1. The dose rate of a thin Cesium (Cs) 2.

It is required to reduce the dose rate

source emitting beta particles with from a certain source behind a shield
maximum energy 510 KeV and with the from 100 Sv/hr to 0.4 µSv/hr using
activity of 3 Ci at the distance 50 cm concrete with a half-value layer of 6 cm
from the source: for the given gamma ray energy. Then the
thickness of the shield shall be:

Given:

Given:
Emax = 510 KeV X 1 MeV = 0.51 MeV = 0.17 MeV
1000 KeV 3 No = 100 Sv/hr

N = 0.4 uSv/hr = 0.4X10-6 Sv/hr

A = 3 Ci X 37 GBq X 1000 MBq = 1.11X105 MBq
1 Ci 1 GBq X1/2 = 6 cm

X = ?
d = 50 cm X 1 m = 0.5 m
100 cm

Radioactive Decay Law:

-µX
Dose Calculation: βeta emitters X1/2
N = No ℮

E(uSv/hr) = 5 A(MBq) Eave(MeV) (-0.693)(X)

d2(m) 6 cm
(0.4X10-6) = (100) ℮

= (5)(1.11X105 MBq)(0.17 MeV)

(0.5 m)2 0.4X10-6 Sv/hr ln = (-0.693)(X)
100 Sv/hr 6 cm

= 94,350 = 3.77X105 uSv/hr -19.34 = (-0.693)(X)

0.52 6 cm

E = 377 mSv/hr X = (19.34)(6 cm)

0.693

X = 167 cm
3. 19.65 mCi of Cs-137 is obtained from 4. A Cs source was counted in a certain
1018 atoms. Then the T1/2 of this Cs-137 geometrical configuration with ŋ = 4x10-5.
is? Then the CR = 3,600 cpm. The source
activity is: f = 0.851.

Given:
Given:
(10-3)
A = 19.65 mCi X 3.7X1010 Bq = 7.27X108 Bq ƞ = 4 X 10-5
1 Ci
C = 3600 cpm x 1 min. = 60 cps
N = 1018 Atoms 60 sec.

f = 0.851
T1/2 = ?
A = ?

Formula: Activity Geometrical Configuration:

A = λ N C = ƞ f A

A = 0.693N ; T1/2 = λ N
T1/2 A
A = C = 60
ƞ f (4 x 10-5)(0.851)

T1/2 = (0.693)(1018) = 6.93 X 1017

7.27X108 7.27 X 108 = 60
3.4 X 10-5

= 9.53 X 108 sec x 1 hr x 1 day = 1.76 X 106 Bq x 1 Ci

3600 sec 24 hrs 3.7 X 1010 Bq

x 1 yr = 4.77 X 10-5 Ci
365 days

A = 47.7 uCi

T1/2 = 30.2 yrs

5. An Ir-192 source with activity 100 Ci
is decaying through 95% by beta- and with
a maximum energy 600 KeV. Then supposing
that 25% of the energy is absorbed in air
and source itself, the dose rate at the
distance 40 cm:
6. A certain job is done with an operator
through 5 minutes staying at the distance
25 cm from the source getting the dose of
200 mSv. If the operator will use a long
handle so that the distance will be 150
cm and the time will be 10 minutes. E2=?

Given: Given:

t1 = 5 min ; t2 = 10 min
A = 100 Ci x 37 GBq x 1000 MBq
1 Ci 1 GBq d1 = 25 cm ; d2 = 150 cm

= 3.7 X 106 MBq E1 = 200 mSv ; E2 = ?

Emax = 600 KeV x 1 MeV = 0.6 MeV

1000 KeV 3 Inverse Square Law:

= 0.2 MeV E1 d12 = E2 d22

d = 40 cm x 1 m = 0.4 m (200 mSv)(25 cm)2 = (E2)(150 cm)2

100 cm

E = ? E2 = (200 mSv)(25 cm)2

(150 cm)2

Dose Calculation: = 125,000

22,500

E(uSv/hr) = 5 A(MBq) Eave(MeV)

d2(m) E2 = 5.56 mSv

= (5)(3.7X106)(0.2)(0.95)
(0.4)2 E2 x t2
t1

= 2.19 X 107 uSv/hr

5.56 mSv x 10 min
5 min
E = 21.9 Sv/hr

E2 = 11.11 mSv
7. An operator was injected by 200 mCi 8. A radioactive source with the activity
Iodine-131 with a half life time of 8 of 50 mCi decayed after 1,000 days to
days. A Biological half life time of 0.1 1,300 MBq. Then the half-life time of
year. Then the remaining activity in his this source is:
body after 100 days will be?
Given:
Given:
Ao = 50 mCi x 37 MBq = 1850 MBq
Ao = 200 mCi 1 mCi

Tp = 8 days A = 1300 MBq

Tb = 0.1 yr x 365 days = 36.5 days t = 1000 days

1 yr
T1/2 = ?
t = 100 days

A = ? Formula: Activity

-λt
Formula: Activity T1/2
A = Ao ℮
Teff = Tp x Tb
T p + Tb
(-0.693)(1000)
T1/2
= 8 x 36.5 = 292 1300 = 1850 ℮
8 + 36.5 44.5

= 6.6 days 1300 ln = (-0.693)(1000)

1850 T1/2

-λt
Teff
A = Ao ℮ -0.35 = (-0.693)(1000)
T1/2

(-0.693)(100)
(6.6) T1/2 = (0.693)(1000)
= 200 mCi ℮ 0.35

= (200 mCi)(2.75 X 10-5) = 1,980 days x 1 yr

365 days

= 5.5 X 10-3 mCi

T1/2 = 5.4 yrs

A = 5.5 uCi
9. The stomach of an operator was exposed 10. An Operator got the following
to 1 rad from neutrons with WR = 20 and 5 equivalent doses: 10 rems, 20 mSv, 30
rads from gamma ray and 1.5 rads from rems, and 15 mSv in the Stomach, Liver,
ingestion of alpha emitters. Then the Red Bone Marrow, and Bladder
equivalent dose in the stomach is: respectively. Then the effective dose to
this operator is:

Given:
Given:
N = 1 rad ; WR = 20
Stomach = 10 rems
γ = 5 rads ; WR = 1 WT = 12

α = 1.5 rads ; WR = 20 Liver = 20 mSv x 1 rem = 2 rems

10 mSv
WT = 0.05

Equivalent Dose: Red Bone Marrow = 30 rems

WT = 0.12

HT = ∑R WR x DT,R Bladder = 15 mSv x 1 rem = 1.5 rem

10 mSv
WT = 0.05
= (20 x 1) + (1 x 5) + (20 x 1.5)

Effective Dose:
= 20 + 5 + 30

E = ∑ T WT x H T
HT = 55 rems

= (0.12x10)+(0.05x2)+(0.12x30)+(.05x1.5)

= 12 + 0.1 + 3.6 + 0.075

E = 4.975 rem
11. The Ir-192 source with the activity
of 100 Ci. If the T1/2 is 74.2 days, then,
the activity will decreased to 2 Ci
after:
12. The activity of 1018 atoms of Cs-137
with a T1/2 is 30.2 years in mCi is?
Given:

Given: N = 1018 Atoms

T1/2 = 30.2 yrs x 365 days x 24 hrs

Ao = 100 Ci 1 yr 1 day

A = 2 Ci x 3600 sec = 9.53 X 108 sec

1 hr
T1/2 = 74.2 days
A = ? mCi?
t = ?

Formula: Activity Formula: Activity

-λ t A = λ N
T1/2 T1/2
A = Ao ℮

= (0.693)(1018)
(-0.693)(t) 9.53 X 108
74.2
2 = 100 ℮ = 6.93 X 1017
9.53 X 108

2 ln = (-0.693)(t) = 7.27 X 108 Bq x 1 Ci

100 74.2 3.7 X 1010 Bq

x 1000 mCi
-3.9 = (-0.693)(t) 1 Ci
74.2

t = (3.9)(74.2)
0.693 A = 19.65 mCi

t = 417 days
13. The measured count rate is 12,000 14. 1,000 radiation workers are exposed
cpm. If the system dead time is 400 µSec, annually to 20 mSv/yr for 25 years. If
then the corrected count rate is: the risk factor is 5x10-2 per.man.Sv. Then
the additional cancer risk between this
group is:
Given:

Cm = 12,000 cpm Given:

τ = 400 µSec N = 1,000 workers

Ccor = ? Y = 25 yrs

E = 20 mSv/yr
Count Rate:
R = 5 X 10-2 per man.Sv
Ccor = Cm
1 - Cm τ
ECd = N . E . Y . R
= 12,000 = 12,000
1 - (200)(400 X 10-6) 1 - 0.08
= (1,000)(20 X 10-3)(25)(5 X 10-2)

ECd = 25
= 12,000 = 13,043
0.92

σ = √ Cm = √12,000 = 109

% error = σ x 100 = 109 x 100

Cm 12,000

= 0.91

Ccor x % error = 13,043 x 0.91

100 100

= 119

Ccor = 13,043 ± 119

15. Measuring the background during 10 16. A radiation worker works for 30 years
minutes, it yielded 3,000 counts and when getting the annual dose of 20 mSv/yr. If
the source as measured with this the risk factor is 5X10-2 per.man.Sv. Then
background during Tg is 4 minutes, it the probability of cancer for this person
yielded 5,000 counts. Then the net count is:
rate with 3σ standard deviation is:
Given:
Given:
N = 1 worker
B = 3,000 counts ; tb = 10 min
Y = 30 yrs
G = 5,000 counrs ; tg = 4 min
R = 5 X 10-2 per man.Sv

Net Count Rate: E = 20 mSv/yr

Cnet = G _ B = 5,000 _ 3,000

tg tb 4 10 EC = N . E . Y . R

= 1,250 - 300 = (1)(20 X 10-3)(30)(5 X 10-2)

= 950 = 0.03

σnet = G + B
tg2 tb2

= 5,000 + 3,000 = 312.5 + 30

(4)2 (10)2

= 342.5 = 18.51

 3σ = (3)(18.51)

= 55.5
17. A sample was counted using a detector
with the radius of 3 cm located at a
distance 70 cm from the sample. If the
activity of the sample is 10 mCi and the
efficiency of a detector is 5X10-3. Then
the count rate in the detector will be:
18. Your survey is displaying the dose
rate as 5 µSv/hr. If this rate is
displayed from 49 pulses, then the count
rate in the second confidence level is:
Given:

Given: Ccor = 5 uSv/hr

r = 3 cm Cm = 49 pulses

R = 70 cm

(10-3) σ = √ Cm = √ 49 = 7
A = 10 mCi x 3.7 X 1010 Bq
1 Ci

= 3.7 X 108 Bq
% error = σ x 100 = 7 x 100
Cm 49
ε = 5 X 10-3
= 14.29

Solid Angle:

 2 σ = (2)(14.29)
Ω = r2 = (3)2 = 9
4 R2 (4)(70)2 19,600
= 28.57

= 4.59 X 10-4
Ccor x % error = 5 x 28.57
100 100

C = ε Ω f A
= 1.429

= (5 X 10-3)(4.59 X 10-4)(1)(3.7 X 108)

Ccor = 5 ± 1.43
C = 849.15
19. A sample was divided into two 20. 1016 atoms of Co-60 with a T1/2 is 5.3
portions and their activity was measured years will yields... MBq?
and the results were: 20 ± 2.5 Bq and 17
± 13% Bq. Then the activity sample is:
Given:

Given: N = 1016 atoms

A1 = 20 ± 2.5 Bq T1/2 = 5.3 yrs x 365 days

1 yr
A2 = 17 ± 13% Bq = 17 x 0.13 = 2.21
x 24 hrs x 3,600 sec
1 day 1 hr

σ = σ12 + σ22 = (2.5)2 + (2.21)2 = 1.67 X 108 sec

A = ? MBq?
= 6.25 + 4.88 = 11.13

Formula: Activity

= 3.34
A = λ N
T1/2

= (0.693)(1016) = 6.93 X 1015

1.67 X 108 1.67 X 108
 20 + 17 = 37

= 4.15 X 107 Bq x 1 KBq x 1 MBq

1000 Bq 1000 KBq
A = 37 ± 3.34

A = 41.5 MBq
21. An Ir-192 source of activity of 100
Ci is requested to do a job. If the
transportation of this source will last
for 5 days and T1/2 is 74.2 days. Then the
activity of the source at the moment of
shipment shall be:
22. The activity of an Ir-192 source with
T1/2 is 74.2 days is 100 Ci at a certain
moment. Then the activity of this source
after 190 days will be:
Given:

Given: T1/2 = 74.2 days

A = 100 Ci Ao = 100 Ci

t = 15 days t = 190 days

T1/2 = 74.2 days A = ?

Ao = ?

Formula: Activity

Formula: Activity
-λt
-λt T1/2
T1/2 A = Ao ℮
A = Ao ℮

(-0.693)(190)
λt 74.2
T1/2 = 100 ℮
Ao = A ℮

(0.693)(15) = (100)(0.17)
74.2
= 100 Ci ℮
A = 17 Ci

= (100)(1.15)

Ao = 115 Ci
23. The dead time of a system is 400 µSec 24. Given:
and the measured counting rate is 30,000 B = 10,000 counts; tb = 50 minutes
cpm. Ccor? G = 7,000 counts; tg = 5 minutes

Given:
Net Count Rate:
τ = 400 uSec

Cm = 30,000 cpm
Cnet = G _ B = 7,000 _ 10,000
tg tb 5 50
Count Rate:
= 1,400 - 200
Ccor = Cm
= 1,200
1 - Cm τ

= 30,000
1 - (500)(400 X 10-6) σnet = G + B
tg2 tb2

= 30,000 = 30,000
1 - 0.2 0.8

= 7,000 + 10,000
= 37,500 (5)2 (50)2

σ = √ Cm = √30,000 = 173 = 280 + 4 = 284

% error = σ x 100 = 173 x 100

σnet = 16.85
Cm 30,000

= 0.577

Ccor x % error = 37,500 x 0.577

100 100

= 216

Ccor = 37,500 ± 216

25. An Ir-192 is 100 Ci then the gamma 26. The gamma specific factor for Co-60
dose rate at the distance 40 cm from the which emits 1 photon with energy 1,173
source: KeV and another energy with 1,332 KeV for
each Beta decay:
Given:
Given:
A = 100 Ci x 37 GBq x 1000 MBq
1 Ci 1 GBq E1 = 1,173 KeV x 1 MeV
1,000 KeV
= 3.7 X 106 MBq
= 1.173 MeV

d = 40 cm x 1 m = 0.4 m E2 = 1,332 KeV x 1 MeV

100 cm 1,000 KeV

= 1.332 MeV

Gamma Dose Rate:

Multiple Gamma Ray Lines:

E(uSv/hr) = Γ A(MBq)
d2(m) Γ = 0.142 ∑i fi x Ei

= 0.142 (1 x 1.173)+(1 x 1.332)

= (0.13)(3.7 X 106)
(0.4)2

= 0.142 (2.505)
= 3 X 106 uSv/hr

Γ = 0.356

E = 3 Sv/hr
27. One operator ingested 0.4 ALI and 28. The Gamma Specific Factor for
inhaled 2000 DAC.hr during 1 year. The radionuclide is 1.32 R.m /hr.Ci. If there
2

remaining dose for him to get externally is a source of activity 1.11 X 106 MBq,
in this must not exceed: the dose rate of 1.2 m from the source
is:
Given:
Given:
ALI = 0.4 ALI
A = 1.11 X 106 MBq

DAC = 900 DAC.hr

d = 1.2 m

Γ = 1.32 R.m2
hr.Ci
1 ALI = 20 mSv
0.4 ALI = E?
Gamma Dose Rate:
E = (0.4)(20)
1
E(uSv/hr) = Γ A(MBq)
= 8 mSv
d2(m)

= (0.356)(1.11 X 106)
2,000 DAC.hr = 20 mSv (1.2)2
900 DAC.hr = E?

E = (900)(20) = 2.74 X 105 uSv/hr

2000

= 9 = 274 mSv/hr

 8 + 9 = 17 mSv

20 mSv - 17 mSv

= 3 mSv
29. Given for Build-up factor:

N = 0.4 uSv/hr No = 100 Sv/hr

B = 128 X1/2 = 6 cm

-µ X
X1/2
N = No B e

(-0.693)(X)
6
0.4 X 10-6 = (100)(128) e

0.4 X 10-6 ln = -0.693 (X)

(100)(128) 6

0.4 X 10-6 ln = -0.693 (X)

12,800 6

-24.19 = (-0.693)(X)
6

X = (24.19)(6)
0.693

X = 209 cm

Father Feddy
TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS GROUP

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
RADIATION PROTECTION
FOR RPO

Prepared by

Prof. Dr. M. FAROUK AHMAD

RIYADH
APR. 2006
 FOREWORD
The use of man-made ionizing radiation and radioactive sources are now a day
widespread, and continue to increase around the world. Nuclear techniques are in growing use in
industry, agriculture, medicine, well logging, and research benefiting the society as a whole.
Irradiation is used around the world to preserve foodstuffs. Sterilization techniques have been used
to eradicate diseases and ionizing radiation are widely used in diagnosis and therapy of different
diseases. Industrial radiography is widely used to examine welds and detect cracks and microscopic
bubbles in metallic pipes, tanks and other devices, and help prevent the failure of engineered
structures.
It has been recognized that exposure to a an acute dose of ionizing radiation causes
clinical damage to the tissues of the human body. In addition, long term studies of populations
exposed to ionizing radiation have demonstrated that this exposure has a potential for the delayed
induction of malignancies. Due to these risks all activities involving radiation exposure shall be
subjected to certain national and international safety standards, in order to protect radiation workers,
general public and environment from exposure to ionizing radiation.
One of the requirement of the national and international safety standards is that any
installation, that is acquiring any of the radiation sources shall appoint a radiation protection officer,
RPO, (or officers), to oversee the application of the requirements of the radiation protection and
safety of radiation sources. According to the Saudi national and international regulations, this
individual shall be technically competent in radiation protection scientific and organizational
matters, relevant for a given type of practice. In Accordance with Saudi national regulations shall be
licensed by the national regulatory authority through passing a qualification exam, which is held
periodically by this authority.
For successfully passing this qualification exam, one should study different scientific
and organizational topics, which are existing in different English books, and are specialized very
deep in the subjects of interest. It may be very difficult for individuals non specialized in radiation
physics to follow this subjects.
For this reason this booklet is prepared, and will be issued, by the technology experts
group, to cover the fundamentals and all scientific and organizational topics that are necessary for
any radiation protection officer to be qualified as a RPO. Together with the included topics in this
booklet the practical lessons are essential part of the qualification of the RPO. This practice in the
different relevant fields may be gained easily through these practical lessons.
We hope that the booklet will be helpful in acquiring the necessary knowledge in the
field.

Technology experts Group

and the author

2
 PATRT 1

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS

OF RADIATION PROTECTION
CONTENTS

Part 1: Scientific and technical aspects of radiation protection.

Chapter 1: Radioactivity and radioactive decay.

1-1 Some properties of atomic nuclei.
1-2 Some properties of alpha decay and alpha particles.
1-3 Some properties of beta decay and beta particles.
1-4 Some properties of gamma disintegration.
1-5 The x-rays.
1-6 The neutrons and their sources.
1-7 Calculation of the source activity
1-8 The units of activity.
1-9 The physical half-life time.
1-10 The biological and effective half-life times.
1-11 The radioactive decay law.
1-12 The relation between the decay constant and the half-life time.
1-13 Some important multipliers.

Chapter 2: Interaction of radiation with matter.

2-1 Introduction.
2-2 Interaction of heavy charged particles with matter.
2-3 Interaction of beta particles with matter.
2-4 Interaction of x and gamma radiation with matter.
2-5 Interaction of neutrons with matter.

Chapter 3: Radiation detectors, survey meters and monitors.

3-1 General.
3-2 The gas detectors.
3-3 The scintillation detectors.
3-4 The semi-conductor detectors.
3-5 The survey meters.
3-6 The contamination monitors.
3-7 Devices for personal dosimetry.

Chapter 4: Some radiation measurement techniques and statistical fluctuations.

4-1 Introduction.
4-2 The solid angle.
4-3 The detector intrinsic efficiency.
4-4 Relation between the counting rate and source activity.
4-5 Other factors affecting the measurements.
4-6 Dead time correction.
4-7 The statistical fluctuation of radiation measurements.

3
Chapter 5: Dosimetry quantities and their units.
5-1 The exposure.
5-2 The absorbed dose.
5-3 The equivalence between the Roentgen, the rad and Gray.
5-4 The Kerma
5-5 The radiation weighting factor.
5-6 The equivalent dose.
5-7 The tissue weighting factor.
5-8 The effective dose.
5-9 The committed equivalent or effective dose.

Chapter 6: Biological effects of radiation.

