• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.187-193
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• 1999

국내 석탄화력발전소에서 발생되는 비산석탄회의 방사능 농도 분석을 수행하였고 재활용을 위한 방사능 함량의 유해도를 평가하였다. TBP 용매추출법과 알파스펙트로베타를 사용하여 비산석탄회에 존재하는 우라늄 동위원소($^{238}U,\;^{235}U,\;^{234}U$)의 방사능 농도를 측정하였으며, 감마스펙트로메타를 사용하여 $^{226}Ra,\;^{232}Th,\;^{40}K$ 등의 방사능 농도를 결정하였다. 우라늄 동위원소의 농도측정 결과 $^{238}U,\;^{235}U,\;^{234}U$의 방사능 농도는 평균적으로 각각 116.1, 5.01, 및 121.2 Bq $kg^{-1}$으로 나타났으며, $^{234}U/^{238}U$의 방사능 농도비는 $1.04\;{\pm}\;0.03$ 로서 자연상태의 토양중 방사능 농도 비인 1.14 와 유사하였다. 동일시료에 대한 감마측정 결과 $^{226}Ra,\;^{292}Th$ 및 $^{40}K$의 방사능 농도는 각각 $101.7\;{\sim}\;113.9,\;39.5\;{\sim}\;54.2$, 및 $315.0\;{\sim}\;990.6$ Bq $kg^{-1}$ 으로 나타났다. $^{226}Ra,\;^{292}Th$ 및 $^{40}K$ 동위원소의 농도를 사용하여 재활용 목적으로서의 비산석탄회의 방사능 함량 유해도를 평가하였고, 그 결과 본 연구의 대상물질인 비산석탄회의 방사능 함량은 허용기준치 이하로 나타났다.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• 제10권E호
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• pp.299-302
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• 1994

At a nuclear power plant, environmental radioactivity monitoring is routine work for the radiation safety management For the environmental monitoring of tritium($^3$H) activity in water sampled liquid scintillation counting( LSC) method is applied to measure low- energy beta activity from tritium in the samples. The $^3$H activity is measured using the BECKMAN 5801 system at the KRISS( Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science) for evaluating the lower limits of detection( LLD) of $^3$H measurement and the measuring capability of low-level $^3$H activity at four nuclear Power Plant sites. The LSC systems used for low-level $^3$H activity measurements at the nuclear Power Plants are confirmed to satisfy throughout an intercomparison study under the experimental arrangements by the KRISS.

• 환경생물
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.373-378
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• 2011

Our aim was to investigate the genotoxicity of ambient air in the Krak$\acute{o}$w area after Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident and compare with results from Chernobyl fallout. For the detection of ambient air genotoxicity the technique for screening gene mutation frequency in somatic cells of the $Tradescantia$ stamen hairs ($Trad$-SH assay) was used. Since 11th of March 2011 (Fukushima NPP accident), several pots containing at least 15 shoots of bioindicating plants were exposed to ambient air at 2 sites in the Krak$\acute{o}$w surrounding area, one in the city center, and about 100 pots in a control site (in the glasshouse of the Institute of Nuclear Physics) Continuous screening of mutations was performed. Progenies of 371,090 cells exposed were analyzed. Mutation frequency obtained in the first 10 days has shown a mean control level (GMF*100=$0.06{\pm}0.01$). At scoring period related to influence of a potential Fukushima fallout, a significant increase of gene mutation frequencies above the control level was observed at each site in the range, 0.10~0.33 depending on the location, (mean value for all sites GMF*100=$0.19{\pm}0.05$) that was associated with a strong expression of toxic effects. In the reported studies following the Chernobyl NPP accident monitoring $in$ $situ$ of the ambient air genotoxicity was performed in the period since April $29^{th}$ till June $3^{rd}$ 1986 also with Trad-SH bioindicator. In general, mutation frequency increases due to Chernobyl fallout(GMF*100=$0.43{\pm}0.02$) were corresponding to fluctuation of radioactivity in the air reported from physical measures, and to published reports about increase in chromosome aberration levels. Although, recent data obtained from monitoring of the ambient air quality in the Krak$\acute{o}$w and surroundings are lower when compared to results reported after Chernobyl NPP accident, though results express a significant increase above the control level and also are corresponding with increased air radioactivity reported from physical measurements. Statistically significant in comparison to control increase in gene mutation rates and more prolonged than that after Chernobyl fallout increase of GMF was observed during the period following the Fukushima NPP failure.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.317-323
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• 2014

