• 방사선산업학회지
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.265-273
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• 2023

To effectively and safely manage the radiation exposure to nuclear power plant (NPP) workers in accidents, major overseas NPP operators such as the United States, Germany, and France have developed and applied realistic 3D model radiation dose assessment software for workers. Continuous research and development have recently been conducted, such as performing NPP accident management using 3D-VR based on As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) planning tool. In line with this global trend, it is also required to secure technology to manage radiation exposure of workers in Korea efficiently. Therefore, in this paper, it is described the application method and assessment results of radiation exposure scenarios for workers in response to accidents assessment technology, which is one of the fundamental technologies for constructing a realistic platform to be utilized for radiation exposure prediction, diagnosis, management, and training simulations following accidents. First, the post-accident sampling after the Loss of Coolant Accident(LOCA) was selected as the accident and response scenario, and the assessment area related to this work was established. Subsequently, the structures within the assessment area were modeled using MCNP, and the radiation source of the equipment was inputted. Based on this, the radiation dose distribution in the assessment area was assessed. Afterward, considering the three principles of external radiation protection (time, distance, and shielding) detailed work scenarios were developed by varying the number of workers, the presence or absence of a shield, and the location of the shield. The radiation exposure doses received by workers were compared and analyzed for each scenario, and based on the results, the optimal accident response scenario was derived. The results of this study plan to be utilized as a fundamental technology to ensure the safety of workers through simulations targeting various reactor types and accident response scenarios in the future. Furthermore, it is expected to secure the possibility of developing a data-based ALARA decision support system for predicting radiation exposure dose at NPP sites.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.51-57
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• 2022

Cosmic radiation exposure of the flight crews in Korea has been managed by Radiation Safety Management around Living Life Act under Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. However, the domestic flight crews are excluded from the Act because of relatively low route dose exposure compared to that of international flight crews. But we found that the accumulated total annual dose of domestic flight crews is far from negligible because of relatively long total flight time and too many flights. In this study, to suggest the necessity of management of domestic flight crews' radiation exposure, we statistically analyzed domestic flight crew's accumulative annual dose by using cosmic radiation estimation models of the Civil Aviation Research Institute (CARI)-6M, Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aviation Safety (NAIRAS), and Korean Radiation Exposure Assessment Model (KREAM) and compared with in-situ measurements of Liulin-6K LET spectrometer. As a result, the average exposure dose of domestic flight crews was found to be 0.5-0.8 mSv. We also expect that our result might provide the basis to include the domestic flight crews as radiation workers, not just international flight attendants.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.55-64
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• 2009

In a pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR), radiation workers who have access to radiation controlled areas submit their urine samples to health physicists periodically; internal radiation exposure is evaluated by the monitoring of these urine samples. Internal radiation exposure at PHWRs accounts for approximately 20 $\sim$ 40% of total radiation exposure; most internal radiation exposure is attributed to tritium. Carbon-14 is not a dominant nuclide in the radiation exposure of workers, but it is one potential nuclide to be necessarily monitored. Carbon-14 is a low energy beta emitter and passes relatively easily into the body of workers by inhalation because its dominant chemical form is radioactive carbon dioxide ($^{14}CO_2$). Most inhaled carbon-14 is rapidly exhaled from the worker's body, but a small amount of carbon-14 remains inside the body and is excreted by urine. In this study, a method for dual analysis of tritium and carbon-14 in urine samples of workers at nuclear power plants is developed and a method for internal dose assessment using its excretion rate result is established. As a result of the developed dual analysis of tritium and carbon-14 in urine samples of radiation workers who entered the high radiation field area at a PHWR, it was found that internal exposure to carbon-14 is unlikely to occur. In addition, through the urine counting results of radiation workers who participated in the open process of steam generators, it was found that the likelihood of internal exposure to either tritium or carbon-14 is extremely low at pressurized water reactors (PWRs).