6-1 Direct and indirect action of ionizing radiation on cell.
6-2 Radiation effects.
6-3 Deterministic and stochastic effects.
6-4 Acute deterministic effects.
6-5 The stochastic effects.
6-6 Hereditary effects.

Chapter 7: Dose calculation.

7-1 Dose calculation from point sources.
7-2 Dose calculation for beta emitters.
7-3 Dose calculation from external gamma sources.
7-4 Dose calculation from neutron sources.
7-5 The inverse square low for external exposure
7-6 Dose calculation from internal exposure.
7-7 The annual limit on intake.
7-8 The derived air concentration.

Chapter 8: Radiation shielding.

8-1 Shielding of sources of alpha particles.
8-2 Shielding of sources of beta particles.
8-3 Shielding of x and gamma ray sources.
8-4 Shielding of the neutron sources.

Part 2: Organizational aspects of radiation protection.

General framework and requirements for radiation protection.

1- Introduction.
2- Administrative requirements.
3- Management requirement for radiation protection.
4 - The principle requirements.
5- Verification of safety.
6- Condition of service.

Responsibilities of parties.
1- Responsible parties for radiation protection.
2- Responsibilities of the licensee.
3- Cooperation between licensees and employers.

4
National (SA) dose limits.
1- The terms limit and level.
2- Radiation exposures.
3- The occupational dose limits.
4- The dose limits for general public.
5- The dose limits for medical exposures.
6- The dose limits for emergency exposures.

The radiation Protection Program (RPP).

1- Introduction.
2- The structure of the RPP.

The safe transport of radioactive material.

1- Introduction.
2- Definitions.
3- General provisions.
4- Determination of the transport index.
5- Categories of packages.
6- Marking and labeling.
7. Storage in transit.

5
 CHAPTER 1
RADIOACTIVITY AND RADIOACTIVE DECAY

1-1 Some properties of the atomic nuclei:

- Any atom is composed of the atomic nucleus, around which electrons are orbiting in elliptical
shells.
- The radius of the atom is in the order of 10-10 m, while the radius of the nucleus is in the order
of 10-15 m, so that the volume of the nucleus is smaller than that of atom by about thousand trillions
times (trillion = 1012). Due to these dimensions, the atom is similar to the solar system, with its
inter- planetary distances.
- Any atomic nucleus consists of nucleons, which are protons or neutrons. The proton mass is,
approximately, higher than that of the electron by about 1836 times, while the neutron mass is
higher by about 1838 times. So, the neutron and the proton may be considered as particles with the
same mass. From these data the atomic mass is concentrated in the atomic nucleus, and the nuclear
density is, approximately, constant and equals 1017 kg/m3 (about 100 millions ton/cm3).
- The charge of the proton equals to the electron charge in magnitude (1.6x10-19 Coulomb), but it
is positive in sign, while the neutron is neutral (e.g. its total charge equals zero). So, in a neutral
atom the number of the protons in the nucleus equals the number of the orbital electrons.
- The number of the protons in a nucleus is called its atomic number Z, while the total number
of protons and neutrons, in it, is called the mass number A. So the number of neutrons N in a
nucleus is N = A – Z. Symbolically, any atom is represented by the first letter written in capital, or
by the first one in capital and other one written in small. The atomic number is written in the lower
left corner, while the mass number is written in the upper left one. Example of that is 126 C (or
35 51 114
carbon-12), 17 Cl (or chlorine-35), Cr (chrome-51) and
23 48 Cd (or cadmium-114).
- The nucleus of any element is composed of the same number of protons Z, but it may have
different numbers of neutrons N. these different forms of the same element are called isotopes of
the element. For example, hydrogen exists in three forms (the nucleus of each contains one proton),
1 2 3
1 H without any neutron, 1 H (or deuterium) with one neutron and, 1 H (or tritium) with two
neutrons. The isotopes of the element are characterized by the same chemical properties while they
have different physical properties. Some Elements have more than 40 isotopes.
- Some nuclides are stable, while some others are unstable and they may, spontaneously, decay
to daughter nuclides through the emission of alpha or beta particle, or may disintegrate through the
emission of gamma radiation. These nuclides are called radio-nuclides and there atoms are called
radio-active isotopes. So, there are three types of the radioactive decay, which are:
a) alpha decay (α decay)
b) beta decay (β decay), and
c) gamma disintegration (γ disintegration)

1-2 Some properties of α-decay and α-particles:

- In α decay of a nucleus, an alpha particle (α), which is the nucleus of a helium-4 atom ( 24 He ),
is emitted. This particle is composed of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. So, in α decay of a parent
radionuclide the mass number of the daughter nuclide is reduced by 4 while the atomic number is
reduced by 2. An example of alpha decay is the decay of uranium-238 to thorium-234 with the
emission of an alpha particle α, which is symbolically represented as:
238
92 U  234
90 Th + 4
2 He

6
Another example is the decay of polonium ( 210 206
84 Po ) to the stable lead-206 ( 82 Pb ) which is
symbolically represented as:
210
84 Po  206
82 Pb + α
- Alpha particles emitted from a certain radionuclide are characterized by, so called, discrete
spectrum. This means that all alpha particles emitted from that radionuclide will have the same
energy value or separated but fixed values. So, by measuring the energy value or values of α
particle the radionuclide can be easily identified. In other words, it is known that 238 92 U (for
example) emits α particles with two energy values which are 4.196 and 4.149 MeV. So, if these two
energy values for any alpha emitter are detected, then it mean that this emitter is 238
92 U .

1-3 Some properties of β-decay and β –particles:

- There are three types of beta decay, which are

1-3-1 Electron or β-negative decay:

- in this type of β decay one of the neutrons n of the parent nucleus decays, spontaneously, to a
proton p, negatron β- (which is a β-negative particle i.e. electron) and a third particle, named anti-
neutrino υ-. This is represented symbolically as;
n  p + β- + υ-
- One example of β- (or electron decay) is the decay of 2760 Co (Cobalt-60) to 28
60
Ni (Nickel-60) with
- -
the emission of β particle and anti-neutrino υ (see fig. 1-1), which is expressed symbolically as:
60
27 Co  60
28 Ni + β- + υ-
- Other example is the decay of cesium-137 to barium-137 with the emission of the same two
particles (see fig. 1-2). This is expressed as:
137
55 Cs  137
56 Ba + β- + υ-
- It should be mentioned that the decay energy which is a fixed amount for each parent
radionuclide to decays to a daughter one is distributed randomly between the two emitted particles,
β- and υ-. In some decays of the parent radionuclide the majority of the fixed decay energy is
acquired by beta particle, and the remaining small amount of energy is acquired by the anti-
neutrino. In other decays of the same parent radionuclide the beta particles acquire a medium or a
small amount of the decay energy, and hence the anti-neutrino will get a medium or a large amount
of the decay energy. That is the reason of emission of beta particles from the same radionuclide
with energies varying from zero up to the maximum decay energy. This is expressed, in other
words, in that the beta spectrum of any beta emitter is a continuous one for different types of
beta decay, and by studying beta spectra it is impossible to identify the beta-emitting radionuclide.
- In beta-negative decay the mass number A of both parent and daughter radio-nuclides remains
constant and does not change, while the atomic number Z of the daughter nuclide is increased by
one with respect to that of the parent one, since a neutron is converted into a proton in the nucleus.

1-3-2 Positron or beta positive decay:

- In this type of β decay one of the protons of the parent nucleus decays spontaneously to a
neutron, β+ (which is a β-positive particle i.e. positron) and a third particle, named neutrino υ. This
is represented symbolically as;
p  n + β+ + υ

7
- One example of β+ (or positron decay) is the decay of Na-22 (Sodium-22) to Ne-22 (Neon-22)
with the emission of β+ particle and neutrino υ (see fig. 1-1), which is expressed symbolically as:
22 22
11 Na  10 Ne + β+ + υ
- In beta-positive decay the mass number A of both the parent and daughter radio-nuclides
remains constant and does not change, while the atomic number Z of the daughter nuclide is
decreased by one with respect to that of the parent one, since one proton of the parent nucleus is
converted into a neutron.

1-3-3 The electron capture:

- In this type of β decay one of the protons of the parent nucleus captures an orbital electron
from the shells, which are very close to the nucleus, forming a neutron and a neutrino υ is emitted
during this process. This is represented symbolically as;
p + e-  n + υ
- One example of the electron capture is the capture of an orbital electron by Na-22 (Sodium-22)
nucleus to form a Ne-22 (Neon-22) nucleus with the emission of a neutrino υ. This is expressed
symbolically as:
22 22
e- + 11 Na  10 Ne + υ

- In the electron capture no beta particle is emitted, but the only emitted particle is the neutrino.
Moreover the mass number A of both the parent and daughter nuclides remains constant and does
not change, as in all other types of beta decay, while the atomic number Z of the daughter nuclide is
decreased by one with respect to that of the parent one, since a proton is converted into a neutron,
by the analogy to the beta positive decay.

1-4 some properties of gamma disintegration:

- If an atomic nucleus is formed in, so called, excited energy state (i.e. in a state with excess
energy) it may disintegrate to a state with a lower excitation energy or to the so called, the ground
state (i.e. to the state with zero excitation energy). This disintegration is accompanied with the
emission of a gamma (γ) photon that carries an amount of energy equal to the difference between
the excitation energies of the initial and final states. So, the energy Eγ of the emitted γ photon is
given as:
Eγ = Ei - Ef
where Ei and Ef are the excitation energies of the initial and final states of the gamma emitting
nucleus, respectively.

- Each γ photon is an electromagnetic wave (with zero rest mass) with an ultra-high frequency f
of a given value, which is, in its turn, a characteristic value for this disintegration.
60
- An example of gamma disintegration is the disintegration of 28 Ni * nucleus, which is formed
60
in an excited state, as a result of beta decay of the Co , with an excitation energy equal to 2505
27

KeV, and then it disintegrates, promptly, to a lower excited state with an excitation energy equal to
1332 KeV, which, in its turn, disintegrates promptly to the ground state with zero excitation energy.
60
This means that the 28 Ni * emits two γ photons, one with energy Eγ1 = 2505 – 1332 =1173 KeV,
and the second with energy Eγ2 = 1332 – 0 = 1332 KeV. These two gamma ray photons are
60
characteristic lines (i.e energies) for the gamma disintegration of 28 Ni * , and hence for the decay of
60 60
the 27 Co to 28 Ni * . So, the detection of two gamma ray lines with energies 1173 and 1332 KeV is
60
an indication that the original radio-nuclide is 27 Co .

8
 60
27 Co

2505 KeV

1173 KeV γ photon

1332 KeV

1332 Kev γ photon

60
28 Ni

Fig (1-1): β decay of Co-60 and gamma disintegration of Nickel-60

137
- Other example of gamma disintegration is the disintegration of 56 Ba * nucleus, which is
137
formed in an excited state, as a result of beta decay of the Cs , with an excitation energy equal to
55
662 KeV, and then it disintegrates, promptly to the ground state with zero excitation energy. This
means that the 137
56 Ba * nucleus emits one γ photon with energy Eγ = 662 – 0 = 662 KeV. This gamma
137
ray photon is a characteristic line for the gamma disintegration of 56 Ba * , and hence for the decay
137 137
of the 55 Cs to 56 Ba * . So, the detection of one gamma ray line with energy 662 KeV is an
137
indication that the original radio-nuclide is 55 Cs .
- Gamma ray photons emitted from a certain radionuclide are characterized by, so called,
discrete spectrum. This means that all photons emitted from that radionuclide will have the same
energy value, as in the case of Ba-137, where the energy of the emitted photons is 662 KeV, or separated but
fixed values, as in the case of Co-60 where photons are emitted with two discrete energies 1173 and
1332 KeV. So, by measuring the energy value or values of gamma rays the radionuclide can be
easily identified. In other words, if photons with energy equal to 662 KeV (for example) are
detected, then this means that this emitter is Cs-137, and if photons with energies 1173 and 1332 KeV
are detected it means that the emitter is Co-60

9
 137
Cs
55

β1

662 KeV 137

56 Ba *

662 KeV γ line

βo
0 KeV 137
56 Ba

Fig (1-2): β decay of Cs-137 and gamma disintegration of Barium-137

- It should be noticed, that in gamma disintegration, neither the atomic number Z nor the mass
number A change. This is expressed symbolically by the following gamma disintegration:
60
28 Co* 28
60
Co  

56 Ba  
Ba*137
137
56

- It should be also mentioned, that gamma emitters can be obtained as a result of alpha or beta
decays, when the daughter nuclei are formed in their excited states. Gamma emitters may be
obtained, too, by forming excited states of nuclides during different nuclear reactions. If the half-
life time of the excited states is extremely short then the gamma disintegration will be prompt. In
case, if the half-life time of the excited states is long, then this state is called metastable, and the
gamma disintegration occurs during relatively long time. An example of the metastable radio-
nuclides, which is widely used in medicine as a gamma emitter, is technicium-99 (Tc-99).

1-5 The x-rays:

- The x-rays are electromagnetic radiation, emitted either: a) as a result of the interaction of the
charged particles (mainly light particles such as the electrons) with the negative orbital electrons or
the positive atomic nuclei or, b) as a result of the transfer of an orbital electron from an orbit with
higher energy to another one with lower energy. So, based on the origin of x-ray there are two
types which are bremstrahlung and characteristic x-rays. The frequencies of these rays lay in
the region from about 1x1017 up to about 1x1022 Hz and even higher. So, the x and gamma radiation
are widely overlapping with respect to their energies.
- An example of the bremstrahlung x-rays, is the x-rays which are emitted from x-ray tubes as
a result of acceleration of the electrons by a voltage difference, and then braking these electrons by
high Z elements (e.g. in the electric field of the orbital electrons and nuclei). These bremstrahlung
rays are characterized by a continuous energy spectrum, (e.g energies of the photons may vary from
zero up to the maximum energy of the accelerated electrons). With some approximation, the
average energy of the x-ray photons may be considered equal one third of the energy of the
accelerated electrons.
- An example of the characteristic x-rays, is these x-rays which are emitted as a result of the
transfer of an electron from an orbit with higher energy to another one with lower energy, when
there is an electron vacancy in the lower shell. Since electronic orbits have definite discrete energy
values for each element, there will be a characteristic x-ray discrete spectrum for each element. This
means that x-ray will be emitted from all atoms of same element with the same definite energy
values, which are characteristic values for this element.

10
 1-6 The neutrons and their sources:
- As it has been mentioned, the neutron is a neutral particle (e.g. with total charge equal zero and
with rest mass, very slightly, higher than that of the proton. There are no naturally occurring
radionuclides that can emit neutrons. There is only one artificial (man-made) radionuclide which
can partially decay through the emission of a neutron or with the emission of alpha particles. This is
the californium-252 (Cf-252) which is an alpha and neutron emitter with a half-life time of 2.64
years
- The most commonly used neutron sources in industrial and other applications are: the
americium-beryllium (Am242-Be9) source, the californium- 252 and the neutron generators. The
nuclear reactors are used as a very powerful neutron sources with a neutron density ranging from
1013 up to 1018 per cm3. These reactors are used for energy production, as well as for thermal
neutron irradiation for production of different artificial radioisotopes.
- Neutrons emitted from all neutron sources, generators and even reactors are fast neutrons, and
their energies varies about zero up to about 14 MeV.

1-6-1 The americium-beryllium neutron sources:

- The (Am242-Be9) neutron source is made by mixing a certain amount of a very fine powder of
americium-242 with a certain weight of a very fine powder of beryllium-9. The Am-242 is a
source of alpha particle, which interacts with a beryllium nucleus and produces a neutron, in
accordance with the following nuclear reaction:
4
2 He + 49 Be  126 C + 01 n
- This reaction is expressed in other form of writing as (, n) reaction on beryllium, where 
denotes the projectile alpha particle and n denotes the resultant neutron emitted in the reaction,
while beryllium denotes the target atom. Activity of one Curie (1Ci) of Am-242 with about one
gram of Be-9 produces a neutron source, with a neutron yield of about, 2.2x106 neutrons /
second. Earlier, neutron sources were made of radium-226 or Po-210, (as alpha emitters) with
beryllium-9. However, but the production of such sources has been stopped due to the explosion
hazards of Ra-226 or relatively short half life time of Po-210. In all alpha beryllium neutron
sources, fast neutrons are emitted with energies varying between zero and about 10 MeV

1-6-2 The californium-252:

The californium-252, which is an isotopic neutron sources, is produced in nuclear reactors. 1
microgram (1 μg) of Cf-252 produces about 2.3x106 fast neutrons per second. Neutron sources with
different yields ((up to more than 10 milligrams, e.g. 2.3x1010 neutrons/second) are available in the
market. Energies of the emitted neutrons from this source vary from about 0 up to more than 8MeV.

1-6-3 The Photo-neutron source:

- In this type of neutron sources a gamma source which can emit photons with energy higher
than 1.67 MeV is used to interact with beryllium-9 and split it to two alpha particles and a neutron
according to the following photonuclear reaction:
γ + 9
4 Be  2 4
2 He + 01 n
- The most commonly used gamma emitter in the photo-neutron sources is sodium-24 (Na-24),
which emits gamma photons with energy of 2.76 MeV. The fast neutrons emitted from this source
are characterized by a mono-energetic value (e.g. all emitted neutrons will have the same
energy) instead of the continuous energy spectrum which is obtained from all alpha-beryllium
sources.

11
 1-6-2 The neutron generators:
- These devices are small accelerators in which deuterons (denoted as d, 12 H or 12 D , which is an
isotope of the hydrogen) are accelerated using a potential difference of about 150 Kilo- Volt (KV),
to gain energy of about 150 KeV, and then they collide a tritium (denoted as 13 H or 31T ) target
(tritium is another isotope of the hydrogen) to yield an alpha particle and fast neutrons in
accordance with the following nuclear reaction:
2
1 D + 31T  4
2 He + 1
0 n
which is known as (deuteron, neutron) reaction on tritium, and which can be written as (d, n)
reaction on tritium.
- The neutrons are emitted from this reaction with a fixed energy value of 14.1 MeV. Neutron
generators of this type are produced with different neutron yields, varying from about 106 up to 1012
neutrons/second.

1-6-3 The nuclear reactors:

The nuclear reactor is a facility in which neutrons are obtained as a result of the fission of a fissile
material, such as U-235 or Pu-239, in sustained chain reactions. The emitted neutrons from the
nuclear fission are fast. However, they are moderated (slowed down) to thermal neutrons by
moderators which, usually are light or heavy water or graphite. Most of the reactors used for
different applications are operated with thermal neutrons. The neutron density in the reactor core
varies from about 1013 up to 1018 neutrons/cm3, depending on the reactor power.

1-7 Calculation of the source activity A:

- The activity A (in decay per second) of a certain radioactive source or sample is defined as the
number of decays (or disintegrations) that occur in this source or sample in a unit of time. In the SI
system units the time is expressed in seconds (s). If the source contains at a certain moment N
radioactive atoms, and if the probability for a single atom of this type, to decay per second is λ (1/s)
then the activity of this source is equal λ N decays/second: e.g:
A=λ N (1-1)

1-8 The specific activity:

-The specific activity is the activity of a unit of mass, volume, area or length. It represents the
amount of activity existing in any of these massive, volumetric, surface or line samples or species.

1-9 The decay (or disintegration) constant λ:

The probability for a single atom of a certain radionuclide to decay per second is called the decay
constant λ of this nuclide and its unit in SI system is (1/s) i,e s-1.

1-10 The units of Activity, The Becquerel and the Curie:

-In the SI system of units the activity A is measured in Becquerel (Bq), which is one decay
(disintegration) per second. So, in a sample with 15 Bq activity, 15 decays occur per second from
the parent nuclide to the daughter one.
-In the old system of units source activity was expressed in Curie (Ci). One Ci was defined as
the activity of one gram of pure radium-226. Later, it has been determined that one Ci is equal to 3.7
x 1010 decays/second. So, the relation between the Ci and the Bq is:
1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010 Bq

12
 - The SI units of the specific activity are:
* Bq/Kg for massive species, such as food, soil and other samples
* Bq/m3 for volumetric samples, such as air, water and other samples
* Bq/m2 for surface samples such as surface contamination.
* Bq/m for line samples such as long pipes or rods.

- In other systems of units the specific activity may be expressed in Curies/gm, Bq/liter, Ci/m3,
Ci/cm2, Ci/cm, or many other units. One should be able to transfer from these units to those of the
SI system and vice verse.

1-11 The physical half-life time T1/2:

- The physical half-life time Tp1/2 of a radio-nuclide, or simply the half-life time T1/2 is defined as
the time period during which one half of the total number of that nuclide decays (disintegrate) and
the other half remains without decay (disintegration). So, if (for example) the T1/2 of a certain radio-
nuclide is 5.27 years, and if at a certain moment we have a sample of that nuclide containing 4000
radioactive atoms, then during 5.27 years 2000 atoms decay and the other 2000 remain without
decay. During the second 5.27 years one half of the remaining atoms decays (e.g 1000 atoms decay
and the other 1000 remain without decay). During the third 5.27 years 500 atoms decay and the
other 500 remain without decay etc.

