• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.189-198
• /
• 2002

The time for evacuation of residents in emergency planning zone(EPZ) of Uljin nuclear site in case of a radiological emergency was estimated with traffic analysis. Evacuees were classified into 4 groups by considering population density, local jurisdictions, and whether they ate residents or transients. The survey to investigate the behavioral characteristics of the residents was made for 200 households and included a hypothetical scenario explaining the accident situation and questions such as dwelling place, time demand for evacuation preparation transportation means for evacuation, sheltering place, and evacuation direction. The microscopic traffic simulation model, CORSIM, was used to simulate the behavior of evacuating vehicles on networks. The results showed that the evacuation time required for total vehicles to move out from EPZ took longer in the daytime than at night in spite that the delay times at intersections were longer at night than in the daytime. This was analyzed due to the differences of the trip generation time distribution. To validate whether the CORSIM model fan appropriately simulate the congested traffic phenomena assumable in case of emergency, a benchmark study was conducted at an intersection without an actuated traffic signal near Uljin site during the traffic peak-time in the morning. This study indicated that the predicted output by the CORSIM model was in good agreement with the observed data. satisfying the purpose of this study.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.93-98
• /
• 2022

Background: This study aims to derive the characteristics of each work type for industrial radiography based on empirical evidence through expert advice and a survey of radiation workers of various types of industrial radiography. Materials and Methods: According to a Korean report, work types of industrial radiography are classified into indoor tests, underground pipe tests, tests in a shielded room (radiographic testing [RT] room test), outdoor field tests, and outdoor large structure tests. For each work type, exposure geometry and radiation sources were mainly identified through the expert advice and workers' survey as reliable empirical evidence. Results and Discussion: The expert advice and survey results were consistent as the proportion of the work types were high in the order of RT room test, outdoor large structure test, underground pipe test, outdoor field test, and indoor test. The outdoor large structure test is the highest exposure risk work type in the industrial radiography. In most types of industrial radiography, radiation workers generally used ¹⁹²Ir as the main source. In the results of the survey, the portion of sources was high in the order of ¹⁹²Ir, X-ray generator, ⁶⁰Co, and ⁷⁵Se. As the exposure geometry, the antero-posterior geometry is dominant, and the rotational and isotropic geometry should be also considered with the work type. Conclusion: In this study, through expert advice and a survey, the external exposure characteristics for each work type of industrial radiography workers were derived. This information will be used in the reconstruction of organ dose for health effects assessment of Korean radiation workers.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.14-23
• /
• 2021

Background: For radiological protection and control, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) provides the nominal risk coefficients related to radiation exposure, which can be extrapolated using the excess relative risk and excess absolute risk obtained from the Life Span Study of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor (DDREF). Materials and Methods: Since it is impossible to directly estimate the radiation risk at doses less than approximately 100 mSv only from epidemiological knowledge and data, support from radiation biology is absolutely imperative, and thus, several national and international bodies have advocated the importance of bridging knowledge between biology and epidemiology. Because of the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011, the exposure of the public to radiation has become a major concern and it was considered that the estimation of radiation risk should be more realistic to cope with the prevailing radiation exposure situation. Results and Discussion: To discuss the issues from wide aspects related to radiological protection, and to realize bridging knowledge between biology and epidemiology, we have established a research group to develop low-dose and low-dose-rate radiation risk estimation methodology, with the permission of the Japan Health Physics Society. Conclusion: The aim of the research group was to clarify the current situation and issues related to the risk estimation of low-dose and low-dose-rate radiation exposure from the viewpoints of different research fields, such as epidemiology, biology, modeling, and dosimetry, to identify a future strategy and roadmap to elucidate a more realistic estimation of risk against low-dose and low-dose-rate radiation exposure.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.95-100
• /
• 2014

Purpose: Nasal bone fractures are the most common childhood facial bone fractures, with an incidence of about 39%. While taking a nasal bone x-ray is a common modality used in the emergency department, reports have expressed concerns with its low sensitivity and low specificity. Our study was aimed at comparing accuracy of physical and x-ray examination with that of facial bone computed tomography (CT). Methods: Electronic medical records (EMR) were retrospectively reviewed for patients under the age of 15 who visited our emergency department from January 2010 to December 2011with a chief complaint of nasal pain due to trauma and who had also undergone a nasal bone x-ray and facial bone CT. Patients who had not taken facial bone CT, who had been transferred, and who did not have EMR were excluded. We divided the patients into 2 groups, those who had nasal bone fractures and those without a fracture on their facial bone CT. We analyzed other parameters such as age, sex, and type of fracture to find statistical differences between the two groups. Results: A total of 209 patients were included. The patients with nasal bone fractures on their facial bone CT were older, and their traumas were more violent. Ten patients who had apparent nasal bone fractures on their facial bone CT had no definite signs of a fracture on their plain x-ray. Conclusion: Though facial bone CT is an effective modality in detecting nasal bone fractures, in evaluating younger patients suspected of having nasal bone fractures, prudent use of facial bone CT is needed to reduce unnecessary exposure to radiation.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.237-249
• /
• 2011

The Chernobyl accident was a terrible catastrophe for humanity. Scientists are in concurrence about an increase of thyroid cancer incidence among children, but not among adults, because even areas less contaminated by radiation have also reported an increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer. In this case, the rise might be due to a screening effect. There is no convincing evidence that the incidence of leukemia and solid cancer has increased among the exposed populations, but it still remains a controversial issue. Additionally, apparent evidence of decreased fertility and increased hereditary effects have not been observed in the general population. WHO suggested 4,000 people could have died or may die in the future among emergency workers and residents of the most contaminated areas, while Greenpeace insists there will be 93,080 victims around the world. The radiation dose due to Chernobyl was mainly low, so if its health effects are to be found, more long-term and welldesigned research will be needed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.965-974
• /
• 2016