Odyssey, one of the NASA's Mars exploration program and SELENE (Kaguya), a Japanese lunar orbiting spacecraft have a payload of Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) for analyzing radioactive chemical elements of the atmosphere and the surface. In these days, gamma-ray spectroscopy with a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector has been widely used for the activity measurements of natural radionuclides contained in the soil of the Earth. The energy spectra obtained by the HPGe detectors have been generally analyzed by means of the Window Analysis (WA) method. In this method, activity concentrations are determined by using the net counts of energy window around individual peaks. Meanwhile, an alternative method, the so-called Full Spectrum Analysis (FSA) method uses count numbers not only from full-absorption peaks but from the contributions of Compton scattering due to gamma-rays. Consequently, while it takes a substantial time to obtain a statistically significant result in the WA method, the FSA method requires a much shorter time to reach the same level of the statistical significance. This study shows the validation results of FSA method. We have compared the concentration of radioactivity of $^{40}K$, $^{232}Th$ and $^{238}U$ in the soil measured by the WA method and the FSA method, respectively. The gamma-ray spectrum of reference materials (RGU and RGTh, KCl) and soil samples were measured by the 120% HPGe detector with cosmic muon veto detector. According to the comparison result of activity concentrations between the FSA and the WA, we could conclude that FSA method is validated against the WA method. This study implies that the FSA method can be used in a harsh measurement environment, such as the gamma-ray measurement in the Moon, in which the level of statistical significance is usually required in a much shorter data acquisition time than the WA method.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.53-68
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• 2020

Background: International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) reported public exposure doses due to radionuclides released in the Fukushima nuclear accident a few years after the event. However, the reported doses were generally overestimated due to conservative assumptions such as a longer stay in deliberate areas designated for evacuation than the actual stay. After these reports had been published, more realistic dose values were reported by Japanese scientists. Materials and Methods: The present paper reviews those reports, including the most recently published articles; and summarizes estimated effective doses (external and internal) and issues related to their estimation. Results and Discussion: External dose estimation can be categorized as taking two approaches-estimation from ambient dose rate and peoples' behavior patterns-and measurements using personal dosimeters. The former approach was useful for estimating external doses in an early stage after the accident. The first 4-month doses were less than 2 mSv for most (94%) study subjects. Later on, individual doses came to be monitored by personal dosimeter measurements. On the basis of these measurements, the estimated median annual external dose was reported to be < 1 mSv in 2011 for 22 municipalities of Fukushima Prefecture. Internal dose estimation also can be categorized as taking two approaches: estimation from whole-body counting and estimation from monitoring of environmental samples such as radioactivity concentrations in food and drinking water. According to results by the former approach, committed effective dose due to ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs could be less than 0.1 mSv for most residents including those from evacuated areas. Conclusion: Realistic doses estimated by Japanese scientists indicated that the doses reported by WHO and UNSCEAR were generally overestimated. Average values for the first-year effective doses for residents in two affected areas (Namie Town and Iitate Village) were not likely to reach 10 mSv, the lower end of the doses estimated by WHO.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권10호
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• pp.2370-2378
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• 2020

Building materials contribute significantly to the indoor radon and thoron levels. Therefore, parameters that influence the exhalation rates of radon and thoron from building material need to be analyzed closely. As a preliminary study, the effects of humidity on exhalation rates were measured using a system with an accumulation chamber and RAD7 detector for Korean brick, Korean soil, and Indonesian brick. Resulting doses to a person who resides in a room constructed from the building materials were assessed by UNSCEAR method for different air exchange rates. The measurements have revealed that Korean brick exhaled the highest radon and thoron while Indonesian brick exhaled the lowest thoron. Results showed that for a typical low dense material, radon and thoron exhalation rate will increase until reached its maximum at a certain value of humidity and will remain saturated above it. Analysis on concentration and effective dose showed that radon is strongly affected by air exchange rate (ACH). This is showed by about 66 times decrease of radon dose from 0.00 h^-1 to those of 0.50 h^-1 ACH and decrease by a factor of 2 from 0.50 h^-1 to those of 0.80 h^-1. In case of thoron, the ACH doesn't have significant effects on effective dose.