1-12 The biological and effective half-life times:

- When a human being is ingesting or inhaling, any radio-active isotope (or radio-nuclide) by
injection or through a wound, then the amount of the radio-nuclide in the body will be reduced as a
function of time due to two different effects, which are:
a) The physical decay of the radionuclide, with the physical half-life time T1/2,
which is not affected by any physical, chemical or biological factors.
b) The different biological excretion processes, such as urine and other excreta,
with biological have life-time Tb1/2

- The biological half-life time Tb1/2 is defined as the time period during which one half of the
total number of that ingested, inhaled or injected radio-nuclide will be excreted out from the human
body, through all excretion processes, and the other half remains inside the body. It should be
mentioned that although the Tb1/2 is considered constant, it may vary in limited way, from man to
other, depending on the human dietary food habits.

- The effective half-life time Te1/2 is defined as the time period during which one half of the
total number of that ingested, inhaled or injected radio-nuclide will be decayed or excreted out from
the human body, through the physical decay process and all excretion processes, and the other half
will remain inside the body without decay. The effective half-life time Te1/2 is related with both the
physical half-life time Tp1/2 and the biological half-life time Tb1/2 by the following simple relation:
(1/ Te1/2) = (1/Tp1/2) + (1/Tb1/2) (1-2)

1-13 The radioactive decay law:

- This law relates the number of remaining atom without decay N with respect to its initial
number N0 as a function of the time t. This relation is expressed as:
N = N0 e – λ t (1-3)

13
- The same law is used to express the exponential decrease of a sample activity A with respect to
its reference activity A0 at a certain reference moment t = 0, as a function of time t. It is expressed
in the following form:
A = A0 e – λ t (1-4)

1-14 The relation between decay constant λ and the half- life time T1/2:
- Using the radioactive decay law and the definition of the half-life time T1/2 it is easy to show
that the decay constant λ is related with the half-life time T1/2 by the following simple relation:
λ = ln2 / T1/2 or
λ = 0.693 / T1/2 (1-5)
- The biological decay constant λb is related with the biological half-life time Tb1/2 with a relation
of the similar form e.g:
λb = 0.693 / Tb1/2
and the effective decay constant λe is related with the effective half-life time Tb1/2 with a relation of
the form:
λe = 0.693 / Te1/2
- The effective decay constant λe is related with the effective the physical decay constant and
the biological decay constant as:
λe = λp + λb (1-6)

1-15Some important multipliers

Subscripts Notation The multiplier
1 deci 1d 1 x 10-1
1centi 1c 1 x 10-2
1 milli 1m 1 x 10-3
1 micro 1μ 1 x 10-6
1 nano 1n 1 x 10-9
1 pico 1p 1 x 10-12
1 femto 1f 1 x 10-15
Superscripts
1 Deco 1D 1 x 101
1 Hekto 1H 1 x 102
1 Kilo 1K 1 x 103
1 Mega 1M 1 x 106
1 Gega 1G 1 x 109
1 Tera 1T 1 x 1012
1 Exa 1E 1 x 1015

14
 CHAPTER 2
INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH MATTER

2-1 Introduction
From the view point of interaction between particles or radiations and matter, particles and
radiations are divided into four different groups. These are:
a- Heavy charged particles, such as alpha particles, deuterons, and protons.
b- Light charged particles, such as beta particles (which are electrons and positrons).
c- Electromagnetic radiations, such as x-rays and gamma radiations.
d- neutral particles such as neutrons.

2-2 Interaction of heavy charged particles, with matter:

- When a parallel beam of heavy charged particles, such as α (alpha) particles or protons is
incident on a matter, these particles interact, mainly, with the orbital electrons of the atoms, which
form this matter, through the Coulomb forces that arise between the charge of the incident particle
and the orbital electrons. The interaction between the incident particles and the atomic nuclei of the
matter is too limited, from the point of view of radiation protection. This Coulomb interaction (due
to Coulomb force between the incident charged particle and the orbital electrons) results in
transferring a portion of the energy from the incident particle to the orbital electrons. If the
transferred energy is relatively low (within some eV), then the affected electron can be removed
from its orbit to another one in the same atom with higher orbital energy, in a process called
"excitation". If the transferred energy is relatively large, then the affected electron will be
kicked out from its mother atom, in a process called "ionization", where the electron (with its
negative charge) becomes free and the atom becomes ionized with positive charge, e.g. positive
ion. In other words the energy transfer will lead to formation of the so called electron-ion pair. In
case, if the transferred energy is larger enough (within some hundreds of eV) then the kicked
electron, in its turn, may ionize a neutral atom forming a new electron-ion pair or pairs. In this case
electrons are called delta () electrons. The main properties of the interaction between heavy
charged particles and matter can be summarized in the following:
- The main processes by which alpha particles with relatively low energies (5-10 MeV) transfer
their energy to the matter is the ionization and excitation.
- The track of any heavy charged particle in the matter is a straight line (due to the large mass of
the incident particle with respect to the electron mass).
- The energy is transferred from the incident heavy charged particle to the electrons in
relatively very small portions. This means that the energy of the incident heavy charged particle is
reduced gradually as it penetrates through the matter. At the end of the track, the alpha particle will
capture two electrons from the neighbor atoms forming an inert atom of helium-4.
- The average energy w, which is required to form one electron-ion pair in air or human
tissue is about 34 eV, so that, the average number of electron-ion pairs formed in the whole range of
5 MeV alpha particles is about 150000 pairs.
- The delta electrons represent about 70 % of the total number of free electrons, while the
primary electrons represent about 30 % only.
- Different particles with the same incident energy will have slightly different rang inside the
matter. This effect is called: stragling".
- the range of 5 MeV alpha particles is about 35- 40 mm in air at standard temperature and
pressure, and about 40 micrometers in water or human tissues.

15
- The specific ionization s of alpha particles with about 5 MeV energy in air, which is
defined as the number of electron - ion pairs, formed in 1 mm of their track, varies from about
2000 pairs/mm at the beginning of the track to more than 6000 pairs/mm at the end of the track. Fig.
(2-1) shows the variation of s as a function of penetration distance in the matter.
- The stopping power (dE/dx) of alpha particles in a matter, which is defined as the amount of
energy transferred per unit length of the track is given as the product of the energy w needed to
form one electron- ion pair by the specific ionization s, e.g:
dE/dx = w . s (MeV/ cm) (2-1)

R
Fig. (2-1): Dependence of the specific ionization s of alpha particles
on the depth x in the stopping material.

- One can conclude that while a parallel beam of mono-energetic α particles are penetrating a
matter their energy is decreased gradually while their number remains constant up to the end of the
track, where they are converted into inert helium gas.

2-3 Interaction of beta particles with matter:

- Beta particles, which are electrons or positrons emitted in beta negative or positive decay of
some radio-nuclides, are lighter than alpha particles by a factor of about 7360 times. So, the speed
of beta particles is higher than that of alpha particles with the same energy by a factor of about 86
times. So, the speed of a beta particle with 1MeV energy is close to the speed of light (which is 3x108
m/s). These high speed of beta particles together with their small mass lead to that they may loose a
considerable part of their energy not only through ionization and excitation but also by completely
different mechanism, due to the very high de-acceleration of these particles near the atomic nuclei
of the matter. This mechanism is the emission of electromagnetic radiation (x-ray) known as
bremstrahlung radiation.
- As the velocities of beta particles are very high comparing with alpha particles with the same
energies, the interaction time between the incident beta particle and the orbital electrons and the
nuclei of the atoms is very small, in comparison with the interaction time of an alpha particle.
Moreover, the beta particle and orbital electrons are of the same mass. So, all these factors strongly
affect the character of interaction between beta particles and matter. The main discrepancies
between beta and alpha interaction with matter can be summarized in the following:
- Beta particles transfer their energy to the matter via two mechanisms which are: ionization
and excitation, and emission of bremstrahlung radiation. At comparatively low energy of 
particles (few hundreds KeV) the main process for energy loss is the ionization and excitation. As
the energy of these particles increases the contribution of emission of bremstrahlung radiation

16
increasesd ant at very high energies, this contribution becomes the predominant process of energy
loss. Moreover, the role of emission of bremstrahlung radiation is strongly dependent on the atomic
number Z of the matter, where it increases with the increase of Z. For this reason high Z material
should not be used for shielding  sources. The best material that can be used to shield  sources
are the light solid material, such as plastic or aluminum to reduce the emission of bremstrahlung
radiation (x-ray).
- The energy percentage f of beta particles, which is lost via the emission of bremstrahlung
radiation as a function of both beta particles maximum energy Emax and the atomic number Z is
determined as:
f = 0.035 Emax Z %
- The track of any beta particle in the matter takes the form of a broken line (due to the similar
mass of the two interacting particles).
- The energy transferred from the incident beta particle to the orbital electron in a single
collision varies from a very low portion of the  particle energy up be very high portion of this
energy, so that the complete energy of the incident particle may be transferred in a single collision.
This means that the delta electrons are predominant in  interaction with matter.

Fig. (2-2): The broken track of  particles in the material

- The specific ionization s in beta interaction is much less than that for alpha interaction (by a
factor of about one hundred due to the smaller interaction time). So the range of beta particles is
much larger than that of alpha particles. The range of 1 MeV  particles is about 4- 5 m in air, 6- 8
mm in water, plastic or human tissue, and about 2- 3 mm in aluminum.
- Both  particles (e.g. the electron and the positron) behaves in the matter in accordance with
the previously mentioned two mechanisms, although they have different sign of the charge.
However, there is an essential difference between the two particles at the end of the track. When the
energy of the positron becomes very low, it annihilates with one of the electrons of the matter,
where they completely vanishes as a mass, and these two masses are converted into electromagnetic
energy in the form of two photons, each with energy of 511 KeV. This last process is known as the
annihilation process and the two photons with 511 KeV are called annihilation photons.
- It is important to conclude that while a parallel beam of β particles are penetrating a matter, not
only their energies are decreased as a function of depth in the matter, but also their number will be
decreased, due to two facts which are: (a) the continuous energy spectrum of β particles, so that low
energy particles will loose their energy through, relatively, a very thin layer of the matter while high
energy particles can penetrate to much higher depth, (b) a large number of β particles will be
deflected from their initial direction due the their broken track.
- Due to the above mentioned factors, the number of β particles which penetrate a certain
thickness of matter x is decreased exponentially, in accordance with the following (2-2) relation:

17
 N = N0 e – μ x (2-2)
Where N is the number of particles penetrating the thickness x, N0 is the number of particles
reaching the same point in the absence of the absorber, and μ is known as the attenuation factor.
This factor is strongly dependent on both atomic number Z of the absorber and energy E of the 
particles.
2-4 Interaction of x-ray and gamma radiation with matter:
- When a beam of x-ray or mono-energetic gamma radiation fall on a matter, its photons may
interact with this matter via one of the following mechanisms, depending on the photon energy as
well as on the atomic number of the matter:
a- The photo-electric effect,
b- Compton scattering, and
c- The pair production.
- Other types of interaction between incident photons and the matter, such as the interaction with
the atomic nuclei, is considered negligible from the point of view of radiation protection.
2-4-1 The photo-electric effect:
- In this process, the incident photon interacts with one of the strongly bound orbital electrons
of the atom (e.g. with any of electrons belonging mainly to K or L shells, which are the closest
shells to the nucleus). In this type of interaction the photon delivers its total energy Eγ to the orbital
electron and completely vanishes, and correspondingly, the electron will be knocked out from the
atom, carrying an amount of energy Ee equal to:
Ee = E γ – B (2-3)
Where, B is the binding energy of the electron in the corresponding shell, defined as the amount of
energy that should be delivered to the electron just enough to liberate it from this shell (it varies
from less than 1 to about 100 KeV depending on the atomic number Z of the matter). If Eγ < B, then
the process will not occur. Correspondingly, the photo-electric effect will yield one electron which
carries approximately the photon energy.
- The cross- section σph (sigma) of the photo-electric effect, which is defined as the probability
of occurrence of this effect, when a single photon is incident on a unit area (1 cm2) containing a
single atom, strongly depends on the photon energy Eγ as well as on the atomic number of the
matter Z. This probability σph decreases very fast with increasing the photon energy Eγ, while it
increases very rapidly with increasing Z, as Z4 up to Z5. The unit of σph is barn(1 barn = 10-24 cm2).
- Dependence of the photo-electric cross section σph on photon energy Eγ is shown 0n figure (2-
3) where the photon energy is expressed in a logarithmic scale.
K-edge
σph

ln Eγ
Fig: (2-3): Dependence of the photo-electric cross section on photon energy

18
 2-4-2 Compton scattering:
- In this process, the incident photon interacts with one of the very loosely bound orbital
electrons of the atom, or with a free electron (e.g. with any of electrons belonging to the
outermost shells, which are far away from the nucleus). In this type of interaction the photon
delivers a part of its energy Eγ to the electron and the photon well be deviated (scattered) from its
original direction, carrying the remaining amount of energy. Correspondingly, the Compton
scattering of a photon will yield a photon with lower energy and a free Compton electron that
carries the remaining amount of energy.

σc

ln Eγ
Fig: (2-4): Dependence of the Compton cross section on photon energy

- the cross-section σc of Compton scattering decreases approximately slowly with increasing of

the photon energy, while it depends linearly on Z of the matter.

2-4-3 The pair production:

- In this process, the incident photon interacts with the strong electric field of the atomic
nucleus, when approaching it very closely (e.g. interaction between the incident photon and the
atomic nucleus), and if the photon energy is higher than 1022 KeV. In this type of interaction the
photon vanishes completely, and one electron-positron pair with rest mass equivalent to 1022 KeV is
produced. If the energy of the incident photon Eγ is higher than 1022 KeV, then the excess energy is
delivered to the produced electron and positron, in approximately equal portions. Correspondingly,
the pair production will yield two particles which are the electron and the positron.

- The electron and the positrons behave inside the stopping matter in the same way as beta
particles, e.g. they loose there energy on ionization and excitation of the atoms of this matter as will
as on emission of bremstrahlung radiation, depending on the atomic number of the atoms of the
absorbing matter. When its energy becomes very low each positron annihilates with one of the
orbital electrons, (e.g. this positron and electron vanish as a mass converting into two photons, each
with energy of 511 KeV). These two photons may interact with matter via photo-electric process or
Compton scattering, or they both may escape out from the matter without interaction, in a process
known as a double escape, or one photon may interact while the other may escape in a process
known as a single escape.

- The cross-section σp of the pair production process increases with the photon energy increase.
This increase is relatively slow after the threshold value of 1022 KeV and becomes fast with
increasing the energy. This probability σp depends on the atomic number of the matter as Z2.

19
 σp

1022 KeV ln E γ
Fig: (2-5): Dependence of the pair production cross section on photon energy
- Due to the formation of energetic electrons and positrons, resulting from the three processes of
interaction between gamma radiation or x-rays and the matter this radiation, is known as indirectly
ionizing radiation.

2-4-4 The total gamma cross section σ:

- The total gamma cross-section σ is defined as the total probability for a single incident photon
to interact with one atom existing in a target of 1 cm2 when it collide this area via any of the three
processes, e.g:
σ = σph + σc + σp
- The unit of the total cross section σ is the barn (1 barn = 10-24 cm2).

2-4-5 The linear attenuation coefficient μ:

- By definition, the linear attenuation coefficient μ for a certain matter and at a certain photon
energy, is defined as the probability of the interaction of a single photon that have this energy with
all atoms existing in a cube of 1 cm3 (1 cm2 area and 1 cm depth) of this matter, on which it falls by
all the three processes. So, if the number of atoms in 1 cm3 is n, and the total interaction cross-
section is σ, then it is clear that:
μ = nσ

1022 KeV ln Eγ
Fig: (2-6): Dependence of the total cross section on photon energy
- The unit of the linear attenuation coefficient μ is cm-1 (e.g. per cm). It is also clear from the
behavior of σ as a function of the energy that μ depends strongly on the atomic number Z of the
attenuating material, especially for both low and high energy photons. Moreover, μ is strongly
dependent on the photon energy Eγ.

20
 2-4-6 The mass attenuation coefficient μm:
- In different references another physical quantity, known as the mass attenuation coefficient μm
is used instead of the linear attenuation coefficient μ. This new quantity μm is defined by dividing
the linear attenuation coefficient μ by the density ρ of the attenuator, e.g:
m = μ/ρ
- It is seen that the unit of the mass attenuation coefficient μm is (cm2/ gm). The reason for using
μm instead of μ is that its value may be considered, approximately, constant for different attenuating
materials, for the same photon energy.

2-4-7 The exponential attenuation of x and gamma radiation:

When a narrow beam of mono-energetic x-ray or gamma radiation falls on a matter of thickness x
cm, a part of the incident number of photons No from this beam will interact with the matter via any
of the three known processes, resulting in the reduction of this incident number as a function of the
thickness x of the matter. Number of the photons N, that will penetrate the thickness x without any
interaction with the matter will proceed in the same direction and do not loose any part of their
energies. This is expressed, mathematically, by the following exponential law:
N = No e - μ x
- The exponential attenuation (e.g. exponential reduction of the number of photons) is valid
when specific conditions are applied. These conditions are:
a) A very narrow beam consisting of parallel mono- energetic photons.
b) A very small thickness x of the attenuator, so that, multiple Compton scattering is negligible.
- In all other cases this exponential law is not valid due to Compton scattering of photons from
the broad beam as well as the multiple Compton scattering of some photons due to the thick layer of
the attenuator. This will be discussed, in details, in a later chapter on build-up.
- If the linear attenuation coefficient μ is used (in cm-1) then the thickness x of the attenuator
should be expressed in (cm), to get non-dimensional value of the product μ x. However, when the
mass attenuation coefficient μm is used (in cm2/gm), then the thickness of the attenuator should be
expressed in the so called mass-thickness xm, which is obtained as the product of the linear
thickness x of the attenuator and its density ρ, e.g:
xm = x ρ
The unit of the mass-thickness xm is (gram/cm2).
- The exponential attenuation of x-rays and gamma radiation makes the concept of the range for
this type of electromagnetic radiation is not valid. A definite portion of the incident beam will
penetrate through the attenuating matter, even when its thickness is too large. For example, if a Co-
60 source is shielded (surrounded) by more than 2 m thick concrete wall some emitted photons
from this cobalt will penetrate through this shield, without suffering any kind of interaction.

2-4-8 The half value layer (HVL):

- The half value layer (HVL), or half value thickness, of a matter at a certain gamma energy, is
defined as the thickness of that matter, which is necessary to attenuate the original number of the
incident photons No, with this energy, to its half value ( e.g. to N = 1/2 No). The HVL is related
with the linear attenuation coefficient μ with the following simple relation:
HVL = 0.693 / μ
- Since μ is dependent on the radiation energy E and the material of the attenuator Z, the HVL is
also dependent on these factors.

21
- The unit of the HVL is cm when the μ is expressed in cm-1, and its unit is (gm/ cm2), when μ is
expressed in cm2/ gm.

2-4-9 The tenth value layer (TVL):

- The Tenth value layer (TVL), or Tenth value thickness, of a matter at a certain gamma energy,
is defined as the thickness of that matter, which is necessary to attenuate the original number of the
incident photons No, with this energy, to one tenth of this value ( e.g. to N = 1/10 No). The TVL
has the same units as the HVL, and it is related with last value with the following relation:
TVL = 3.32 HVL

2-4-9 The energy absorption coefficient μa:

- The energy absorption coefficient represents the portion of energy absorbed from x-ray or
gamma radiation in a definite volume of the matter. This coefficient is used to account for the so
called "kerma" or absorbed dose from x or gamma radiation into the interacting matter, (e.g. in dose
calculations). It should be mentioned that authors of some references are using, by fault, this
coefficient to express the attenuation coefficient μ. These Two co-efficient (μa and μ, both linear and
mass) have different values, specially at medium and high photon energies, and should not replace
each other, except at very low photon energies (less than few hundreds of KeV) where they are very
close to each other.
- The reason of the discrepancy between μa and μ is the Compton scattering and the pair
production. In Compton scattering the photon is deviated from its original direction, transferring
only undefined part of its energy to the matter, and the scattered photon may escape out from this
matter, so that although it has been omitted out from the beam, it does not transfer its complete
energy to the matter. In the pair production the energy may not be transferred completely to the
matter, since one or even the two photons, resulting from the annihilation of the positron with one
electron may escape out of the matter.
- Due to the above mentioned reasons μ is almost higher than μa , specially with increasing the
photon energy

2-5 Interaction of the neutrons with the matter:

- Since the neutrons are neutral particles (e.g. uncharged particles), they do not interact neither
with any of the orbital electrons nor electro-statically with the atomic nuclei. They may interact
only with nuclei via nuclear forces, when they very closely approach any of them. This is the reason
of the high penetrating power of neutrons in the matter.
- the most important and efficient mean for energy transfer from neutrons to the matter is the
elastic scattering of the neutron on light nuclei, such as hydrogen (in wax, water, polyethylene, or
plastic), deuterium (in heavy water) beryllium, carbon, and oxygen. With decreasing the mass
number of the interacting nucleus, the average energy, transferred from the neutron to this nucleus,
in a single collision, increases. For this reason the hydrogen nuclei are considered the best
moderator for neutrons, and the materials which contain high concentration of hydrogen, such as
wax, water, Polyethylene, and plastic are extensively used for effective slowing down of the fast
neutrons. In a single collision with a hydrogen nucleus, the neutron loses, in average, 63 % of its
energy. This portion of energy is transferred to a proton, which is the hydrogen nucleus.
- Since the recoil protons are heavy charged particles, they ionize the matter. So, the neutrons
are considered as indirectly ionizing particles.

