against seizures, with an estimated ED50 of 1.49 μg/animal. Electroencephalographic evaluation of Chartergellus-CP1 showed an improvement in latency, quantity, and percentage of protection against generalized electroencephalographic seizures in the PILO model. Further, Chartergellus-CP1 did not cause adverse effects on general spontaneous activity and motor coordination of animals. This study demonstrated how compounds isolated from wasps’ venom may be important resources in the search for new drugs. Such compounds can be considered valuable therapeutic and biotechnological tools for the study and future treatment of epileptic disorders. In this context, a peptide that is potentially useful for epilepsy pharmacotherapy was identified in the venom of C. communis.

A novel approach to seamless simulations of compact hadron therapy systems for self-consistent evaluation of dosimetric and radiation protection quantities

Hadron therapy installations are evolving towards more compact systems that require higher-quality beams for advanced treatment modalities such as proton flash and arc therapy. Therefore the accurate modelling of present and next-generation systems poses new challenges where the simulations require both magnetic beam transport and particle-matter interactions. We present a novel approach to building simulations of beam delivery systems at a level suitable for clinical applications while seamlessly providing the computation of quantities relevant for beam dose deposition, radiation protection assessment, and shielding activation determination. A realistic model of the Ion Beam Applications (IBA) Proteus® One system is developed using Beam Delivery Simulation (BDSIM), based on Geant4, that uniquely allows simulation using a single model. Its validation against measured data is discussed in detail. The first results of self-consistent simulations for beam delivery and equivalent ambient dose are presented. The results show that our approach successfully models the complex interactions between the beam transport and its interactions with the system for relevant clinical scenarios at an acceptable computational cost.

2 ICRP Publication 103 Protection Quantities and ICRU Report 39/51 Operational Quantities

2 ICRP Publication 103 Protection Quantities and ICRU Report 39/51 Operational Quantities

A new principle of UHVDC line pilot protection based on trigger angle control characteristics

Abstract A new principle of UHVDC Line pilot protection based on internal parameters of the trigger angle of converter is proposed, in order to improve the ability of the protection to withstand transition resistance. Through the analysis of UHVDC control system, it is found that, due to the regulation of control system, in terms of trigger delay angle of rectifier side and trigger leading angle of inverter side, the change tendency in internal fault and external fault is different. Thus, the protection criterion is constructed. Compared with the traditional protection principle using voltage and current to establish protection criteria, this principle uses internal parameters as protection quantity. The simulation based on PSCAD/EMTDC verifies the effectiveness of the protection principle.

Neutron dose coefficients for local skin

A draft report by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) Report Committee 26 (RC26) will recommend alternative definitions of the operational quantities that are better estimators of radiation protection quantities. Dose coefficients for use with physical field quantities—fluence and, for photons, air kerma—are given for various particle types over a broad energy range. For the skin dosimetry, several changes are of particular interest. Specifically, the use of absorbed dose instead of dose equivalent has been selected as the operational quantity since deterministic effects are of primary interest in the skin. In addition, newly recommended phantoms are specified for computing the operational dose coefficients. The report also addresses computational approaches such as tally volumes, depths, source areas, and rotational angles. In this work, dose coefficients calculated for local skin in support of the ICRU report are presented. Energy-dependent dose coefficients were calculated in phantoms specified for the trunk (slab), the ankle or wrist (pillar), and the finger (rod). The phantom specifications in this work were taken directly from the draft report. Full transport of secondary charged particles from neutron interactions was performed and an analysis of the depth-dose profiles in the slab phantom is presented, The last complete set of neutron dose coefficients for the extremities was published more than 25 years ago. Given the limited data available, it is difficult for many facilities to obtain clear guidance on how monitoring should be performed and how dosimeters should be calibrated so spectra from commonly encountered neutron sources were used to generate source-specific dose coefficients in each of the phantoms. Both energy-dependent and source-specific dose coefficients are provided for rotational angles up to 180 degrees for the rod and pillar phantoms and up to 75 degrees for the slab phantom.