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제30권
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• pp.5.1-5.8
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• 2015

Objectives We aimed to assess the radiation exposure for epidemiologic investigation in residents exposed to radiation from roads that were accidentally found to be contaminated with radioactive cesium-137 ($^{137}Cs$) in Seoul. Methods Using information regarding the frequency and duration of passing via the $^{137}Cs$ contaminated roads or residing/working near the roads from the questionnaires that were obtained from 8875 residents and the measured radiation doses reported by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, we calculated the total cumulative dose of radiation exposure for each person. Results Sixty-three percent of the residents who responded to the questionnaire were considered as ever-exposed and 1% of them had a total cumulative dose of more than 10 mSv. The mean (minimum, maximum) duration of radiation exposure was 4.75 years (0.08, 11.98) and the geometric mean (minimum, maximum) of the total cumulative dose was 0.049 mSv (<0.001, 35.35) in the exposed. Conclusions An individual exposure assessment was performed for an epidemiological study to estimate the health risk among residents living in the vicinity of $^{137}Cs$ contaminated roads. The average exposure dose in the exposed people was less than 5% of the current guideline.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.6-11
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• 2010

Embodying the safety of radioactive waste disposal requires the relevant safety criteria and the corresponding stylized methods to demonstrate its compliance with the criteria. This paper proposes a conceptual model of risk-based safety evaluation for integrating complex potential radiation exposure situations in radioactive waste disposal. For demonstrating compliance with a risk constraint, the approach deals with important exposure scenarios from the viewpoint of the receptor to estimate the resulting risk. For respective exposure situations, it considers the occurrence probabilities of the relevant exposure scenarios as their probability of giving rise to doses to estimate the total risk to a representative person by aggregating the respective risks. In this model, an exposure scenario is simply constructed with three components:radionuclide release, radionuclide migration and environment contamination, and interaction between the contaminated media and the receptor. A set of exposure scenarios and the representative person are established from reasonable combinations of the components, based on a balance of their occurrence probabilities and the consequences. In addition, the probability of an exposure scenario is estimated on the assumption that the initiating external factors influence release mechanisms and transport pathways, and its effect on the interaction between the environment and the receptor may be covered in terms of the representative person. This integrated approach enables a systematic risk assessment for complex exposure situations of radioactive waste disposal and facilitates the evaluation of compliance with risk constraints.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권8호
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• pp.1784-1791
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• 2020

The 14 MeV neutron generator facility is being developed by the Institute for Plasma Research India to conduct the lab scale experiments related to Indian breeding blanket system for ITER and DEMO. It will also be utilized for material testing, shielding experiments and development of fusion diagnostics. Occupational radiation exposure control is necessary for the all kind of nuclear facilities to get the operational licensing from governing authorities and nuclear regulatory bodies. In the same way, the radiation exposure for the 14 MeV neutron generator facility at the occupational worker area and accessible zones for general workers should be under the permissible limit of AERB India. The generator is designed for the yield of 10¹² n/s. The shielding assessment has been made to estimate the radiation dose during the operational time of the neutron generator. The facility has many utilities and constraints like ventilation ducts, accessible doors, accessibility of neutron generator components and to conduct the experiments which make the shielding assessment challenging to provide proper safety for occupational workers and the general public. The neutron and gamma dose rates have been estimated using the MCNP radiation transport code and ENDF -VII nuclear data libraries. The ICRP-74 fluence to dose conversion coefficients has been used for the assessment. The annual radiation exposure has been assessed by considering 500 h per year operational time. The provision of local shield near to neutron generator has been also evaluated to reduce the annual radiation doses. The comprehensive results of radiation shielding capability of neutron generator building and local shield design have been presented in the paper along with detailed maps of radiation field.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.12-20
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• 2010

원전 일차계통은 복잡한 수질환경으로 방사화생성물과 부식생성물 등 다양한 방사성핵종이 생성되고 있다. 이 방사성 핵종 중에서 원전종사자 피폭방사선량평가와 방사성유출물관리 측면에서 중요한 핵종으로는 $^3H,\;^{14}C,\;^{58}Co,\;^{60}Co,\;^{137}Cs,\;^{131}I$를 들 수 있다. 본 논문은 원전 방사선작업종사자와 원전 주변주민의 피폭방사선량에 기여가 큰 방사성핵종에 대해 살펴보고, 이들 핵종에 의한 선량평가 과정을 소개하였다. 특히 국내 원전에서 발생하였던 $^{131}I$ 내부피폭사건과 일차계통 냉각수의 탈염수 오염사건 등을 포함한 원전의 운영과정에서 일어났던 종사자와 원전주변주민에 대한 피폭 방사선량 평가 사례를 제시하였다. 또한 최근 이슈로 떠오른 삼중수소와 $^{14}C$의 선량평가에 대한 잠재적인 현안 등도 간단히 기술하였다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.424-435
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• 2016