22
 2-5-1 The neutron moderation:
- The neutron moderation means the slowing down of fast neutrons (e.g. decreasing their
energies from the MeV range to about 0.025 eV. Neutrons with such low energies are called
thermal neutrons, since their motion is controlled by the prevailing temperature.
- For slowing down of the fast neutrons (with energy of about several MeV) to thermal neutrons,
these neutrons should be subjected, in average, to about 18-19 collisions with hydrogen nuclei. This
number of collisions requires a thickness of a hydrogen rich material, such as wax or water of about
15- 25 cm.
- The thickness of the wax or water may be increased over the mentioned values for radiation
protection purposes, since these materials absorb thermal neutrons with a certain probability
forming deuterium atoms which are stable.
- The role of inelastic scattering of neutrons for neutron moderation is negligible.

2-5-2 The neutron capture:

- When a neutron approach very closely to a nucleus it may be captured in it, forming a new
isotope of the same element, with the emission of a prompt gamma photon. An example of the
neutron capture reaction is:
o n + 47 Cd  47 Cd + γ
1 114 115

- The probability of the neutron capture is strongly dependent on the neutron energy. The
reaction cross-section  (which represents the probability of the neutron capture) increases strongly
with the decrease of the energy, reaching very high values for thermal and slow neutrons (the slow
neutrons are those with energies just higher than that of thermal neutrons). Moreover, at certain
energy values for the slow and thermal neutrons, and for some nuclides the probability of the
neutron capture reaches very high values, known as a resonance neutron capture or absorption. The
energy values at which the resonance neutron capture occurs depend on the absorbing nuclide. For
example for 114
47 Cd , it has been found that the resonance capture occurs at thermal and low energies,

and the capture probability  at resonance reaches extremely high values. For this reason 114
47 Cd is
considered one of the best absorber for thermal and slow neutrons.
- One of the most effective method to shield a neutron source and to reduce effective doses
around it is to put three layers of different materials in the following consequence from the source:
a) About 20 cm of wax, plastic or any other solid (or liquid) material, rich with hydrogen content to
moderate fast neutron and convert them into thermal or slow neutrons, then b) A thin sheet of 114
47 Cd

(with about 1 mm thickness) to absorb thermal and slow neutrons, and finally c) a certain thickness
of lead to attenuate the prompt gamma radiation emitted in the neutron capture in 114
47 Cd .

- There are other materials that can be used practically to reduce the neutron doses arising from
different neutron sources, by moderation and absorption of these neutrons, such as water (normal or
light water), boron and others
- In the absence of all mentioned materials one can use other commonly existing materials in the
field, such as the sand and other types of soil. Although their shielding properties is too limited in
comparison with other materials, a large thickness of these sand or soil may reduce neutron doses to
lesser values due to the presence of some light elements such as oxygen and carbon.

23
 CHAPTER 3
RADIATION DETECTORS, SURVEY METERS
AND CONTAMINATION MONITORS

3-1 General:
- The main two processes which are used for detection of different types of ionizing radiation are
based on the use of:
a) Ionization of the detector material and formation of electron-ion pairs, or electron hole pairs,
and collection of this charges or their current.
b) Excitation of the detector material and then measurement of the emitted light during the de-
excitation process, and collection of this light or their current.
- There are other processes, which are used for detection and counting of ionizing radiation. For
example, one of these processes is the use of activation of a certain nuclides by irradiation of certain
material by neutrons and then by measurement of the induced activity due to the neutron capture.
- The type of the detector that should be used for detection and counting and identifying of
ionizing radiation depends strongly on:
a) The type of the radiation (e.g. heavy or light charged particles, neutrons, x, or gamma radiation.
b) The energy of the measured particles or photons.
c) The intensity of the radiation field (e.g. the particle or photon flounce).
d) The purpose of detection and measurement.

3-2 The gas detectors:

- In all gas detectors, detection of directly and indirectly ionizing radiation is done through the
ionization of some mixture of a gas contained in a vessel with certain shape and volume.
- For directly ionizing radiation, such as heavy charged particles or beta particles, the ionization
of the gas atoms or molecules occurs inside the detector vessel. The average number of the resulting
primary electron-ion pairs in the detector is defined by dividing the particle energy (in eV) by 34
eV, which is the average energy needed to form one electron- ion pair. For detection of heavy
charged particles (such as alpha), the detector wall should be equipped with a very thin window of
low Z material (less than 40 gm/cm2 of a light material) to permit the entrance of these particles
inside the detector, without loosing a considerable part of its energy in this window. For the
detection of beta particles the window can be done from a thicker material, since the range of these
particles is much higher than that of alpha particles.
- For the indirectly ionizing radiation, namely x and gamma radiation, ionization of the
detector’s gas is done by the primary charged electrons and positrons, emitted as a result of the
interaction of the incident photons with a very thin layer of a heavy material, such as lead, fixed
inside the wall of the detector. For detection of x and gamma photons, There is no need to make a
window in the detector wall due to the very large range of photons.
- For neutrons, which are indirectly ionizing radiation too, the ionization is done by charged
particles such as protons emitted as a result of the elastic scattering of the incident fast neutrons
with hydrogen nuclei existing in a very thin layer of polyethylene fixed inside the detector wall, or
by alpha particles, which are emitted as a result of the neutron capture of thermal neutrons in certain
gas materials with high reaction cross-section, which is filling the detector, such as BF3 gas (Boron
tri-Fluoride) or others. Due to the high penetrability of neutrons, there is no need to make any
window in neutron detectors.

24
- There are three types of gas detectors which are:
a) Ionization chamber b) Proportional counter c) Geiger- Muller (GM) counter.
- For all types of gas detectors, the intrinsic detection efficiency  is 100 % only for all heavy
charged particles. For beta particles the efficiency is slightly less than 100 %, due to their
continuous energy spectrum, so that a part of the low energy particles will be absorbed inside the
window thickness. The efficiency of all gas detectors for measuring photons or neutrons is
extremely low, and strongly dependent on their energy. For example the intrinsic efficiency  of
these detectors for photons may vary from few percents (2-4 %) to very low values (less by many
orders of magnitude) with increasing the energy of photons.
Remark: the intrinsic efficiency  of a detector, for a certain type of indirectly ionizing radiation at
a certain energy, is defined as the ratio of the number of particles or photons with the mentioned
energy detected by the detector from a given source, in a certain time period to the total number of
these particles or photons, with the same energy, incident from the source on the detector surface,
during the same time period. To get the efficiency in percent this ratio should be multiplied by 100.
For example, if the intrinsic detector efficiency for photons with 662KeV energy is 2.5 % then this
detector will detect only 2.5 % of photons incident on its sensitive surface with this energy.

3-2-1 The ionization chamber:

- It is a detection device (see fig. (3-1), which consists of::
a- Two electrodes (anode a and cathode c) connected to a moderate potential difference V
(about 50- 100 volts depending on the chamber volume and pressure) to secure collection of the
majority of the electrons and ions, which are generated by the ionizing radiation inside the
chamber on the anode and the cathode respectively.
b- A guard grid g between the anode and the cathode to secure independency the collected
current, or consequently voltage of the output pulse signal, resulting due to the passage of this
current through a high Ohmic resistance R, on the track position of the incident particle.
- The ionization chambers can be used in a current regime (e.g. to measure the very small average
electric current, resulting by ionization by a large number of incident particles or photons, and
the chamber is then known as a current type ionization chamber. They, also, can be used to
measure consequence pulses resulting from individual ionization events (particles or photons),
and hence to determine the number and energies of these particles or photons, and in this case
the chamber is known as a pulse type ionization chamber.
- Since the collected current in the ionization chamber is too low (in the range of pico-Ampers),
the ionization chamber should be connected with a direct current amplifier (or pulse height
amplifier) with a very high amplification gain (thousands or more).

g c V R

Fig (3-1): A diagram of an ionization chamber

25
-Ionization chambers are characterized by certain characteristics. Some of these characteristics are:
a) The multiplication gain of any chamber equals 1, which means that there is no multiplication
of the electric current resulting by ionizing radiation.
b) Relatively, high energy resolution r, which means that it can be used to differentiate between
particles or photons with relatively close energies. The energy resolution of the ionization chambers
r varies between about 2.5 and 7 %, depending on its volume and on the gas pressure.
Remark: The energy resolution r is defined as the ratio of the energy fluctuation E caused by the
detection process, to the energy E of the particle multiplied by 100 (to get it as a percent) e.g:
r = (E/E)x100 %.
c) Relatively, a constant energy response curve in a wide range of energies, comparing with all
other detectors, when the chamber is used as a detector in dose or dose-rate survey meters. A
constant energy response means that the ratio of the measured dose (or electric current) from
ionizing radiation with a given energy E to that at a reference one Er remains constant in a wide
range of energies when the radiation field is homogeneous. This is a very important property of
ionization chambers.
d) In some cases the wall of the chamber is made from a material having a similar composition as
air to correct for energy absorption in different materials, for more accurate determination of doses
or dose rates. In these cases the chamber is known as air-wall ionization chamber.
e) For measurement of relatively high energy beta particle or photons, it is necessary to increase
the gas pressure inside the chamber to secure full stopping of the ionizing beta particles within it. In
This case the chamber is known as a pressurized ionization chamber. Such cambers are important
for dose measurements in a radiation field with a wide energy range.

- The shape of the output pulse from a pulse type ionization chamber, which represents the
detection of a single particle or photon with a given energy value is demonstrated in fig.(3-2). The
polarity of the pulse on this figure is inverted, since it is originally negative. The vertical axis shows
the output voltage amplitude of the pulse which is proportional to the energy of the particle or
photon, while the horizontal axis shows the time duration of the pulse and dependence of its
amplitude on time. The voltage amplitude of the output pulses lies in the range of less than one
microvolt up to about one hundred microvolts, depending on the particle energy. The pulse
durations lies between less than a 100 microseconds up to more than 1000 microseconds depending
on the geometrical dimensions of the chamber as well as on its internal capacitance and resistance.
The values of the used electronic devises such as the input impedance and capacitance of the of this
circuit strongly affect the duration of the output pulses
The pulse amplitude

The time (microsecond)

Fig (3-2): The pulse shape at the output of an pulse type ionization chamber

26
 3-2-2 The proportional counter:
- The proportional counter, (see fig 3-3) is a gas detector of a cylindrical form, where a metallic
cylinder is acting as the detector cathode, while a very thin coaxial metallic wire with a regular
diameter is used as the anode.
- The applied voltage difference between the anode and the cathode for the proportional counter
is much higher than that used in an ionization chamber with the same dimensions. This increase in
the applied voltage difference leads to the acceleration of ions and electrons, so that they become
capable to ionize new atoms, while they are moving to the cathode and anode respectively. This
yields in a high increase of the electric current caused by ionizing radiations. So, the proportional
counter is acting as a detector and a current multiplier.

V
Fig. (3-3): A diagram of a proportional counter
- The multiplication gain of the gas in the proportional counter varies between about 100 to more
than one thousand, depending on the magnitude of the applied potential difference between its
anode and cathode.
- As a result of the multiplication the energy resolution r of the proportional counter is much
poorer than that of the ionization chamber. Its values vary from about 10 to 30 %.
- Although the energy resolution of the proportional counters is relatively poor, there is still
some proportionality between the energy of the detected particle or photon and the obtained current
or pulse height from this detector. This makes the accuracy of this detector for dose measurements
acceptable and this detector comes, directly, in the next category after the ionization chamber,
concerning the accuracy point of view, as well as from the constancy of the energy response at
relatively wide range of photons energy.
- in spite of the relatively high multiplication gain in the proportional counter, it still needs to be
connected at the output to a current or voltage amplifier, but with a lower amplification gain than
that used with the ionization chambers.

3-2-3 The Geiger- Muller (GM) counter:

- From the construction point of view the GM counters are exactly similar to the proportional
counters. The main difference is that the GM counter is operated at relatively higher potential
difference between the anode and the cathode.
- With increasing the applied voltage the current multiplication in the gas of the tube becomes
very high and almost reaches infinity. When an ionizing particle or photon inters the GM tube, and
when it interacts with the detector material causing even one electron– ion pair a series of
consequent ionization occurs making avalanche multiplication. This will cause occurring of electric
discharge of the detector gas.
- The gas discharge will continue unless, it will be stopped by internal or external reason in a
process called quenching. The external quenching is secured by inserting a large Ohmic resistance
R in series with the high voltage source, while the internal quenching is secured by the addition of a

27
certain ratio of a mono-atomic gas. The second technique of quenching is preferred, since the first
one leads to a serious increase in the detector dead time, due to the increase of the magnitude of the
resistance.
- As a result of infinite amplification of the GM tubes, particles or photons with different
energies will give the same electronic signals with the same pulse amplitude, so that, it can be
measured without further amplification.
- Due to the complete discharge through the detector tube, the proportionality between the
energy of the particle and the pulse height of corresponding signal is completely lost. In other
words the GM counter, completely, does not differentiate between different energies, and it can be
only used to count the number of pulses (detected particles or photons) independent of their
energies.
- The dead time of a pulse type detector is defined as the time period through
which the electrons and ions are collected and treated as a pulse. During the dead time the detector
will not detect any other ionization event, so If the time separation between two sequent ionizing
events (e.g. two consequent registered particles or photons) is less than the detector dead time, then
they will be detected as a single particle or photon, and hence there will be some loss of the
detected number of particles or photons.
- The energy response curve of the GM counter is, comparatively, worse than that of the
proportional counter. For this reason, special filters are used with the GM counters to correct for the
non-constancy of the response curve.
- It should be mentioned that dose survey meters that use GM counters as a detector, should not
be used in any place containing high radio-frequency (rf) source, such as linear accelerators, since
they are very sensitive to high frequencies and they almost give full scale reading in these fields
without the presence of any type of the ionizing radiation.

3-3 The scintillation detectors:

- In all scintillation detectors, detection of directly and indirectly ionizing radiation is done
through the excitation of some atoms, which are consisted in a solid crystalline or liquid scintillator.
So, any scintillation detector, (see fig 3-4), consists, mainly, of, at least, two components, which
are:
- The scintillation crystal or liquid (the scintillator)
- The Photo-Multiplier Tube (PMT).

The PMT

The light pipe

The scintillator

Fig. (3-4: The components of a scintillation detector

28
- Sometimes, there is a third component, which is the so called light pipe. This pipe is made of a
highly transparent type of silicon glass, which is acting as a light conductor to transfer light photons
emitted from the crystal (or liquid scintillator) to the photo-cathode of the PMT.
- All the components are matched together, without any air voids or bubbles by putting a small
drop of silicon oil between any of these components and pressing so that no air bubbles are existing
in between. The detector components are enclosed inside a hermetically sealed metallic enclosure,
so that no light can penetrate through it.
- The function of the scintillator is to emit photons of visible light, The number of these photons
is linearly dependent on the energy of the incident particle. As these emitted photons fall on the
photo-cathode of the PMT, a limited number of electrons will be emitted from this photo-cathode.
The number of these photo-electrons is linearly dependent on the number of the incident photons on
the photo-cathode, and consequently, on the energy of the incident particle on the scintillator.
- The role of the photo-multiplier tube (PMT) is to multiply the number of emitted electrons
from the photo-cathode, by a very large factor (at least some thousands times and much more). For
this purpose the PMT contains a large number of dynodes (about 9- 13 dynodes), each of which is
covered with a material with high coefficient  of the secondary emission. The emitted photo-
electrons are accelerated toward the first dynode by a positive voltage difference V, so that they
gain an amount of kinetic energy equal V electron volts, and become capable to induce secondary
electron emission from the dynode, so that their number will be multiplied by a factor equal to the
coefficient of secondary emission . This coefficient is strongly dependent on the voltage difference
V and may reach, relatively, high values (up to 3 and more) with the increase of V. Electrons
emitted from the first dynode are, again, accelerated toward the second dynode by another positive
voltage difference V, giving rise to another step of a secondary emission from this second dynode,
and yielding second multiplication . Then the consequent acceleration processes toward the next
dynodes with a multiplication factors of  on each one of these dynodes will yield a total
multiplication factor of n (if the value of  is the same for all dynodes), where n is the number of
dynodes in the PMT. After multiplication a huge number of electrons are emitted from the last
dynode and they are collected on the anode of the PMT, giving a negative pulse on the output of
this anode due to the presence of a high ohmic resistance.
- The anode pulse represents the registration of a single particle in the detector, and the
amplitude of this pulse is proportional to the energy of the particle. So, the number of the registered
pulses is proportional to the number of the incident particles or photons, while the amplitude of
each pulse represents the energy of the registered particle or photon. Output pulses on the anode of
the PMT have a similar form of the pulses from an ionization chamber shown on fig. (3-2), but the
time duration of the pulse may be more less than that of the ionization chamber for some types of
scintillation crystals.
- It should be mentioned that the electron multiplication gain M of the PMT, (which is
approximately equal to the coefficient  raised to the power n (i.e. M  n)) is strongly dependent on
the biasing voltage V which is supplied to the PMT Anode or cathode. This voltage is divided by a
potential divider using a set of resistances to bias the cathode, all dynodes and the anode with the
nominal voltages. It is recommended to supply the PMT with the nominal voltage, since the
increase of V will increase the factor M, but at the same time it will shorten, strongly, the service
life-time of the PMT.
- different types of radiations are detected using different scintillators. Table (3-1) represents the
most widely used scintillators for different types of radiations. All these scintillators emit violet
light with wave length shown in table (3-1).
- Alpha particles and protons can be easily detected using a thin layer (about 1mm thickness)
zinc sulphide crystal doped with silver ZnS (Ag), while electrons and positrons can be detected
using organic crystals or liquids.

29
- The Sodium Iodide crystal with Thallium NaI(Tl) is the best scintillation crystal that can be
used to detect gamma radiation with a higher efficiency, due to its high density. Moreover, the
addition of a small ratio of Thallium to the Sodium iodide makes the crystal capable for emission of
light photons at room temperature. To meat the required detection efficiency of gamma radiation,
the NaI(Tl) crystal is grown with a different thicknesses. These crystals are available in the market,
mainly, in a cylindrical form with dimensions ranging from 1/2 inch diameter x 1/2 inch height, up
to more than 10 " x 10 ". Generally speaking, the scintillation gamma detectors are much sensitive to
detect gamma radiation, in comparison with gas detectors, and the detector with 3" x 3" NaI(Tl)
crystal is considered as a reference one, so that, the relative efficiency of any other gas and solid
detectors, is given referring to this reference one.

- Fast neutrons can be easily detected by scintillation detectors using secondary charged
particles, which arise as a result of the neutron elastic scattering or nuclear reaction. For example,
these neutrons can be detected by putting a very thin layer of polyethylene in front of the ZnS(Ag)
crystal, so that neutrons will collide with hydrogen atoms of the polyethylene, yielding recoil
protons, which are detected in this crystal.