The article describes the results of experiments conducted on pigs to determine the effect of plutonium, which is the most radiotoxic and highly active element in the range of mixed fuel $(U_{0.8}Pu_{0.2})O_2$ fission products, on living organisms. The results will allow empirical prediction of the emergency plutonium radiation dose for various organs and tissues of humans in case of an accident in a reactor running on mixed fuel $(U_{0.8}Pu_{0.2})O_2$.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.615-621
• /
• 2021

In the medical field, radiation provides information for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. As the use of radiation increases and the risk of exposure increases, interest in radiation protection is also rapidly increasing. Lead shielding material is mainly used, which has a risk of lead poisoning and absorption into the body. Tungsten mixed filament shielding sheets were fabricated with a size of 70 × 70 mm and a thickness of 1, 2, and 4 mm by using a 3D printer. In the general shooting experiment, the thickness of the shielding sheet is 1 ~ 5mm, the tube voltage is 60, 80, 100, 120 kVp and the tube current is 20, 40 mAs. In general photography, Tungsten showed better shielding rate compared to Brass, Copper, and Lead protective tools under all irradiation conditions, and in particular, Tungsten 5 mm showed 100% shielding rate. The 3D-printed tungsten mixed filament shielding is expected to be used as a new shield that can replace the existing lead protection tools as it shows a better shielding rate than the existing lead protection tools in Radiography.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.1052-1060
• /
• 2023

The airborne radiation monitoring has been used in geophysics for more than forty years and now it also has its important role in emergency monitoring. The aircraft background and the cosmic gamma-rays contribute to the measured gamma spectrum on the aircraft board. This adverse effect should be eliminated before the data processing. The paper describes two semiparametric methods to estimate the full spectrum aircraft background and cosmic gamma-ray contribution from spectra measured at altitudes where terrestrial contribution is negligible. The methods only assume to know possible peak positions in spectra and their full width at half maximum, that can be easily obtained e.g. from terrestrial measurement. The methods were applied to real experimental data acquired on Mi-17 and Bell 412 helicopter boards. The IRIS airborne gamma-ray spectrometer, with 4×4 L NaI(Tl) crystals, produced by Pico Envirotec Inc., Canada, was used on helicopters' boards. To obtain valid estimate of the aircraft background and the cosmic contribution, the measurements over sea and large water areas were carried out. However, the satisfactory results over inland were also achieved comparing with those acquired over large water areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.553-561
• /
• 2020

In this study aims to investigate the radiation protection effect of avocado peel extracts on the Sprague-Dawely rats. 52 male rats were randomly classified into 4 groups. NC Group was a normal control group, PA Group was a group injected avocado peel extracts, IR Group was irradiated group, and lastly PA+IR Group was set as an irradiated group after injected of avocado peel extracts. Avocado peel extract was administered orally at 200 mg/kg once a day for 14 days before irradiation, and the radiation dose was systemically irradiated with 6 MV X-ray of 7 Gy. On the 4 and 21 days after irradiation, the experimental animals were sacrificed to evaluate the change in blood cell composition, spleen index, and histopathological evaluation of the liver and small intestine. As a result, the PA+IR Group showed a significantly greater recovery of lymphocytes(p<0.01), red blood cells(p<0.01), and platelets(p<0.05) than the IR Group. It was also confirmed that the activation of Superoxide Dismutase(SOD) was further increased. Histopathologically, observed that nuclei aggregation and cytoplasmic expansion were slightly reduced in the PA+IR Group in the liver. and the damage was significantly reduce(p<0.01) in the change of villi length due to damage to the small intestine cells. Based on the above results, avocado peel extract can be expected to act as a radiation protection agent that can reduce damage to blood cells and major organs caused by irradiation.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.209-216
• /
• 2015

It has been about 5 years since the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, which contaminated large area with radioactive materials. It is necessary to assess radiation dose to establish evacuation areas and to set decontamination goal for the large contaminated area. In this study, we assessed temporal trend of radiation dose to the public living in the large area contaminated with radioactive materials after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. The dose assessment was performed based on Chernobyl model and RESRAD model for two evacuation lift areas, Kawauchi and Naraha. It was reported that deposition densities in the areas were $4.3{\sim}96kBq\;m^{-2}$ for $^{134}Cs$, $1.4{\sim}300kBq\;m^{-2}$ for $^{137}Cs$, respectively. Radiation dose to the residents depended on radioactive cesium concentrations in the soil, ranging $0.11{\sim}2.4mSv\;y^{-1}$ at Kawauchi area and $0.69{\sim}1.1mSv\;y^{-1}$ at Naraha area in July 2014. The difference was less than 5% in radiation doses estimated by two different models. Radiation dose decreased with calendar time and the decreasing slope varied depending on dose assessment models. Based on the Chernobyl dosimetry model, radiation doses decreased with calendar time to about 65% level of the radiation dose in 2014 after 1 year, 11% level after 10 years, and 5.6% level after 30 years. RESRAD dosimetry model more slowly decreased radiation dose with time to about 85% level after 1 year, 40% level after 10 years, and 15% level after 30 years. The decrease of radiation dose can be mainly attributed into radioactive decays and environmental transport of the radioactive cesium. Only environmental transports of radioactive cesium without consideration of radioactive decays decreased radiation dose additionally 43% after 1 year, 72% after 3 years, 80% after 10 years, and 83% after 30 years. Radiation doses estimated with cesium concentration in the soil based on Chernobyl dosimetry model were compared with directly measured radiation doses. The estimated doses well agreed with the measurement data. This study results can be applied to radiation dose assessments at the contaminated area for radiation safety assurance or emergency preparedness.