Computational errors of the induced electric field in voxelized and tetrahedral anatomical head models exposed to spatially uniform and localized magnetic fields

At low and intermediate frequencies, the strength of the induced electric field is used as dosimetric quantity for human protection in the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. To compute the induced electric field, numerical methods based on anatomically realistic voxel models are commonly used. However, grid-based models introduce staircase approximation errors when curved surfaces are discretized with voxels, particularly in correspondence of boundaries with large differences in electrical conductivity. By contrast, those kind of artefacts are absent in tetrahedral meshes. Here, we investigate the computational errors that affect voxelized and tetrahedral head models when exposed to uniform magnetic fields at 50 Hz, and localized exposure due to transcranial magnetic stimulation. Five subjects were considered, and for each of them four voxel grids and four tetrahedral meshes were reconstructed with different resolutions. The differences in the results were characterized by comparing the induced electric fields computed using those meshes/grids. The results showed modest discrepancies in the overall electric field distributions between the various grids and meshes. However, the peak electric field strengths were erroneous for both tetrahedral and voxel models. Therefore, post-processing techniques are needed to suppress those numerical artefacts. For this purpose, the 99.99th, or lower, percentile of the electric field strength was found to remove the numerical errors. In addition, we found that spatially averaging the electric fields over 2 mm cubical volumes, as described by the ICNIRP, was effective in removing most of the spuriously large electric fields. When spatial averaging was used, relative coarse head models consisting of approximately 1 mm voxels or tetrahedral meshes with 2 mm average side length were sufficient to mitigate the artefacts. Nonetheless, the additional percentile filtering might still be needed to suppress the erroneous values completely.

13. Basic Concept of Protection Quantities in Health Risk

13. Basic Concept of Protection Quantities in Health Risk

Conversion coefficients from kerma to ambient dose and personal dose for X-ray spectra

In radiation protection, the protection quantity for whole-body exposure is effective dose E. Effective dose cannot be measured and operational quantities have been introduced for dose measurement and calibration of dosimeters and survey instruments. To overcome some shortcomings of the presently used operational quantities, ICRU Report Committee 26 introduces two new quantities for whole body exposure, ambient dose H* for prospective dose assessment and personal dose Hp(α) for retrospective measurements with personal dosimeters. Dosimeters and survey instruments are calibrated in reference fields, realised with radioisotopes and with well-defined X-ray spectra. In this paper, the spectrum-averaged conversion coefficients from kerma in air Ka to the new quantities ambient dose and personal dose are calculated and compared with the published coefficients for the present operational quantities. Especially at low energies (Eph < 40 keV), the new quantities are significantly lower than the present ones, thus correcting a strong overestimate of effective dose.

Organ and detriment-weighted dose rate coefficients for exposure to radionuclide-contaminated soil considering body morphometries that differ from reference conditions: adults and children.

The system of protection established by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) provides a robust framework for ionizing radiation exposure justification, optimization, and dose limitation. The system is built upon fundamental concepts of a reference person, defined in ICRP Publication 89, and the radiation protection quantity effective dose, defined in ICRP Publication 103. For external exposures to radionuclide-contaminated soil, values of the organ dose rate coefficient (Gy/s per Bq/m2) and effective dose rate coefficient (Sv/s per Bq/m2) have been computed by several authors and national laboratories using ICRP-compliant reference phantoms-both stylized and voxelized. These coefficients are of great value in post-accident exposure assessments as seen in Japan following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station disaster. Questions arise, however, among the general public regarding the accuracy of organ and effective dose estimates based upon reference phantom methodologies, especially for those individuals with height and/or total body mass that differ modestly or even substantially from the nearest age-matched reference person. In this pilot study, this issue is explored through use of the extended 351-member UF/NCI hybrid phantom library in which values of organ and detriment-weighted dose rate coefficients are computed for sex/height/mass-specific phantoms, and systematically compared to their values of the effective dose rate coefficient computed using corresponding reference phantoms. Results are given for monoenergetic photons, and then for some 33 different radionuclides, with all dose rate coefficient data provided in a series of electronic annexes. For environmentally relevant radionuclides such as 89Sr, 90Sr, 137Cs, and 131I, percent differences between the detriment-weighted dose rate coefficient computed using non-reference and the effective dose rate coefficient computed using reference phantoms vary only ± 5% for young children approximated by the reference 1-year-old phantom. With increased body size and age, the range of percent differences in these two quantities increases to +7% to -14% for the reference 5-year-old, to +10% to -27% for the reference 10-year-old, to +33% to -31% for the reference 15-year-old, and to +15% to -40% for male and female adults.