Table (3-1): scintillators used for detection of different radiations

Name and characteristics of the scintillation material Type of
Name Physical form Density Decay Wave length radiation
(g/cm3) time (sec) (nanometer)
Zink sulphide Solid crystal, 3.67 1x10-5 450 Alpha and
ZnS(Ag) Low transparency protons
Sodium iodide Solid crystal, 4.10 2.5x10-7 410 Gamma rays
NaI(Tl) High transparency
Anthracene Organic compound 1.25 2.7x10-8 440 Beta particles

Stylbene Organic compound 1.15 4x10-9 410 Beta particles

- Thermal neutrons may be detected either through using a lithium iodide doped with thallium
LiI(Tl) crystal as a scintillator, which has characteristics close to those of NaI(Tl), or by using a
mixture of lithium or boron compound with the ZnS(Ag) crystal. Thermal neutrons interact with the
lithium or boron atoms of the crystal, giving rise to charged particles, which, in their turn, cause the
scintillation in the ZnS(Ag) crystal.
- The energy resolution r, of different scintillation detectors depends, mainly, on the volume of
the used crystal, and with a lower degree, on the characteristics of the used PMT. Small crystals
have better resolution r, while large ones are characterized with bad resolution. The value of r
varies between about 2.5 and 10 %, depending on the volume of the crystal.
- However the efficiency of the scintillation detectors for x and gamma radiations is much higher
than that of all gas detectors, its response curve to dose variation with radiation energy is very poor,
comparing with all other detectors. For this reason scintillation detectors are not widely used in
different survey meters, for dose or dose-rates measurements or.for radiation dosimetry, but they
are very widely used to search for a lost gamma source as will as for radiation counting and
spectroscopic measurements as well as in surveying ground resources of nuclear ores.

3-4 The Semi-conductor detectors:

- The semi-conductor materials used in manufacturing electronic devices and radiation detectors
are the silicon and germanium. Both of these elements have tetravalent atoms, and their crystalline
structure is formed, so that, each atom has a covalent bond with four neighbor atoms. When

30
radiation interacts with one of these atoms an electron of the four outermost electrons is ejected, and
it becomes free, and then its atom is left without an electron, This free of electron place is known as
a hole. So, while interacting with a silicon or germanium crystal radiation will generate electron-
hole pairs. The energy required to form one electron-hole pair in silicon is about 1.1 eV , in
average, while the energy required for germanium is about 0.7 eV. For this reason, the number of
electron-hole pairs formed in silicon by a particle or photon with certain energy is higher than the
number of electron-ion pairs formed in an air ionization chamber by a factor of about 30 times for
silicon and of about 48 times for germanium. As a result of that, the energy resolution of
semiconductor detectors is much better than that of the ionization chamber. For example, the energy
resolution r for a germanium gamma detector with a cylindrical crystal of about 60 mm diameter
and 60 mm height is about 1.75 KeV for the 1332 KeV gamma ray line of Co-60, (which is about
0.13 %).
- At present, hyper-pure germanium crystals of different shapes and volumes are produced for
use as a powerful tool for high resolution gamma ray spectrometry in the fields as well as in the
fixed laboratories, to meat the required efficiencies. Their relative efficiency cover a very wide
range starting from about 10 % up to more than 100 % with respect to the 3" x 3" NaI(Tl) detector.
The only disadvantage of these detectors is that they required a very deep cooling, prior to their
operation, and this is achieved, mainly, through cooling by liquid nitrogen (- 189 oC) or by electric
cooling.
- Silicon surface-barrier detectors are produced, since the sixties of the 20th century up to now,
with different shapes and thicknesses, to detect heavy charged particles of different energies, and
they are widely used in high resolution alpha spectrometry, as well as in spectroscopic
measurements of heavy charged particles (such as protons, deuterons and others). Their energy
resolution is as good as about 0.4- 0.5 %, and they do not require any cooling.
- Other pure silicon crystals are produced to be used for high energy resolution spectroscopic
measurements of x-ray and low energy gamma radiation up to about 100 KeV. These detectors,
again require the deep cooling as germanium ones prior to their operation.

3-5 The survey meters:

- Surveying the radiation areas and measurements of radiation doses and dose rates is one of the
required activities that must be conducted, regularly, in all areas, where radiation sources are used,
and around these areas, to evaluate the radiation levels and, consequently to assess the radiation
doses to the occupational workers as well as to the general public.
- There is no single survey meter, which can be used to survey all types of radiations, and the
choice of the survey meter is strongly dependent on the type of radiations or particles, their energy,
as well as on their intensity.
- Any survey meter consists, mainly, of:
a- A radiation probe or detector, which is assigned for a certain type of radiation, and for a
certain range of energy, as well as for a certain range of radiation intensities ore dose rates,

b- An electronic circuit for current or voltage amplification.

c- A measuring device to measure the amplified electric current or to count the pulse rate or the
number of pulses during a defined time interval.
d- A devise, which convert the current intensity or the pulse rate or the number of pulses to dose
rate or accumulated dose through the defined time.
e- Some types of survey meters are equipped with a sound device that gives sound clicks as an
larm indicating pulse counting. This is essential to demonstrate by sound the radiation level,
without the need to look to the scale of the survey meter.

31
- Any survey meter should be characterized by a constant relative response curve over the
whole energy range existing in the surveyed radiation field. The relative energy response of a
survey meter is defined as the ratio of the current intensity at different energies, to that current
intensity at a certain definite energy (or the ratio of the pulse number per unit time at different
energies to the pluses number per unit time at a certain definite energy), when the radiation field is
homogenous and constant. Fig. (3-5) represents the relative response curves for an ionization
chamber (curve a), GM counter (curve b), and NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. From this curve it is
easily seen that the ionization chamber is characterized by a relatively constant response curve, in
the energy range from about 100 KeV, up to about 2 MeV, while the GM counter, and specially the
scintillation detector, have a strongly varying response with energy. With respect to the GM
counter, better response may be attained by using a set of filters, made from different materials such
as lead and others.
3-5-1 Calibration of the survey meters:
- Survey meters used for determination of dose or dose rates arising from beta particles, gamma
radiation and x-rays and neutrons should be recalibrated periodically, each six months, depending
on the prevailing working conditions. For example, in practices of industrial radiography, which
may lead to serious radiological hazards, it is

Fig. (3-5): Energy response for some detectors

An ionization chamber.
A GM counter.
A scintillation detector.

required to carry out the recalibration each six months, while for other practices with lower source
activities, the recalibration may be repeated yearly.
- The recalibration should be conducted, only, by recognized and authorized laboratories, and by
qualified persons from the national regulatory authority. The recalibration should cover all ranges
and scales of the survey meter. Moreover, each scale should be recalibrated, at least, at two points,
to assure the accuracy in the full range of the scale. A recalibration certificate should be issued,
showing the date of recalibration, the name of the specialist, who conducted it, the recommended
date for the next recalibration, and comments about the constancy of the calibration constants of the
device
- The recommended radiation sources for calibration of different devices are:

32
a) X-ray machines with proper high voltages for calibration of survey meters used with x-ray
sources.
b) Cesium-137 and Cobalt-60 sources for calibration of gamma survey meters.
c) Sr-90 sources for calibration of beta survey meters.
d) Am-Be source or Cf-252 sources for calibration of neutron survey meters

3-6 The contamination monitors:

- A contamination monitor is a device used to detect contamination of surfaces, hands and feet,
clothes and surface contamination on equipments with any radio-nuclides. There are other
contamination monitors that are used to detect contamination of air with radio-nuclides, such as
iodine monitors, which are, widely, used in laboratories of the nuclear medicine in the hospitals.
Any contamination monitor should be able to detect very small contamination (up to 185 Bq or
0.005 micro-Curie). For detection of a lower contamination, another procedure, known as wipe test,
should be conducted.
- To detect surface contamination with any radio-nuclide (except Tc-99m), only alpha or beta
particles should be detected, since gamma radiation and neutrons have a very high penetration
power, and hence, they will be detected independent of their location inside the sealed container or
on the external surface of this container. For this reason, any contamination monitor consists,
mainly, of:
a- An alpha or beta particle detector, which is prepared with a very thin window to permit these
particles to pass to the detector to be detected inside it.
b- An electronic amplifier circuit for voltage amplification, to get measurable pulses.
c- A measuring device to count the pulse rate or the number of pulses during a defined time
interval.
d- The contamination monitors are, always, equipped with a sound device that gives clicks
indicating pulse counting. This is essential to demonstrate by sound the contamination level,
without the need to look to the scale of the monitor.
- To detect surface contaminations with alpha emitters or with beta emitters, with relatively high
beta particles energy, using a wipe test, an appropriate gross alpha beta counter should be used for
high contamination levels.
- For detecting surface contaminations, of low contamination levels, with alpha emitters or with
low energy beta emitters, such as tritium (H-3), using a wipe test, a liquid scintillation detector
should be used for increasing the solid angle and the detection probability.
- The wipe test, for detection of any contamination on the outside surface of any radio-active
source should be conducted, periodically, each six months. If the counting facilities needed to
detect the surface contamination of the sources are not available at the licensee, then he should
contract a qualified and recognized party to conduct these tests on behave of him.
3-7 Devices for personal dosimetry:
- In all controlled areas monitoring of the personal doses of the workers must be done using,
internationally, recognized personal devices, such as either the Thermo-Luminescent Dosimeter
(TLD) or the Film badge. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia., the TLD are the recognized device.
- Some of the widely used TLDs are the lithium fluoride (LiF) or calcium fluoride (CaF) non-
metal crystals. When the ionizing radiations fall on any of these crystals and interact with orbital
electrons of their atoms, some of the electrons are transferred from the, so called, equivalence band
to a higher band. One of the main characteristics of these crystals is that the transferred electrons
remain in the new band at the prevailing temperature. When the crystal is heated up to a
temperature of 200 Celsius, the transferred electrons return back to their original band, with the

33
emission of a visible light. The amount of the emitted light linearly depends on the amount of
radiation energy absorbed in the crystal. So, measurement of the amount of the emitted light using a
device, such as a photo-multiplier tube, is a good indication of the amount of energy delivered from
the ionizing radiation to the air or the human body.
- The CaF crystal is characterized by a high sensitivity to radiation, however its energy response
is limited, while the LiF is characterized by a good energy response, but its sensitivity is limited.
- Another, internationally recognized, personal dosimeter is the, so called "film badge",
consisting a plastic film covered with a silver bromide (AgBr) emulsion. When ionizing radiations
interact with the emulsion some electrons are ejected out, breaking the covalent bond between silver
and brome. When the film is processed the silver atoms are collected in dots forming some darkness
in the plastic film. This darkness is a measure of the amount of radiation energy, to which the film
was exposed. To differentiate between different radiations and energies, different filters are used
between the film and its badge.
- The advantages of the film badge, in comparison with the TLD, is that it is much cheaper, and
it is considered as a document, since the darkness remains for long time, together with its
simplicity. Its disadvantages, with respect to the TLD, is its limited accuracy and the need to isolate
it from the direct light.
- In the supervised areas personal doses may be evaluated by measuring the maximum dose rates
in the place where the workers are working, and by registering the total time during which the
worker is existing inside the area. In this case the dose rate should be measured as the maximum
value between the head and the knee.

34
 CHAPTER FOUR
SOME RADIOATION MEASURMENT TEQNIQUES
AND STATISTICAL FLUCTUATIONS

4-1 Introduction:
- In this chapter a very limited number of radiation measurement techniques,
including both relative and absolute measurements, together with some factors affecting the
accuracy of these measurements, will be touched.
- Our discussion will be limited to the case when the radiation source is located
outside the radiation detector. In this case, there are different source-detector configurations,
described as good or bad geometrical configurations, depending on the source and detector sizes, as
well as on the distance R between the source and the detector.
- The good geometrical configuration is defined as that one, at which the size of
the source can be considered as a point, and the source detector distance R is  than the largest
dimension of the detector, so that the different rays emerged from the source toward the detector are
approximately parallel in the detector. For realistic situations, with some approximation, the good
geometrical configuration is considered that one, in which the source-detector distance R is, at least,
ten times larger than the larger dimension of the source or the detector. For radioactive sources,
with relatively low activity, it is impossible to realize a good geometrical configuration, since the
number of particles or photons emitted from the source toward the detector will be too limited, so
that the measurement can consume a very long time, or it cannot be carried out due to the existence
of an intensive background radiation, which may much exceed the intended radiation emitted from
the source. In these conditions, the measurements can be conducted, with a good accuracy, in the so
called bad geometrical configuration. So, one can conclude that the source detector configuration is
determined by many factors, such as size and shape of the source and the detector, the source
activity, the type of radiation, and purpose of measurements. Fig. 4-1 represents some of the
experimentally used source-detector configurations both good and bad.
- The advantages of a good geometrical configuration is that the detector solid
angle , (fig. 4-1 a) through which the detector sees the source, can be easily and accurately
calculated. Moreover, in this configuration the detector intrinsic efficiency  is constant and does
not change with relatively small variations of the source location.

4-2 The solid angle :

- Consider an isotropic point source with activity A Bq at a certain distance R
from the detector (fig 4-1 a). Since the particles (or photons) are emitted from the source with equal
probability in all directions, only a small portion of these particles (or photons) have a chance to fall
on the detector surface. This portion is equal to the ratio between the detector sensitive surface area,
which faces the source, and the area of the sphere, on which the detector surface is located and
center of which is the source, and the radius of which is R. In other words the solid angle  is
defined as:
number of particles emitted per second inside the space defined
by the contours of the source and detector aperture
=
number of particles emitted per second from the source in all directions
- So, the solid angle  for a point isotropic source and a detector with a circular
aperture with radius r, located at a distance R from the source, in a good geometrical configuration
is given, in general, as:
 = r2 / 4R2

35
 - Suppose you have a Cesium-137 source with activity 1 microCurie, located at a
distance of 40 cm from a detector with a circular sensitive cross-section with radius 2 cm. Then the
detector solid angle is:
 = (2)2 / 4 x (40)2 = 6.25 x 10-4
- By multiplying the source activity A in becquerels by the element of the solid
angle , the number of particles, which reach the detector each second is defined. For example,
when the previously mentioned source is used with a detector in the mentioned configuration, from
the 37000 particles emitted from the source in all directions, in each second, only 37000 x 6.25 x
10-4 = 23 particles will fall on the sensitive detector surface (provided that no particle will be
absorbed in the air between the source and the detector).


The Source R The detector
(a) Good geometrical configuration

The source
The source The detector

The detector

(b) (c)

The source inside

a marinelli beaker

The detector A well type detector

(d) (e)

Configuration (b,c, d, and e ) are belonging to a bad geometrical configuration

Fig. (4-1)

36
- If the activity of the alpha or beta source is A Bq then it emits A alpha or beta particles per
second in all directions. If the resultant daughter radionuclide is a gamma emitter, and if the
probability of emission of a gamma ray line with a definite energy E is f, then the number of
photons emitted with this energy in all direction, in one second, is defined as (f A) photons. For
example, it is known, that f = 0.85, for the 662 KeV gamma ray line emitted from barium 137,
formed by the beta decay of Cs-137. Then the number of 662 KeV photons emitted from 1 Ci Cs-
137 source is = f A = 31450 photons per second. From this last number only 31450 x 6.25 x 10-4 =
19.66 photons will impinge on the sensitive area of the detector in the configuration mentioned
previously.
- Finally, one can defined the total number N of photons with known probability f, that impinge
on the detector surface from a source with activity A, when the detector solid angle is  as:
N=fA

4-3 The detector intrinsic efficiency :

- In case of the indirectly ionizing radiation, such as gamma photons and neutrons, the detector
can only detect a certain portion of photons or particles, incident on its sensitive surface. The
detector intrinsic efficiency  is defined as:
number of photons detected in the detector per second
 =
number of photons impinging on the detector per second
- For photon detectors, there are different intrinsic efficiencies, such as the photo-peak intrinsic
efficiency ph, Compton intrinsic efficiency c, and full peak intrinsic efficiency f.
- All intrinsic efficiencies are, strongly, dependent on the energy of detected photons or
particles, the type and dimension of the detector, the density of the material used as a detector, and
in some conditions on the nature of the source, its density and dimension. So, the efficiency
determined for a certain detector and at a given radiation energy must not be used for another
detector or at other radiation energy or for a source of other density or shape.

4-4 Relation between the counting rate C and source activity A:

- The counting rate C of a counting system is the number of counts (photons or particles)
detected by this system in one second 9In the SI of units). So, using the definition of the intrinsic
efficiency , and the number of photons or particles N =  f A, impinging on the detector sensitive
surface, it is then clear that
 =C/fA
- So, the source activity A is related with the counting rate C, efficiency  of the detector, the
solid angle  and f value of the certain gamma line with a simple relation, which is:
C=fA
- In a bad geometrical configuration this relation is not used, due to the large uncertainties in
calculation of  even by using very complicated computer programs, as well as in determination of
the detector intrinsic efficiency. For this reason, another quantity known as the overall efficiency
 is introduced, which combines both intrinsic efficiency and element of the solid angle 
together, i.e:  =  . The relation between the counting rate C, the overall efficiency  and the
source activity then is:
C=fA

37
- When this last relation is used the overall efficiency  is determined experimentally, using a
standard source with an accurately determined activity A. the obtained efficiency  is used to
determined activities A of unknown sources, provided that all sources are measured in the same
geometrical configuration (i.e sample volume, shape, location and density) and using the same
energy lines.

4-5 Other factors affecting the measurements:

- In performing relative and absolute measurements there are many other factors, which may,
strongly, affect the accuracy of the obtained results. Some of these factors are the source itself, the
medium between the source and the detector, and the detector itself.

4-5-1 Role of the source effects:

- One of the important effects of the source is the self absorption inside the source. The size,
and in particular the way the source is made may have strong effect on the measurement results.
Whether the source is a solid material or a thin deposited evaporated layer on a metal disc this may
make a difference. For gamma and neutron measurements, the effect of the source thickness is
relatively limited, while it is very strong in measurement of charged particles, and specially alpha
particles. In all cases, self absorption factor fa in the source should be taken into consideration,
since it reduces the experimentally determined activity. For this reason, sources of the charged
particles (especially alpha) should be very thin (not more than few micrograms/cm2
- The second important effect of the source is the backscattering effect on source backing.
The source is, always, deposited on a metallic backing or support. This backing may lead to the
scattering of particles, (especially beta particles). The particles which are directed from the source
toward the backing may suffer backscattering, so that they will be reflected back to the detector,
increasing the count rate over the real value. The backscattering factor fb, strongly depends, on
the atomic number Z of the backing material, backing thickness X and kinetic energy E of the
particles. Increasing Z, X or E will strongly increase the backscattering factor fb. For this reason the
source backing should be made from a material with low Z and should have the minimum
thickness. The backscattering may increase the real count rate by a value up to 70 – 80 %.

4-5-2 The role of the medium:

- The effect of the medium between the source and the detector is important, too, in some
circumstances. Normally the medium between the source and the detector is air, which has a very
low density. For this reason this medium will have ignored effect on the measurement results for
photons and neutrons. If the measured particles are charged, then all the particles suffer some
energy loss, and some of them (especially those with low energy) may be completely absorbed,
while some others may be scattered in or out of the detector. To eliminate these effects, source of
the charged particles and detector should be placed in an evacuated chamber.
- To demonstrate the role of the medium, it is important to remind that alpha particles with
energy 5 MeV loose completely, their energy during about 4 cm of air, while beta particles with an
end point of about 1 MeV loose their energy in the air within a layer of 4- 5 meters.

4-5-3 The role of the detector:

- In most cases the source is located outside the detector. The radiation must penetrate the wall
of the detector in order to be counted. Interaction between the impinging radiation on the detector
window and the material from which this window is made, may scatter and (or) absorb some of the
impinging charged particles and even low energy photons. This will lead to lowering the measured
count rate with respect to the real one.

38
 4-6 Dead- time correction:
- the dead time , or resolving time of a detector, is defined as the minimum time that can elapse
between the arrival of two successive particles at the detector, so that two distinct pulses are
produced. The most important is the dead time of the system as a whole which may be composed of
a detector, preamplifier, amplifier, ADC (Analogue-to Digital Converter) and the multi-channel analyzer
(MCA). However, since the dead time of the detector is much longer than that of the electronics, the
later may be ignored (except the dead time of the MCA). So, the total or detector dead time (), as
appropriate, should be taken into consideration when counting ionizing radiation.
- As a result of the dead time, some pulses are not produced in the detector, or not registered in
the MCA, so that they are lost. The effect of lost counts will be particularly important in the case of
high counting rates. Obviously, the measured counting rate should be corrected for the loss of some
counts due to the dead time. When the counting rate is too high, then the system will stop
functioning (counting) and it seems to be dead all the time.
- If the dead time of the system (or the detector) is  seconds, and the experimentally measured
counting rate is C (count per second), then the fraction of time during which the system was dead is
 C second. When the product  C is  1, then the system will stop counting. The relation between
the true counting rate Ctr, the measured count rate C, and the system dead time  is:
Ctr = C / (1 – C )
- For clarifying the role of the dead time suppose that the dead time of a system is 400
microseconds (s), and that the measured counting rate is 30000 counts per minute (cpm). In this
case the system will be dead for 400 x 10-6 x ( 30000 / 60) = 0.2 seconds during the one second,
which means that the percentage of the dead time is 0.2 x 100 = 20 %. The true counting rate is
then:
Ctr = 30000 / (1-0.2) = 30000 / 0.8 = 37500 counts per minute.
- For more clarification, suppose that the same system will be used to register a measured
counting rate of 150000 (cpm). In this case the system, during one second, will be dead for 400 x
10-6 x ( 150000 / 60) = 1 second, which means that the percentage of the dead time is 1 x 100 = 100
%, i. e. the system will be dead all the time and it will stop counting.