Background: The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the Federal Guidance Report (FGR) published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been widely applied worldwide in the fields of radiation protection and dose assessment. The dose conversion coefficients of the ICRP and FGR are widely used for assessing exposure doses. However, before the coefficients are used, the user must thoroughly understand the derivation process of the coefficients to ensure that they are used appropriately in the evaluation. Materials and Methods: The ICRP provides recommendations to regulatory and advisory agencies, mainly in the form of guidance on the fundamental principles on which appropriate radiological protection can be based. The FGR provides federal and state agencies with technical information to assist their implementation of radiation protection programs for the U.S. population. The system of radiation dose assessment and dose conversion coefficients in the ICRP and FGR is reviewed in this study. Results and Discussion: A thorough understanding of their background is essential for the proper use of dose conversion coefficients. The FGR dose assessment system was strongly influenced by the ICRP and the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), and is hence consistent with those recommendations. Moreover, the ICRP and FGR both used the scientific data reported by Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) and United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) as their primary source of information. The difference between the ICRP and FGR lies in the fact that the ICRP utilized information regarding a population of diverse races, whereas the FGR utilized data on the American population, as its goal was to provide guidelines for radiological protection in the US. Conclusion: The contents of this study are expected to be utilized as basic research material in the areas of radiation protection and dose assessment.

• 방사선산업학회지
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.275-282
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• 2023

Workers in nuclear power plants are likely to be exposed to radiation from various geometrical sources. In order to evaluate the exposure level, the point-kernel method can be utilized. In order to perform a dose assessment based on this method, the radiation source should be divided into point sources, and the number of divisions should be set by the evaluator. However, for the general public, there may be difficulties in selecting the appropriate number of divisions and performing an evaluation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop an algorithm for dose assessment for arbitrary shaped sources based on the point-kernel method. For this purpose, the point-kernel method was analyzed and the main factors for the dose assessment were selected. Subsequently, based on the analyzed methodology, a dose assessment algorithm for arbitrary shaped sources was developed. Lastly, the developed algorithm was verified using Microshield. The dose assessment procedure of the developed algorithm consisted of 1) boundary space setting step, 2) source grid division step, 3) the set of point sources generation step, and 4) dose assessment step. In the boundary space setting step, the boundaries of the space occupied by the sources are set. In the grid division step, the boundary space is divided into several grids. In the set of point sources generation step, the coordinates of the point sources are set by considering the proportion of sources occupying each grid. Finally, in the dose assessment step, the results of the dose assessments for each point source are summed up to derive the dose rate. In order to verify the developed algorithm, the exposure scenario was established based on the standard exposure scenario presented by the American National Standards Institute. The results of the evaluation with the developed algorithm and Microshield were compare. The results of the evaluation with the developed algorithm showed a range of 1.99×10^-1~9.74×10^-1 μSv hr^-1, depending on the distance and the error between the results of the developed algorithm and Microshield was about 0.48~6.93%. The error was attributed to the difference in the number of point sources and point source distribution between the developed algorithm and the Microshield. The results of this study can be utilized for external exposure radiation dose assessments based on the point-kernel method.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• 제54권3호
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• pp.283-288
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• 2024

Purpose: Given the growing use of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans, this study assessed radiation exposure from these scans in the context of national guidelines and recommended dose limits. Materials and Methods: The current literature was reviewed to quantify the benefit of opportunistic diagnosis of carotid artery calcification relative to the potential risk of radiation-induced cancer. Results: The average radiation from CBCT at its largest field of view and highest resolution possible amounts to a reasonable but still low ionizing radiation exposure. This exposure is comparable to 22 days of background radiation and is notably lower than the radiation exposure from medical CT scans. According to the risk assessment analysis, the risk of stroke events involving internal and external carotid artery calcification (CAC) was 202 and 67 per 100,000 individuals, respectively. In contrast, the estimated risk of radiation-induced cancer associated with CBCT was notably lower, at 0.6 per 100,000. Conclusion: The present study advocates for a comprehensive assessment of CBCT scans encompassing the areas of the internal and external carotid arteries by a knowledgeable professional, given the potential advantages of early detection of vascular abnormalities. Dental professionals who take scans involving these areas need to be mindful of reporting these findings and refer patients to their primary care physician for further investigation.