• 대한환경공학회지
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• 제38권10호
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• pp.535-542
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• 2016

플럭스 챔버법은 비용효율적인 표면 발산량의 측정방법으로 다양한 연구 분야에 널리 이용되어 왔다. 플럭스 챔버법은 운용 방식에 따라 기울기 방식을 이용한 닫힌 챔버법(SFC)과 평형 농도 방식을 이용한 열린 챔버법(DFC)으로 분류할 수 있는데, SFC 방식은 장비가 간단하고 운용이 쉬운 반면, 직선성에 대한 불확실한 가정으로 인하여 플럭스 산정 값이 가변적인 단점이 있다. 한편, DFC 방식은 더 많은 특정 기기가 필요하지만, 어떤 애매모호함이 없이 일정한 값을 산정할 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 작고 조밀한 키트를 이용하여 DFC를 자체 제작하였다. 자체 제작한 DFC는 30분 이내에 평형상태에 도달하였고, 측정 초기의 불충분한 혼합을 제외하면 시료 균질도가 5% 미만이고, 회수율이 90% 이상으로 우수하였다. 이 개선된 DFC의 상대확장불확도는 7.37%로 평가되었는데, 이는 주로 통제되지 않은 유입가스에 기인한다. 연구 결과는 대규모 매립지에서 소형의 측정 키트를 이용한, 개선된 DFC 방식이 신뢰성이 높은 자료를 효과적으로 축적할 수 있음을 보여준다.

• 대한환경공학회지
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• 제38권8호
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• pp.459-467
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• 2016

본 연구는 기기중성자방사화분석법을 이용하여 다중이용시설 중 지하철 객차 내 실내공기 중 미세먼지(PM10)의 미량원소 분포특성과 실내공기질을 평가하고, 향후 실내공기질의 효율적인 제어를 위한 객차 내 PM10의 오염원을 평가하고자 하였다. 대전광역시에서 운행 중인 지하철 객차 내에서 채취한 PM10의 평균농도는 $59.3{\pm}14.5{\mu}g/m^3$이었고, 지하철 객차 내 PM10 중 24종의 원소성분을 정량분석한 결과, 농도는 $10^{-3}{\sim}10^5ng/m^3$ 범위에 걸쳐 넓게 분포하였으며, Fe ($12.5{\mu}g/m^3$)의 농도가 특히 높았다. 이는 지하철 브레이크 시스템과 철로 및 차륜 마찰과 같은 지하철 운행에 의하여 Fe가 상당히 부유되기 때문인 것으로 판단된다. 분석된 미량원소 농도를 바탕으로 오염원을 평가한 결과, brake-nonferrous metal particle, resuspended rail dust, fuel combustion, vehicle exhaust, black carbon, Cr-related가 주요 오염원인 것으로 나타났다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.21-26
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• 2008

Activity가 20만 dpm인 고상 $^3H$ 표준선원을 사용하여 액체섬광계수기에 대한 교정을 수행할 경우 환경시료와는 Activity 및 Geometry 차이가 존재하고, 계측조건 차이로 인해 많은 불확실성이 존재할 수 있지만 이에 대한 연구결과가 없는 실정이다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 민감도분석을 통해 최적의 계측조건을 도출한 후 그 결과에 근거하여 Geometry 및 Activity 차이에 의한 영향을 정량적으로 평가하였고, 각 항목에 의한 영향이 나타날 경우 추가실험을 통해 원인을 규명하였다. 계측 결과에 대한 검증을 수행하기 위해 Chi-square test와 방사능오차분석을 수행하였고, 민감도분석 결과 본 연구에서 제안한 방법이 기존 방법에 비해 $1{\sim}3%$정도 오차가 감소하였다. 방사능오차분석 결과 Activity 차이에 의한 영향은 무시할 수 있었지만 Geometry 차이에 의한 영향이 크게 나타났고, 이에 대한 원인을 규명한 결과 비수용성인 플라스틱용기는 반사체 역할을 하였고, Activity가 높을수록 플라스틱에 의한 영향은 무시할 수 있었으며, 선원형태 차이에 의한 영향이 지배적인 것으로 나타났다.