4-7 The statistical fluctuation of radiation measurements:

- the radioactive decay is a truly random process, since no one can predict when a certain single
atom will be subjected to decay. So, all radiation measurements are subjected to two types of errors
which are statistical and systematic errors. The next paragraphs will deal briefly with some
concepts of the statistical errors, which should be described in statistical terms. The random
processes obey the, so called, Gaussian distribution.
- According to this Gaussian distribution, the standard error in a mean value n of a set of
readings ni, consisting of N readings, is defined in terms of the, so called, standard deviation  of
the distribution. This deviation  is defined as:

 = [(1/ N)  ( ni – n )2 ]1/2

- In practical situations, scientists are making a single measurement rather than many
measurements to determine the true mean. In this case if the number of the detected events is m
then the standard deviation  of this value may be given as:
 = (m)1/2
So, any measured value is reported as m   = m  (m)1/2.
- the percentage statistical error E is defined as:

39
 E % = ( / m) x 100 = 100 / (m)1/2 %
So, it is seen that the percentage statistical error E % decreases when the amount of the measured
counts m is increased. This fact is represented in table (4-2), showing the number of the registered
counts in each measurement, together with its standard deviation and percentage error in three cases
known as; lower, medium and higher confidence level, corresponding to 1 , 2 , and 3 
respectively.
Table (4-2)
Nmber of count The standard The percentage Error %
s deviation  1 2 3
1 1 100 200 300
4 2 50 100 150
16 4 25 50 75
25 5 20 40 60
100 10 10 20 30
400 20 5 15 20
1000 31.6 3.16 6.32 9.48
10000 100 1 2 3
100000 316 0.316 0.632 0.948
1000000 1000 0.1 0.2 0.3

- To get acquaint with the so called lower, medium and higher confidence level, suppose that a
certain experiment with a long lived radioactive isotope, such as uranium (with a half life time of
4.468 x 109 years), have been repeated 1000 times, with a mean count of 400. the long half life is
intended to be sure that no change has been occurred during the 1000 measurements. In this case
according to the laws of the statistical distribution, the counts measured in these thousand runs will
be as shown in table (4-3)

4-7-1 The standard error in the counting rate:

- In practice, the number of counts recorded in the presence of a given source, is usually
recorded either in a scalar or as the total (gross) counts G in a peak of interest in a multi-channel
analyzer, during a certain time period of measurement tg. However, the reported result is the
counting rate, i.e., counts recorded per unit time (namely per second), which is Cg = (G / tg). In
some cases, especially, when dealing with a gamma source, the amount of the background gamma
radiation may be comparable with that radiation emitted from this source, and it should be taken
into consideration, to get the net count rate Cnet from the source.
For this reason, the background counts B should be measured, in the absence of the source, during
an appropriate time period tb, and the background count rate Cb = (B / tb) is determined. To get the
net count rate Cnet, resulting from the source alone, the background count rate Cb should be
subtracted from the gross count rate Cg, i.e.,
Cnet = Cg – Cb = ( G / tg ) – ( B / tb )
Table: (4-3)
The range of the experimental readings among the thousand readings The number of readings
380 – 420 which meat (m  ) 680
360 – 380 which lie between [(m-2) and (m-) 136
420 – 440 which lie between [(m+) and (m+2) 136
340 – 360 which lie between [(m-3) and (m-2) 23
440 – 460 which lie between [(m+2) and (m+3) 23
Less than 340 1
More than 460 1

40
 The lower confidence level includes all reading higher than (m-1) i.e higher than
380 or lower than (m+1), i.e. lower than 420. These are 680 +136 + 23 +1 = 840
readings among the thousand, with 84 % confidence
The medium confidence level includes all reading higher than (m-2) i.e higher than
360 or lower than (m+2) i.e. lower than 440. These are 680 +136 +136 + 23 +1 = 976
readings among the thousand, with 97.6 % confidence.
The higher confidence level includes all reading higher than (m-3) i.e higher than
340 or lower than (m+3), i.e. lower than 460. These are 680 +136 + 136 + 23 + 23 +1
= 999 readings among the thousand, with 99.9 % confidence
- The standard deviation net in the net count rate Cnet is defined as:
net = [G /( tg)2 + B /( tb)2 ]1/2
- To reduce the error which may arise due to the background radiation in measurements of low
activity gamma sources, both the source and the detector are placed inside a special shield.

41
 CHAPTER FIVE
DOSIMETRY QUANTITIES AND THEIR UNITS

- The quantities used to measure the dosimetrical quantities of ionizing radiation are based on
the gross number of this radiation in a defined situation or, on the gross amount of energy,
deposited in a defined mass of material.

5-1 The Exposure:

- The exposure is defined as the exposure of the dry air at standard temperature and pressure
(STP), to x-rays or low energy gamma ray (up to 3 MeV).
- The old unit of the exposure is the ROENTGEN – R
- The SI (System International) unit of the exposure is Coulomb per Kg dry air.
- The Roentgen is defined as the amount of exposure of the dry air at the standard temperature
and pressure, which yields a charge of 2.58 x 10-4 Coulomb/Kg dry air of each sign (Electrons or
ions).

5-2 The absorbed dose D:

- The fundamental dosimetric quantity in radiation protection is the absorbed dose. The
absorbed dose D is defined as the ratio of the amount of energy E deposited from the ionizing
radiation to a mass element of m of a matter e.g:
D = E / m
In other words, the absorbed dose is defined as the amount of energy deposited from any type of
ionizing radiation, into a unit mass of any matter.
- The units of the absorbed dose are the "rad" in the old (CGS which is Centimeter Gram
Second) system of units, and the "Gray Gy" in the standard international system of units.
- The rad is the old unit of the absorbed dose (e.g. in CGS system of units). One rad is defined
as 100 erg of energy deposited into one gram of matter. The word rad is the abbreviation of a
sentence which is "radiation absorbed dose”..
1 rad = 100 erg / 1 gram
- The Gray "Gy" is the SI unit of the absorbed dose (e.g. in MKS system of units, Meter,
Kilogram, Second). One Gray is defined as 1 Joule of energy imparted into one Kilogram of
matter.
- It should be mentioned that the absorbed dose is defined in terms that allow it to be specified at
a point, but it is used to mean the average dose over a tissue or organ.
- Using the relation between Joule and erg which is 1 Joule = 107 erg, it is clear that
1 Gy = 100 rad

5-3 The equivalence between the Roentgen R, rad and Gy:

1 R is equivalent to 87 erg/gm = 0.87 rad = 0.0087 Gy in air
1 R is equivalent to 96 erg/gm = 0.96 rad = 0.0096 Gy in the human tissue
- So, one can consider, with acceptable approximation that:
1 R  1 rad  0.01 Gy

42
5-4 The Kerma K:
- The Kerma K is defined as:
K = Etr /m
Where, Etr is the sum of the initial kinetic energies of all charged ionizing particles, liberated by
the uncharged ionizing particles in a material of mass m.
- The units of the Kerma are the same units of the absorbed dose.
- It should be mentioned that the Kerma is approximately equal the absorbed dose at very low
photon energies, but it becomes less than the absorbed dose, at medium and relatively high photon
energies.

5-5 The Radiation Weighting Factor WR:

- It has been found that the probability of the so called stochastic effects depends not only on
magnitude of the absorbed dose, but also on the type and energy of radiation delivering this dose.
This is taken into account by weighting the absorbed dose by a factor related to the quality of the
radiation for causing health effects. In the past, this weighting factor has been applied to the
absorbed dose at a point and was called the quality factor Q. The weighted absorbed dose by the Q
factor was called the dose equivalent.
- The radiation weighting factor WR is a multiplier of the absorbed dose to account for the
relative effectiveness of different types of radiation in inducing health effects. The values of this
factor for different types and energies of radiation are given in table (5-1).
Table (5-1): The values of WR

Type and energy range of radiation Radiation weighting factor WR

Photons, all energies 1
Electrons and muons, all energies 1
Neutrons, energy < 10 KeV 5
10 KeV to 100 KeV 10
> 100 KeV to 2 MeV 20
> 2 Mev to 20 MeV 10
> 20 MeV 5
Protons, other than recoil protons, energy > 2 MeV 5
Alpha particles, fission fragments and heavy nuclei 20

5-6 The Equivalent dose HT:

- It is the absorbed dose averaged over a tissue or organ T, due to radiation of type R, and
weighted by the radiation weighting factor WR, e.g:
HT = WR * DT, R
- When the radiation field is composed of different radiation types with different values of WR,
the equivalent dose to this tissue is given as:
HT = R
WR * DT, R

- One should differentiate between the equivalent dose HT in a tissue or organ and the dose
equivalent H, which was used by the ICRP before 1990. The dose equivalent H represented the
dose in a point rather than in a tissue or organ, since the quality factor Q, used for weighting,
represented this factor at the point.
- The units of the equivalent dose are the "rem" in the old CGS system or the Seivert "Sv" in
the SI system.

43
- The "rem" (roentgen equivalent man) is the unit of the equivalent dose in the old CGS system,
where the absorbed dose is measured in "rad".
- The Seivert "Sv" is the unit of the equivalent dose in the SI system, where the absorbed dose
is measured in Gray "Gy".

5-7 The tissue weighting factor WT:

- The relationship between the probability of stochastic effects and equivalent dose is found,
also, to depend on the tissue or organ irradiated. The factor which represents the relative
contribution of a certain tissue or organ to the total detriment, from a uniform irradiation of the
whole body is called the tissue weighting factor WT.
- The tissue weighting factor WT is a multiplier of the equivalent dose HT to an organ or tissue,
to accounts for the different sensitivities of different tissues and organs to the induction of
stochastic effects. The recommended by the ICRP values of the tissue weighting factors are given in
table (5-2)

5-8 The effective dose E:

- The effective dose E is defined as the sum of the weighted equivalent doses in all the tissues
and organs of the human body. In other words it is defined as the sum of the tissue equivalent doses
each multiplied by the appropriate tissue weighting factor. It is given by the Expression:
E= 
T
WT * H T

- The units of the effective dose are the same units which are used for effective dose in both
CGS, and SI systems, i.e: the "rem" and the Seivert "Sv' .
- Both effective and equivalent doses are quantities intended for use in radiation protection
including the assessment of the risks in general terms. They provide a basis for estimating
probability of stochastic effects, for absorbed doses well below the thresholds for deterministic
effects.

Table (5-2): Tissue weighting factors averaged over the sexes and ages

Tissue or organ Tissue weighting factor WT

Gonades 0.20
Red bone marrow 0.12
Colon 0.12
Lung 0.12
Stomach 0.12
Bladder 0.05
Breast 0.05
Liver 0.05
Oesophagus 0.05
Thyroid 0.05
Skin 0.01
Bone surface 0.01
The remainder 0.05
The whole body 1.00

44
 5-9 The committed equivalent or effective dose:
- Following an intake of a radio-nuclide into the human body, there is a period during which this
nuclide gives rise to equivalent doses in the tissues of the body at varying rates. The time integral
of the equivalent dose rate is called the committed equivalent dose H (). Where  is the
integration time in years following the intake. If  is not specified, it is considered to be 50 years for
adults and 70 years for children.
- The committed effective dose E () is similarly defined as the committed equivalent dose.
- Both committed equivalent dose and committed effective dose have the same units as
equivalent or effective doses.

5-10 The collective equivalent or collective effective dose:

- All the dosimetric quantities mentioned before relate to the exposure of an individual.
However, other quantities related to the exposure of a group of workers or population is necessary.
These quantities are the collective equivalent dose ST, in a certain tissue of a group of people and
the collective effective dose S of this group.
- The collective equivalent dose ST is the equivalent dose incurred in a defined tissue or organ
by a group of workers or by a critical group of people. The collective equivalent dose is defined
as the product of the number N of exposed individuals and their average equivalent dose HT,
when the amount of this dose is equal for each member of the group.
- The collective effective dose S is the effective dose incurred by a group of workers or by a
critical group. The collective effective dose is defined as the product of the number N of
exposed individuals and their average effective dose E.
- If several groups are involved, in the exposure, then the total collective effective dose is the
sum of the collective doses for all groups.
- The old unit of the collective equivalent dose or collective effective dose is the "man.rem",
while the SI unit is man.Seivert" man.Sv".
- The collective quantities represent the total consequences of exposure of a population or group
of workers. For example, when the risk factor R for lethal cancer is given, it is easy to assess the
additional cancer deaths, induced by radiation, among a group of exposed people by multiplying
their collective dose and the risk factor R.

45
 CHAPTER SIX
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RADIATION

6-1 Direct and indirect actions of ionizing radiation on cells:

- The gross biological effects, resulting from exposure to ionizing radiation are due to long and
complex series of events, which are initiated by ionization or excitation of relatively few molecules
in the organism. For example, the lethal dose for 50 % of the exposed men (or women) within 30
days (LD-50/30) is known to be about 4 Gy of gamma rays. This high and lethal dose affects only 1
atom from each 10 millions atoms.
- It is known that most of the human body is water, and most of the direct action of radiation is
therefore on water. The result of energy absorption from radiation by water molecules is the
production of highly reactive free radicals, which are chemically toxic, and may exert their toxicity
on other molecules (a free radical is a fragment of a compound or an element, that contains an
unpaired electron). When a water molecule is irradiated, it may become ionized, i.e;
H2O  H2O+ + e- (a physical stage which occurs within 10-15 sec from the moment of irradiation).
The positive ion dissociates immediately according to:
H2O+  H+ + OH
And the electron will be captured by a neutral water molecule forming a negatively charged water
molecule according to the reaction:
e- + H2O  H2O-
This last negative ion dissociates immediately as:
H2O-  H + OH-
The last three reactions are known as the physio-chemical stage, and they occur within 10-6 second
of the moment of irradiation. The positive and negative ions H+ and OH- are of no consequence,
since all body fluids contain significant concentrations of them. The free radicals H and OH may
combine with like radicals, or with other molecules, especially in case of irradiation of the human
body with high LET (Linear Energy Transfer) particles, such as alpha particles or fast neutrons.
This combination yields a hydrogen peroxide molecule, which is a stable compound and capable to
diffuse far from the point of its generation.
OH + OH  O2H2
Moreover H2O2 is a very powerful oxidizing agent and can affect cells and molecules that did not
suffer radiation damage directly. If the irradiated water contains dissolved oxygen molecules, then
the free hydrogen radical may combine with the oxygen, to form the hydro-peroxyl radical:
H + O2  HO2
This radical has a greater stability and can diffuse away and combine with a free H radical to form
hydrogen peroxide, thereby further enhancing the toxicity of the ionizing radiation.
- Our knowledge is still too limited concerning the gross of biological effects, which may occur
long after irradiation.

6-2 Radiation effects:

- As a result of the processes discussed in the previous paragraph, the living cell may be
damaged. The most important damage is that which may occur in the DNA. Damage in the DNA
may prevent the survival of the cell, affect its reproduction, or modify the cell itself.

46
- If enough cells in the organ or tissue are killed or prevented from functioning normally, there
will be a loss of the organ function, which is known now as a deterministic effect. The loss of
function will become more serious as the number of affected cells is increased. Many organs and
tissues are not affected by small reductions in the number of the available cells and the body will
attempt to repair this damage. However, if the decrease is large enough, then the body cannot repair
the damage, and the end result will be the death.
- The response of the body to develop a clone of modified somatic cells is complex. The
development of such a clone may be inhibited, unless it is promoted by an additional agent, before
or after irradiation, and the clone may be eliminated or isolated by the body’s defenses. However, if
it is not, it may result after a prolonged or variable delay, called the "latency period", in the
development of malignant conditions in which the proliferation of modified cells is uncontrolled.
Such conditions are grouped together and called cancer. A modified germ cell in the gonads will
transfer genetic information to the descendants of an exposed individual, which may cause severe
harm to some of these descendants, known as hereditary effects. The somatic and hereditary effects
are known as "stochastic effects".
- There is some experimental evidence that radiation appears to enhance immunological
responses and to modify the balance of hormones in the body, thus strengthening the natural
defense mechanisms of the body. Most of the data on such effects termed "hormesis" have been
inconclusive because of statistical difficulties at low doses.

6-3 Deterministic and stochastic effects:

- The deterministic effects are the radiation effects for which a threshold level of dose exists, and
above which the severity of the effect is greater for higher doses. Deterministic effects occur from
acute doses and some of these effects are radiation disease, cataract, erythema and others.
Deterministic effects are belonging to prompt somatic effect, which means that they appear
promptly after the threshold on the exposed person.
- The stochastic effects are radiation effects, generally occurring without a threshold level of
dose (i.e they may occur from low doses as well as from high doses), and their probability is
proportional to the incurred dose, and their severity is independent of the dose. Examples of the
stochastic effects are different cancers, leukemia’s, and hereditary effects. The stochastic effects are
considered as delayed effects.

6-4 Acute deterministic effects:

- Acute exposure is defined as any single exposure to high dose of radiation, during a short
period of time, and which produce biological effects within a short time after exposure so, they are
called prompt effects. All deterministic effects arise due to acute exposures. These exposures may
lead, also, to stochastic effects. The acute radiation syndrome is subdivided into three classes. In the
order of increasing severity, these are:
a) The hemopoietic syndrome.
b) The gastrointestinal syndrome
c) The central nervous system syndrome
Certain diseases or effects are common to all these classes, which are grouped under one name as
"radiation disease or sickness", which includes nausea and vomiting, malaise and fatigue,
increased temperature, and blood changes.
- The blood changes are reflected in the changes of the blood count. These changes, usually, do
not appear before gamma ray doses of 250- 500 mGy, but they, certainly, appear after 500mGy.
The white blood cells known as leucocytes, which are counted in healthy adults as 7000/mm3 of
blood is responsible for combating the infecting organisms. There are two main types of the
leucocytes, which are granulocytes and lymphocytes, with relative proportion of 70- 75 % and 30-

47
25 % respectively. The granulocytes are produced in the red bone marrow and circulate for about 3
days before death, while lymphocytes are produced in the lymph nodes and spleen, and remain
alive for 24 hours. After an acute exposure in the sub-lethal range there is a sharp increase in the
number of granulocytes, followed within a day by a very sharp decrease to reach the minimum for
several weeks or months after exposure. The lymphocytes drop sharply after the exposure, and
remain depressed for several months.
- The hemopoietic syndrome appears after a gamma dose of about 2 Gy. This disease is
characterized by depression or ablation of the red bone marrow. The onset of the disease is, rather,
sudden, and is heralded by nausea and vomiting within several hours after over exposure. At 4-6 Gy
complete ablation of the bone marrow occurs. An exposure of about 7-8 Gy or greater leads to
irriversable ablation of the bone marrow. The LD-50/30 is in the range of 3-5 Gy.
- The gastrointestinal disorders may appear from relatively small doses (about 1-2 Gy) due to the
death of a part of cells of the intestinal epithelium, but the syndrome is severe after about 10 Gy.
This syndrome is a consequence of the desquamation of the intestinal epithelium, and its signs are
severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which begins very soon or immediately after exposure and
the death within 1-2 weeks is the most likely outcome.
- Central nervous system syndrome occurs, after relatively high dose of acute exposure which is
not less than 20 Gy. Its sign is the occurring of unconsciousness, within minutes after exposure, and
the death occurs during several hours to few days.

- The skin may be subjected, due to its location to more radiation exposure, especially in the case
of low energy x-ray and beta particles. An exposure of the skin to about 300 R in the diagnostic x-
ray (approximately 3 Gy) results in erythema, while higher doses may cause pigmentation,
blistering and ulceration.

- The gonads are particularly radiosensitive. A dose of about 150- 200 mGy to the tests in a
single exposure results in temporary sterility among men, but in case of prolonged exposure the
dose rate threshold is 0.4 Gy/year The corresponding values for permanent sterility are about 3-6
Gy for acute exposure and 2 Gy/year for prolonged one. For women, the threshold for permanent
sterility is an acute absorbed dose to the ovaries, in the range of about 2.5- 6 Gy.

- The threshold for opacities of the eye lens (cataract), which occur after some delay, seems to
be in the range of about 5-10 Gy for an acute exposure to low LET radiation. For high LET
radiation the absorbed dose threshold is 2 -3 times less.

