Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Fingernail electron paramagnetic resonance dosimetry protocol for localized hand exposure accident

  • Jae Seok Kim (National Radiation Emergency Medical Center, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences) ;
  • Byeong Ryong Park (National Radiation Emergency Medical Center, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences) ;
  • Minsu Cho (National Radiation Emergency Medical Center, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences) ;
  • Won Il Jang (National Radiation Emergency Medical Center, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences) ;
  • Yong Kyun Kim (Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Hanyang)
  • Received : 2021.11.16
  • Accepted : 2022.08.29
  • Published : 2023.01.25
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Abstract

Exposure to ionizing radiation induces free radicals in human nails. These free radicals generate a radiation-induced signal (RIS) in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Compared with the RIS of tooth enamel samples, that in human nails is more affected by moisture and heat, but has the advantages of being sensitive to radiation and easy to collect. The fingernail as a biological sample is applicable in retrospective dosimetry in cases of localized hand exposure accidents. In this study, the dosimetric characteristics of fingernails were analyzed in fingernail clippings collected from Korean donors. The dose response, fading of radiation-induced and mechanically induced signals, treatment method for evaluation of background signal, minimum detectable dose, and minimum detectable mass were investigated to propose a fingernail-EPR dosimetry protocol. In addition, to validate the practicality of the protocol, blind and field experiments were performed in the laboratory and a non-destructive testing facility. The relative biases in the dose assessment result of the blind and field experiments were 8.43% and 21.68% on average between the reference and reconstructed doses. The results of this study suggest that fingernail-EPR dosimetry can be a useful method for the application of retrospective dosimetry in cases of radiological accidents.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by a grant of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KIRAMS), funded by Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Republic of Korea (No.50445-2021 and No.50535-2021).

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