6-5 The stochastic effects:

- As it has been mentioned, all cancers and hereditary effects belong to the stochastic effects. For
these effects there is no threshold for their induction. As a somatic effect in humans, the period
between exposure to radiation and recognition of a cancer lasts a number of years, known as latency
period. The median latency period seems to be about 7- 8 years for leukemia, while it seems to be
two three times longer for many solid tumors, such as breast or lung cancers. However there are
some types of cancers that may appear after about two years latency.
- Up to now, Epidemiologic data on carcinogenicity of low doses of radiation are contradictory
and inconclusive. For this reason it is prudent to estimate the risk probability at low doses by
extrapolation from the probabilities at high doses. At high doses, there are many evidences that the
cancer dose response is linear or linear-quadratic, for human beings and for some other biological
species. So, at present, the accepted evaluation model for excess cancer deaths due to radiation is
based on a linear zero threshold for the extrapolation to low doses. A typical dose to cancer
relationship for low and high-LET radiations is illustrated on fig. (6-1).

48
 Fig. (6-1): A typical dose effect relationship for low and high- LET radiations

- The excess mortality from all cancers, attributed to a collective effective dose of 1 man.Sv, in
an acute uniform whole body exposure by low LET irradiation, (or in other words the risk factor R,
which represents the probability of death from induced cancer by radiation per 1 man.Seivert) is
illustrated in table (6-1). These values were obtained and corrected by different national and
international scientific committees, as indicated in this table.
- The relative probabilities of fatal cancers in different organs and the total Risk factor for
Japanese population, sexes averaged, ages 0- 90 years, 0- 19 years, 20- 64 years, Evaluated by
Japan and the National Institute of Health (NIH) of USA are tabulated in table (6-2). It is evident
that the relative probabilities vary with age group by a factor of about 2 for leukemia and colon
cancer.
Table (6-1) - The excess mortality from all cancers,
attributed to a collective effective dose of 1 man.Sv,
Source of estimate The risk factor per 1 man.Sv
Additive model Multiplicative model
BEIR I, 1972 1.2 x 10 -2 6.2 x 10 -2
UNSCEAR, 1977 2.5 x 10 -2 -
-2 -2
BEIR II, 1980 0.8 x 10 – 2.5 x 10 2.3 x 10 -2 - 5.0 x 10 -2
-2
NUREG, 1985 2.9 x 10 5.2 x 10 -2
UNSCEAR, 1988 4.0 x 10 -2 – 5.0 x 10 -2 7 x 10 -2 – 11 x 10 -2
BEIR V, 1990 - 8.85 x 10-2

6-6 Hereditary effects

- Two kinds of radiation induced genetic damage, when one of the two parents is irradiated, are
considered important. These two kinds are gene mutations (alterations in the genes) and gross
chromosome aberrations (alteration in the structure or number of the chromosomes). This damage
may be transmitted and become manifest as hereditary disorders in the descendants of the exposed
individual.
- Hereditary effects vary widely in their severity. When the production of dominant mutation
occur, it may lead to genetic diseases, predominantly in the first and second generation progeny
after exposure, and they may be seriously harmful and life- threading. Chromosomal aberrations
may also result in congenital abnormalities in children. Moreover, Interaction of genetic and
environmental factors may leads to the so called multi- factoral disorders.

49
- For low doses and dose rates, the ICRP estimates the nominal hereditary effect probability
coefficient for severe effects (excluding multi-factoral effects), related to the gonad doses, and over
all generation, to be about (0.6- 1.1) x 10-2 per man.Sv.

- The principal effects of irradiation on the mammalian fetus include:

a) Lethal effects in the embryo.
b) Malformations and other constructural changes.
c) Mental retardation.
d) Introduction of malignancies including leukemia.
e) Hereditary effects.

Table (6-2): Relative probabilities of fatal cancers in different

organs and the total Risk factor for Japanese population
The relative probability
Organ Multiplicative model NIH
0- 90 y 0- 19 y 20- 64 y 0-90y 0- 19 y 20- 64 y
Oesophagos 0.038 0.021 0.061 0.042 0.024 0.063
Stomach 0.291 0.266 0.305 0.268 0.225 0.301
Colon 0.180 0.255 0.089 0.121 0.171 0.066
Lung 0.174 0.191 0.159 0.221 0.297 0.129
Breast 0.023 0.025 0.022 0.027 0.034 0.019
Ovary 0.014 0.009 0.023 0.019 0.013 0.025
Bladder 0.052 0.030 0.082 0.052 0.028 0.080
Bone marrow 0.077 0.052 0.109 0.100 0.055 0.165
Remainder 0.150 0.050 0.150 0.150 0.150 0.150
All cancers 0.999 1.000 1.000 0.998 1.000 1.000
total probability
(10-2per man.Sv) 10.7 24.6 7.8 9.7 21.5 7.3

- Lethal effects can be induced in experimental animals by small doses (0.1 Gy) immediately
after implantation of the embryo into the uterine wall. Human pregnancy loss is known to occur
following exposure to ionizing radiation. However, data on the probability of fetal death, for
different dose are sparse, and it is difficult to conclude on the dose- effect relationship coefficient.
- Malformation can arise spontaneously, as well as from radiation. The most dangerous period of
exposure is during the most active phase of cell multiplication and differentiation in the structure of
the concern. However, malformation may also occur at all stages, especially in the later phase of
pregnancy. The malformations appear to result from the killing of cells. Dose-effect relationship is
not derived for humans, and the corresponding relationship for animals may be applied.
- Mental retardation was not observed to be induced by radiation prior to 8 weeks from
conception, or after 25 weeks. During the most sensitive period, 8-15 weeks after conception, the
fraction of those exposed which became severely mentally retarded increased by approximately 0.4
per Sv. For exposure during weeks 16-25, it increased by about 0.1 per Sv. Moreover mental
impairment of lower severity is also apparent in children exposed in uteri. Evidence of such
impairment is still being collected.
- Irradiated fetuses seem to be susceptible to childhood leukemias and the childhood cancers,
which are expressed during, approximately, the first decade of life. The risk of fetal childhood
cancer due to prenatal exposure has been estimated to be 2.8 x 10 -2 Per Sv. Constancy of risk
throughout the pregnancy was assumed.

50
 CHAPTER SEVEN
DOSE CALCULATION

7-1 Dose calculation from point sources:

- Effective dose rates from point exposed sources, existing outside the human body, which emit
beta particle, gamma radiation and neutrons can be easily calculated with high accuracy, using very
simple mathematical relations. For alpha emitters the external irradiation of the human body is,
completely of no importance, since the energy of alpha particles is completely absorbed in about 4
cm of air. Even, if a person is very close to an alpha emitting source, the emitted particles will be
fully absorbed in a very thin layer of the dead skin. However, the radionuclides which emit alpha
particles are considered the most hazardous particles if these radionuclides are ingested or inhaled
or taken by any other mean of intake,(internal exposure), due to the high linear energy transfer from
these particles and, correspondingly, due to the high specific ionization and high radiation
weighting factor of heavy charged particles.

7-2 Dose calculation for the beta emitters:

- For any beta emitting source, which is relatively small in dimension, so that it may be
considered as a point source, and which is very thin enough, to neglect the self absorption inside the
source, the dose rate Ė (in microSievert/hour Sv/h) resulting at a point p, existing at a distance d
(in meters) from the source center can be calculated with a good accuracy using eq.(7-1):
Ė (Sv/h) = (5 A Eav) / d2 (7-1)
Where Eav is the average energy of the beta particles emitted from the beta source (in MeV), and A
is the source activity in Mega Becquerell, MBq). If the average energy Eav of the beta emitting
radionuclide is not known, then it can be easily approximated with accepted degree of accuracy
from the maximum energy Emax (i.e. end point energy) of this radionuclide as; Eav = Emax /3.
- When the relation (7-1) is used to calculate the dose rate Ė of beta emitters, the distance d
between the source and the point of interest should be limited enough (up to about 2-3 m), to ignore
the absorption of beta particles in air, which may play a considerable role, specially when the
emitted particles are of relatively low energy.
- When the average energy, Eav of the beta particles is relatively small, then energy absorption in
the source material, air and detector window should be taken into consideration. The percentage of
the absorbed energy in these media should be subtracted from the dose rate calculated by equation
(7-1).

7-3 Dose calculation from external gamma sources:

- For a relatively small gamma emitting source, so that it may be considered as a point source,
and which is relatively thin, to neglect the self absorption inside the source, the dose rate Ė (in
microSeivert/hour Sv/h) resulting at a point p, which exists at a distance d (in meters) from the
exposed source, which emits a single gamma ray line (i.e. with a single energy) can be calculated
with a good accuracy using eq.(7-2).
Ė (Sv/h) = (0.142 A f E) / d2 (7-2)
where, A is the activity of the source (in Mega Becquerell MBq), E is the gamma ray energy in
(MeV), and f is a factor representing the ratio between the number of gamma photons with the
defined energy E emitted per each 100 decays of the radionuclide..

- If the source emits more than one gamma ray line (i.e. it emits gamma ray with different fixed
energy values Ei , then the dose rate is calculated using equation (7-3);

51
 Ė (Sv/h) = 0.142 A ∑i (fi Ei) / d2 (7-3)
Where, the summation ∑i is taken for all gamma ray lines i, and the product fi Ei represents the
product of fi for the i line, and its energy Ei.
- It is faster to calculate the effective dose rate Ė from any exposed gamma source if the gamma
specific constant  (or factor) for this source is known. The gamma specific constant (or factor) 
for a certain radionuclide (in the SI system of units) is defined as the dose rate (in Sv/h), at a
distance of 1m from the source of this radionuclide, activity of which A is one Mega Becquerell.
When this constant  is available then equations (7-2) and (7-3), for a single line emitters or
multiple lines emitters will look as equation (7-4).
Ė (Sv/h) =  A / d2 (7-4)
- Comparing equations (7-2) and (7-3) with (7-4), it is clear that the gamma specific constant 
for a gamma emitter which emits a single gamma ray line is:
 = 0.142 f E (7-5)
While, the gamma specific constant, , for a radionuclide which emits multiple gamma ray lines is:
 = 0.142 ∑i (fi Ei) (7-6)
And the quantities are defined in the same manner as in equation (7-2) and (7-3).
- It should be mentioned that the unit of the gamma specific constant (or factor) , in the SI
system of units is (Sv. m2/h. MBq). In this system of units the gamma specific factor  is defined
as the dose rate at adistance one meter of a source, nactivity of which is one Mega Becquerel. In the
classic system of units, the gamma specific constant  is defined as the dose rate (in Roetgen/hour
R/h), at a distance of 1 m from a source of a radionuclide, activity of which A is one Curie (Ci). So,
the unit of  in the classic system of units is (R. m2/ h. Ci). Up to now, some books and references
are using the classic system of units. For this reason, one should be capable of transferring this 
constant between the two systems of units. For this purpose, equation (7-7) represents the relation
between them.
(Sv.m2/h.MBq) = (R.m2/h.Curie) / 3.7 (7-7)
- Table (7-1) gives the values for the gamma specific factor for some widely used radionuclides
in some practices, in the two systems of units.

7-4 Dose calculation from neutron sources:

- It should be mentioned that all neutron sources, used in different practices, are emitting fast
neutrons with a continuous spectrum (i.e. with energy varying from some tens of KeV up to 7-9
MeV), and the neutron yield is isotropically distributed. The neutron generators, which are used in
different applications, emit monoenergetic neutrons. In the absolute majority, these generators emit
neutrons, as the result of the (d,n)reaction on tritium, with 14.1 MeV energy.

- Neutron sources, with isotropic neutron distribution, may be considered as a point source. The
dose rate Ė (in microSeivert/hour Sv/h) resulting at a point p, which exists at a distance d (in
meters) from the source, can be easily calculated using eq.(7-8).
Ė (Sv/h) = (0.08 C N) / d2 (7-8)

52
 Table (7-1): the gamma specific factor for some radionuclides

The radionuclide The gamma specific constant 

(Sv.m /h.MBq)
2 (R.m2/h.Curie)
Cesium Cs137 0.087 0.325
Cobalt Co60 0.356 1.32
Gold Au198 0.0622 0.23
Iodine I-131 0.0595 0.22
Iridium Ir198 0.13 0.48
Radium Ra226 0.223 0.825
Sodium Na24 0.497 1.84

Where, C is the neutron to effective dose rate conversion factor, which is tabulated in some
references, N is the number of neutrons emitted from the source per second.
- Table (7-2) gives the values of the conversion factor C, for some some neutron
energies, in a unit to get the neutron effective dose rate in (Sv/h).

Table (7-2): the gamma specific factor for some radionuclides

The neutron energy C The neutron energy C

1 KeV 3.74 x 10-6 1 MeV 1.32 x 10-4
10 KeV 3.56 x 10-6 5 MeV 1.56 x 10-4
100 KeV 2.17 x 10-5 10 MeV 1.47 x 10-4
500 KeV 9.25 x 10-5

7-5 The Inverse square law for external exposure:

- This law is applicable to all gamma and neutron point sources. For beta particle sources, the
law may be applied, only for relatively small distances d, due to the absorption of a fraction of beta
particles energy in air. This law states that, the effective dose rate Ė from a point source inversely
depends on the square of the distance d between the source and the intended point. This means that
when the distance from the source is doubled the dose rate will decrease four times, and when the
distance is increased three times, the dose rate will decrease 9 times (32 = 9). In mathematical
representation, when there are two points from a source, located at distances d1 and d2 , and the
dose rates at these points are Ė1, and Ė2 respectively, then the inverse square law states that, the
dose rates and their distances are related by the following equation:
Ė1 d12 = E2 d2 2 (7-9)

7-6 Dose calculation from internal exposure:

- When radionuclides are taken inside the human body via ingestion, inhalation, or through the
skin, the exposure, then, is called internal exposure and the effective or equivalent dose arising due
this are described as committed doses. Any element or compound, when it is ingested or inhaled
inside the human body behaves in a different manner, and its metabolic behavior depends on many
factors including dietary habits of the human beings. The simplest and most accurate approach to
evaluate the effective committed dose E, (in Seivert) from the internal contamination with a certain
radionuclide, via ingestion or inhalation can be easily done using equation (7-10), in case of intake
of a different radionuclides I the total comotted dose is determined as::
E (Sv) = i Ci Ni (7-10)

53
Where Ci is the dose conversion factor of the intake of one Becquerell of a radionuclide i (in
Seivert/Bq), and Ni is the activity of the itaked amount of the radionuclide i (in Bq). The summation
should be taken for all these radionuclides. (by ingestion or by inhalation, depending on the
pathway),

- It should be mentioned that the dose conversion factor Ci strongly depends on the pathway of
the intake (ingestion, inhalation or through skin), as well as on the chemical and physical form of
the intaked radionuclide and on the solubility of the chemical compound in which it is existing.
Moreover the factor is strongly age dependent. For this reason The ICRP, IAEA and UNSCEAR
have Published these factors separatelely for ingestion and inhalation and for different age groups
(less than 1 year, from 1- 2 years, from 2- 7, from 7- 17, and adults). The obtained committed doses
using these conversion factors refer to the dose incurred up to 70 years age.

7-7 The Annual Limit on Intake ALI:

- It is the intake by ingestion, inhalation or via the skin, of a given radionuclide in a single year,
by the reference man (70 kg mass), which would result in a committed effective dose equal to the
relevant annual dose limit for the occupational workers. The ALI is expressed in the unit of activity.
- For occupational workers, where the dose limit, now, is 20 mSv, the ALI for a certain
radionuclide i (in Bq) can be determined, using the dose conversion coefficient Ci for this
radionuclide, (in Sv/Bq) which represents the committed effective dose per intake of 1 Bq, via the
defined mode of intake by the following (7-11) relation.
ALIi (Bq) = 20x10-3 / Ci (7-11)

- It should be mentioned that intake of 1 ALI by any mean of intake in one year is equivalent to
an effective committed dose of 20 mSv/year

7-8 The Derived Air Concentration (DAC)

- It is defined as the maximum concentration (in Bq/m3) of a single radionuclide I in the air at
the working place of an occupational reference man, breathing of which during the whole working
hours through the year (2000 hours/year), would result in a committed effective dose equal to the
relevant occupational dose limit (i.e 20 mSv).

- The DAC of a certain radionuclide I is derived using the volume of the breathed air during the
work hours. According to the used model, the reference man breathes, in average, 1.25 m3 of air
during one working hour, if the work is of a moderate type. This means that the inhaled volume of
air during the 2000 working hours/year is 2500 m3. So, the (DAC) is defined in terms of ALI, as:
(DAC)I (Bq/m3) = (ALI)I / 2500 (7-12)
- It should be mentioned that inhalation of 2000 DAC hours by any worker in one year is
equivalent to an effective committed dose of 20 mSv/year

54
 CHAPTER EIGHT
RADDIATION SHIELDING

8-1 Shielding of sources of alpha particles:

- It has been mentioned, in chapter 2, that alpha particles, emitted from all their natural sources,
are absorbed within a relatively thin layer of air (about 4 cm for 5 MeV particles). So all external
sources of alpha particles do not require any shield, provided that there are no other types of
radiation (beta, gamma or neutrons) emitted from them.

8-2 Shielding of sources of beta particles:

- To make a proper shield for a beta source one should use, only, light rigid material, with low
atomic mass number Z, since high Z materials interact with these particles, yielding a considerable
portion of highly penetrating x rays. The portion f (in percent) of beta particle energy transferred to
emit bremstrahlung radiation (i.e x-ray) is defined from the maximum energy of the beta spectrum
Emax (in MeV), and the atomic number Z of the interacting material as:

f = 0.035 Z Emax % (8-1)

So, to make a proper shield for a beta source one should use, only, light rigid
material, with low atomic mass number Z, since high Z materials interact with these particles,
yielding a considerable portion of highly penetrating x- rays
- Although beta particles are characterized by a continuous energy spectrum, their mass range
Rm in any matter can be easily calculated using the maximum energy Emax of the beta spectrum. For
this purpose, the mass range Rm in (gram/cm2) is defined as the linear range R (in cm) in the defined
material, multiplied by its density (), i.e:
R m = R . (8-2)

- The mass range Rm of beta particles in a given material is defined as a function of the
maximum energy Emax of the beta spectrum from the given radionuclide, using the following (8-3)
relation, provided that Emax is expressed in MeV:
Rm (gm/cm2) = 0.412 Emax (1.265 - 0.0954 ln Emax) (8-3)

- Equation (8-3) is applied when the beta particles maximum energy is in the range between 0 up
to 2.5 MeV. At higher beta particles energies other equation is used for determination of Rm, which
is:
Rm (gm/cm2) = 0.53 Emax - o.106 (8-4)
It should be mentioned that the thickness Rm of the shield for beta particles, which is
sufficient to, completely, absorb these particles does not depend on the activity of the source, so
that the shield which is sufficient for any small activity is also sufficient to shield any other much
larger activity of the same beta emitter. This principle is not correct for x-ray or gamma radiation,
where the source activity is the most important factor in determination of the thickness of the
shield.

- Due to the energy loss of some beta particles energy via emission of the
bremstrahlung radiation (x- ray), the shields of all beta sources, which must be made from low Z
material should be surrounded by another shield, which is made of a high Z material to absorb the
x- rays, emitted during the interaction of the beta particles with the beta shield. Calculation of the
later shield will be covered in the next paragraph.

55
 8-3 Shielding of x and gamma ray sources

- In chapter 2, the linear attenuation coefficient μ for a certain matter and at a certain photon
energy as well as the mass attenuation coefficient μa have been defined and used in an exponential
form to express the attenuation of the number of x-ray or gamma photons as a function of the
thickness x of the material. Number of the photons N, that will penetrate the thickness x without
any interaction with the matter was expressed, mathematically, by the exponential law:
N = No e - μ x
- This exponential attenuation (e.g. exponential reduction of the number of photons as a function
of x) is valid for calculation of the thickness of the shield for electromagnetic radiation, only, when
the beam of parallel mono-energetic photons is very narrow, and the thickness x of the
attenuator is very thin.
- In order to calculate the effective dose rate Ė of gamma radiation due to a certain shield, one
should use the mass-energy absorption coefficient μa instead of the mass attenuation coefficient μm,
due to the reasons, mentioned in chapter 2. So, the relation between the dose rate Ė in the presence
of the shield of a thickness x and dose rate without this shield Ė0 is:
Ė = Ė0 e – μa x (8-5)
- In all other cases, when the photon beam is not narrow, or the shield is relatively not thin, this
exponential law is not valid, due to the so called " build up" of photons in the point of interest. This
build up arises due to two modes of photon interaction with the matter, which are: Compton
scattering and pair production, while the photoelectric effect does not yield any build up. Due to
Compton scattering some photons, which are emerged far away from the point of interest may be
scattered and as a result of this scattering it may reach the point of interest (see the photon 1 in fig
8-1). Additionally, multiple Compton scattering may arise due to the large thickness of the shield,
increasing the number of photons that may reach the point of interest (see the photon 2 on fig. 8-1).
In the pair production the energy may not be transferred completely to the matter, since one or even
the two photons, resulting from the annihilation of the positron with one electron may escape out of
the matter, reaching the point of interest (the photon 3 on fig 8-1).

e+
3

Fig. (8-1)

- The build up factor B is defined as the ratio of the total number of photons It, which
arrive the point of interest directly Id from the source and due to scattering or pair
production Is to the number of photons, which arrive the same point directly Id, i.e:
B = I t / Id =
= ( I s + Id ) / Id (8-6)

- The build up factor B strongly depends on photon energy E, as well as on the atomic number Z
of the shield and on the thickness of this shield. Its magnitude may vary from 1 in an ideal geometry
(i.e. when the photon beam is very narrow and the shield thickness is very thin) to some orders of

56
magnitude for the practical conditions. This makes the application of the relation (8-5) for
calculation of the shield thickness practically invalid for real conditions, since it will yield much
less thickness. For this reason, the build up factor should be taken into consideration, in shield
calculation. The correct equation that should be used, to take into consideration the build up factor
is:
Ė = Ė0 B e – μa x (8-7)

- It should be mentioned that the thickness x, which is sufficient to decrease the dose rate at the
point of interest to a certain value, is dependent on the activity of the source. Increase of the activity
of the gamma-ray source requires corresponding increase of the shield thickness to reach the
required dose rate outside the shield.

8-3 Shielding of the neutron sources:

- It has been mentioned in chapter 2 that the material with low atomic number Z, especially
hydrogen, are considered as the best moderators for fast neutrons, since these neutrons (with energy
higher than 1 MeV) requires not more than 18 collision, in average, with the hydrogen nuclei
(protons) to moderate them to thermal neutrons with energies of about 0.025 eV. In light materials,
rich with hydrogen, such as paraffin wax, plastics, water, and others, the thickness which is required
to moderate or slow down the fast neutrons varies within 20-25 cm. So, the use of a layer with this
thickness, of any of these materials, (or any other equivalent light materials), will be sufficient to
moderate fast neutrons to thermal ones.
- One of the main principles used to shield the neutron sources is to moderate fast neutrons,
which are emitted from all neutron sources and generators, then to absorb moderated neutrons by
other material with a high probability for capture (absorption) of thermal and slow neutrons, and
finally, to attenuate the gamma radiation emitted during the neutron capture.
- There are some elements, such as cadmium, boron and others, which are characterized by a
very high cross section for thermal and slow neutron radiative capture (i.e. thermal neutron
absorption with the emission of gamma photon). So, after moderation of fast neutrons, a layer of 1
mm thick of cadmium (Cd) is sufficient to absorb the majority of the moderated neutrons.
- Due to the radiative capture of the thermal neutrons gamma ray photons will be emitted, so
that, an additional layer of a material with high atomic number Z, such as lead (Pb) is required to
attenuate these radiations. For this reason, a third layer, with a reasonable thickness of lead, is used
to absorb gamma photons emitted from cadmium layer.
- So the ideal shield fast neutron sources consists of three consequent layers which are: 20-25 cm
wax, plastic or water, surrounded by about 1 mm cadmium sheet, which in its turn, is surrounded by
a reasonable thickness of lead or any other high Z material.
- Neutron shields may be made by a single layer of a low Z material, such as paraffin wax,
plastic, water or others. This is related with the limited ability of hydrogen and some other light (or
low Z) material to absorb thermal neutrons after their moderation. The main requirement for such
shields is to increase the thickness of the layer to a sufficient value, so that the reduction of the dose
rate, arising from the neutron source outside the shield is achieved. Examples of such shields are the
neutron semi-spherical howitzers made of wax around the neutron sources used for educational and
other purposes. The thickness of the paraffin wax or the water around the source may vary from
about 50 to more than150 cm, depending on the neutron yield of the source.
- In case of accidents with neutron sources, one may use any available light materials to shield
the exposed neutron source, including water bags, sands and rocks, and even pieces of wood.

57
THE ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS
OF RADIATION PROTECTION

58
 GENERAL FRAMEWORK AND REQUIREMENTS
FOR RADSIATION PROTECTION

1. INTRODUCTION:
- Occupational exposure to radiation can occur as a result of various human activities, including
the use of radioactive sources and x-ray machines in medicine, scientific research, agriculture and
industry, work associated with the different stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, and occupations that
involve the handling of materials containing enhanced concentrations of naturally occurring
radionuclides
- This lecture addresses the organizational aspects of radiation protection, in situations of both
normal and potential exposure. The intention is to provide an integrated approach to the control of
normal and potential exposures due to external and internal irradiation from both artificial and
natural sources of radiation.

2. ADMINISTARATIVE REQUIREMENTS:

2-1 The practice and the intervention:

- The practices are defined as the human activities that add radiation exposure to that which
people normally receive from existing radiation sources, or that increase the likelihood (i,e
probability) of their incurring exposure. For a practice, provisions for radiation protection and
safety can be made before its commencement, and the associated radiation exposures and their
likelihood can be restricted from the outset.
- The interventions are human activities that seek to reduce the existing radiation exposure, or
the likelihood of incurring exposure, and which are not part of a controlled practice. In the case of
intervention, the circumstances giving rise to exposure or the likelihood of exposure already exist,
and their reduction can only be achieved by means of protective or remedial actions.

2-2 The requirements of radiation protection:

a- The basic obligation:
- No practice shall be adopted, introduced, conducted, discontinued or ceased and no source
within a practice shall, as applicable, be mined, milled, processed, designed, manufactured,
constructed, assembled, acquired, imported, exported, distributed, sold, loaned, hired, received,
sited, located, commissioned, possessed, used, operated, maintained, repaired, transferred,
decommissioned, disassembled, transported, stored or disposed of, except in accordance with the
national requirements, unless the exposure from such practice or source is excluded from the
requirements, including the requirements of notification and authorization.

b- The notification
Any legal person, who intends to carry out any of the actions specified under the basic obligation
for a practice or source shall submit a notification to the Regulatory Authority of such an intention.

c- Authorization: registration or licensing

The legal person responsible for any sealed source, unsealed source or radiation generator
(including x-ray machines, accelerators and neutron generators) shall, unless the source is
exempted, apply to the Regulatory Authority for an authorization which shall take the form of either
a registration or a license.

59
The legal person responsible for any irradiation installation, mine or mill processing of the
radioactive ores, installation processing radioactive substances, nuclear installation or radioactive
waste management facility, or for any use of a source which the Regulatory Authority has not
designated as suitable for registration, shall apply to the Regulatory Authority for an authorization
which shall take the form of a license.
- Any legal person applying for an authorization shall:
(a) Submit to the Regulatory Authority and, if applicable, the relevant information necessary to
support the application;
(b) refrain from carrying out any of the actions described in the basic obligation until the
registration or license has been granted;
(c) make an assessment of the nature, magnitude and likelihood of the exposures attributed to the
source and take all necessary steps for the protection and safety of both workers and the public; and
(d) If the potential for an exposure is greater than any level specified by the regulatory authority,
have a safety assessment made and submitted to the regulatory authority as part of the application.
- The legal person responsible for a source to be used for medical exposure shall include in the
application for authorization:
(a) The qualifications in radiation protection of the medical practitioners who are to be so
designated by name in the registration or license; or
(b) A statement that only medical practitioners with the qualifications in radiation protection
specified in the relevant regulations or to be specified in the license will be permitted to prescribe
medical exposure by means of the authorized source.
- Licensee shall bear the responsibility for setting up and implementing the technical and
organizational measures that are needed for ensuring protection and safety for the sources for which
he is authorized. He may appoint other people to carry out actions and tasks related to these
responsibilities, but he shall retain the responsibility for the actions and tasks himself.
- Licensee shall specifically identify the individuals responsible for ensuring compliance with
the national requirements.
- licensee shall notify the Regulatory Authority of his intentions to introduce modifications to
any practice or source for which he is authorized, whenever the modifications could have
implications for protection or safety, and shall not carry out any such modification unless
specifically authorized by the Regulatory Authority.

d- Inspection:
- The Licensee shall permit duly authorized representatives of the Regulatory Authority, and of
the relevant Sponsoring Organizations when applicable, to inspect their protection and safety
records and to carry out appropriate inspections of their authorized activities. Some inspection
should be announced and the others must not be announced.

e- None-compliance
- In the event of a breach of any applicable requirement of the regulations, the licensee shall
investigate the breach and its causes, circumstances and consequences, take appropriate action to
remedy the circumstances that led to the breach and to prevent a recurrence of similar breaches, and
communicate to the regulatory authority on the causes of the breach and on the corrective or
preventive actions taken or to be taken.

60
- The communication of a breach of the regulations shall be prompt and it shall be immediate
whenever an emergency exposure situation has developed or is developing. Failure to take
corrective or preventive actions within a reasonable time in accordance with national regulations
shall be grounds for modifying, suspending or withdrawing any authorization that had been granted
by the Regulatory Authority.

2-3 The basic framework of radiation protection:

- The principles of radiation protection and safety for are as follows:

(a) Justification of practices:

“Any practice, or a source within the practice should not be authorized unless this practice produces
sufficient benefits to the exposed individuals or to society to offset the radiation harm that it might
cause; that is: unless the practice is justified, taking into account the social and economic factors.”
- The process of determining whether a practice is justified involves consideration of all the
radiation doses received by workers and members of the public, for present and next generations

(b) Optimization of protection and safety:

- In relation to exposures from any particular source within a practice, except for therapeutic
medical exposures, protection and safety shall be optimized in order that the magnitude of
individual doses, the number of people exposed and the likelihood of incurring exposures all be
kept as low as reasonably achievable, (ALARA principle), economic and social factors being taken
into account, with the restriction that the doses to individuals delivered by the source be subject to
dose constraints.
- Senior management should translate their commitment to optimization of radiation protection
into effective action by establishing appropriate radiation protection program, and rules
commensurate with the level and the nature of the radiological risk presented by the practice.
- In order to reduce or avert exposures in intervention situations, protective actions or remedial
actions shall be undertaken whenever they are justified.

(c) Dose limitation:

“The normal exposure of individuals shall be restricted so that neither the total effective dose nor
the total equivalent dose to relevant organs or tissues, caused by the possible combination of
exposures from authorized practices, exceeds any relevant dose limit, specified by the national
Regulatory Authority.
- The dose limits are applied, only, for occupational exposures and general public exposures,
while they are not applied for medical exposures and exposures during emergencies.
- The limit on effective dose represents the level above which the risk of stochastic effects due to
radiation is considered to be unacceptable, while it is much less than the thresholds for deterministic
effects. For localized exposure of the lens of the eye, extremities and the skin, this limit on effective
dose is not sufficient to ensure the avoidance of deterministic effects, and therefore limits on
equivalent dose are specified for such situations.

(d) Guidance levels for medical exposure:

- Guidance levels for medical exposure shall be established for use by medical practitioners. The
guidance levels are intended to be a reasonable indication of doses for average sized patients. They
are needed to provide guidance on what is achievable with current good practice rather than on
what should be considered optimum performance;

61
 3 - MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR PROTECTION:

3-1 Safety culture:

- One of the definition of the safety culture is that it is consisting of the assembly of
characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding
priority, protection and safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance
- A safety culture shall be fostered and maintained to encourage a questioning and learning
attitude to protection and safety and to discourage complacency, which shall ensure that policies
and procedures be established that identify protection and safety as being of the highest priority and
problems affecting protection and safety be promptly identified and corrected

3-2 Quality assurance:

- Quality assurance programs shall be established, that provide adequate assurance that the
specified requirements relating to protection and safety are satisfied and quality control mechanisms
for assessing the effectiveness of protection and safety measures are fulfilled.

3-3 Human factors:

- Provision shall be made for reducing as far as practicable the contribution of human error to
accidents and other events that could give rise to exposures, by ensuring that all personnel on whom
protection and safety depend be appropriately trained and qualified so that they understand their
responsibilities and perform their duties according to defined procedures, and appropriate
equipment, safety systems, and procedural requirements be provided and other necessary provisions
be made to reduce, as far as practicable, the possibility that human error.

3-4 Qualified experts:

- Licensee should identify qualified experts and shall made available the expertise for providing
advice on the observance of the regulations.

4- THE PRINCIPAL REQUIREMENTS:

4-1 Security of sources:

- Sources shall be kept secure so as to prevent theft or damage and to prevent any unauthorized
legal person from carrying out any of the actions specified in the basic obligation for practices, by
ensuring that control of the sources is ensured against lost or theft and any source shall not be
transferred unless the receiver possesses a valid authorization. A periodic inventory of all sources,
especially movable shall be conducted at appropriate intervals to confirm that they are in their
assigned locations and are secure.

4-2 Defense in depth:

- A multilayer (defense in depth) system of provisions for protection and safety, commensurate
with the magnitude and likelihood of the potential exposures involved, shall be applied to sources
such that a failure at one layer is compensated for or corrected by subsequent layers, for the
purposes of preventing accidents that may cause exposure and mitigating the consequences of any
such accident that does occur; and restoring sources to safe conditions after any such accident.

4-3 Good engineering practice:

- As applicable, the sitting, location, design, construction, assembly, commissioning, operation,
maintenance and decommissioning of sources within practices shall be based on sound engineering
which shall take account of approved codes and standards and other documented instruments. This
includes taking into account of relevant developments in technical criteria, as well as the results of
any relevant research on protection or safety and lessons from previous experiences.

62
 5 - VERIFICATION OF SAFETY:
5-1 Safety assessments:
- Safety assessments related to protection and safety measures for sources within practices shall
be made at different stages, including sitting, design, manufacture, construction, assembly,
commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning, as appropriate, in order to identify
the ways in which normal and potential exposures could be incurred, account being taken of the
effect of events external to the sources, as well as events directly involving the sources and their
associated equipment and to assess the quality and extent of the protection and safety provisions.

5-2 Monitoring and verification of compliance:

- Monitoring and measurements shall be conducted of the parameters necessary for verification
of compliance with the requirements and regulations. For this purpose, suitable equipment shall be
provided and verification procedures introduced. The equipment shall be properly maintained and
tested and shall be calibrated at appropriate intervals with reference to standards traceable to
national or international standards.

5-3 Records:
- Different records shall be maintained for the practices and sources and of the results of
monitoring and verification of compliance, including records of the tests and calibrations carried
out in accordance with the Standards.

6- CONDITION OF SERVICE:
6-1 Pregnant workers:
- A female worker should, on becoming aware that she is pregnant, notify the employer in order
that her working conditions may be modified if necessary. The notification of pregnancy shall not
be considered a reason to exclude a female worker from work; however, the employer of a female
worker who has notified pregnancy shall adapt the working conditions in respect of occupational
exposure so as to ensure that the embryo or foetus is afforded the same broad level of protection as
required for members of the public.

6-2 Conditions for young persons

- No person under the age of 16 years shall be subjected to occupational exposure, and no person
under the age of 18 years shall be allowed to work in a controlled area unless supervised, and then
only for the purpose of training.

6-3 Classification of areas

- The licensee shall designate controlled and supervised areas, in which specific protective
measures or safety provisions are required for controlling normal exposures or preventing the
spread of contamination during normal working conditions. The licensee shall delineate controlled
and supervised areas by physical means.
- According to Saudi national regulation, the controlled area is defined as the area in which the
annual effective dose may reach 3/10 the occupational annual dose limit (i.e may reach 6
mSv/year).
- According to Saudi national regulation, the supervised area is defined as the area in which the
annual effective dose may reach 1/10 the occupational annual dose limit (i.e may reach 2
mSv/year).

63
 6-4 The local rules and supervision:
The licensee shall establish in writing local rules and procedures as are necessary to ensure
adequate levels of protection and safety for workers and general public, and shall include in these
rules the values of any relevant investigation level or authorized level, and the procedure to be
followed in the event that any such value is exceeded.
The licensee shall make local rules and the protective measures and safety provisions known to
those workers, to whom they apply and to other persons who may be affected by them.

6-5 Personal protective equipment:

- The licensee shall ensure that workers are provided with suitable and adequate personal
protective equipment which meets any relevant specifications, including protective clothing,
protective respiratory equipment, protective aprons and gloves, and organ shields.

- Workers must receive adequate instruction in the proper use of protective equipment,
especially respiratory equipment, including testing for good fit. All personal protective equipment
shall be maintained in proper condition and tested at regular intervals.
- Tasks requiring the use of some specific personal protective equipment shall be assigned, only
to workers whom the basis of medical advice, are capable of safely sustaining the extra effort
necessary;

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 RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARTIES

1- RESPONSIBLE PARTIES FOR RADIATION PROTECTION:

- The Regulatory Authority (and the intervening organizations in the case of intervention) shall be
responsible for the enforcement of the regulations.

- The principal party having the main responsibilities for the compliance with the regulations is the
licensee (the employer).
- Other parties, who have subsidiary responsibilities for the application of the regulations include:
(a) The radiation protection officers;
(b) The qualified experts;
(c) The medical practitioners;
(b) The workers;
(e) The suppliers;
(f) The Ethical Review Committees; and
(g) Any other party to whom a principal party has delegated specific responsibilities.
-All the parties shall have the general and specific responsibilities set out in the national regulations.

2- RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LICENSEE:

2-1 The general responsibilities:

- The general responsibilities of the principal party (the licensee), within the requirements
specified by the Regulatory Authority are:

(a) To establish protection and safety objectives in conformity with the requirements.

(b) To develop, implement and document a protection and safety program, commensurate with the
nature and extent of the risks associated with the practices and interventions under his
responsibility, and sufficient to ensure compliance with the requirements.
(c) To determine the measures and resources needed to achieve the protection and safety objectives
and to ensure that the resources are provided, and the measures are properly implemented.

(d) To keep the measures and resources continually under review, and to verify that the protection
and safety objectives are being achieved.
(e) To identify any failures and shortcomings in the protection, safety measures, resources, take
steps to correct them and prevent their reoccurrence.

2-2 Specific responsibilities of the licensee:

- The licensee, who is engaged in activities involving normal or potential exposure, shall appoint
radiation protection officer (officers) RPO, for carrying out the technical actions and tasks related to
his responsibilities, but the licensee shall retain the responsibility for these actions.
- The licensee (employer of workers) shall be responsible for the protection of workers from
occupational exposure and for compliance with the relevant requirements of the regulations.
- To fulfill his responsibilities, the licensees shall ensure, for all workers engaged in activities
that involve or could involve occupational exposure, that:

(a) The occupational exposures are limited to the national limits.

(b) The occupational protection and safety are optimized in accordance with the requirements.

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(c) Decisions regarding measures for occupational protection and safety are recorded and made
available to the relevant parties.
(d) Policies, procedures and organizational arrangements for protection and safety are established
for implementing the relevant requirements.
(e) Suitable and adequate facilities, equipment and services for protection and safety are provided,
the nature and extent of which are commensurate with the expected magnitude and likelihood of the
occupational exposure.

(f) Necessary health surveillance and health services are provided.

(g) Appropriate protective devices and monitoring equipment are provided and arrangements are
made for its proper use.
(h) Suitable and adequate human resources and appropriate training in protection and safety are
provided, as well as periodic retraining and updating, as required, in order to ensure the necessary
level of competence

(i) Adequate records are maintained as required by the regulations

(j) Arrangements are made to facilitate consultation and co-operation with workers with respect to
protection and safety.

(k) Necessary conditions to promote a safety culture are provided.

2-3 Specific responsibilities of the RPO:

- The RPO is an individual, technically competent in radiation protection matters, relevant to a
given type of practice, who is qualified through the judgment of the Regulatory Authority, and who
is designated by the licensee to oversee the implementation of the requirements of the regulations

- The responsibilities of the RPO

(a) Preparation of all technical aspects and procedures of radiation protection program (including
emergency plan and quality assurance program) under the supervision of the qualified expert.
(b) Following-up of the implementation of the rules and procedures for protection and safety,
specified by the licensee, and overseeing of the proper use of the surveying and monitoring devices,
the protective equipment, and all other equipments.
(c) Conduct all technical aspects, related with radiation protection and safety, including different
radiological surveys, monitoring, tests and calibrations, or supervise their conduction at the
authorized parties.
(d) Co-operate with the licensee and the regulatory authority with respect to protection and safety
and the operation of radiological health surveillance and dose assessment programs.
(e) Register all technical data and personal dose information in the records timely, and notify the
workers who approach dose limit, and discuss all protection affairs with workers and involved
parties.
(f) Conduct demonstrations and technical training on job concerning radiation protection and
safety of the authorized practices.
(g) Stop, promptly, any violation of the local rules or regulation, and report to both the licensee
and regulatory authority.

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 2-4 Specific responsibilities of the workers:
- Workers can by their own actions contribute to the protection and safety. Workers shall:
(a) Follow the rules and procedures for protection and safety, specified by the licensee;
(b) Use properly the monitoring devices, the protective equipment, and clothing provided.
(c) Co-operate with the licensee with respect to protection and safety and the operation of
radiological health surveillance and dose assessment programs.
(d) Provide to the licensee information on their past and current work as is relevant to ensure
effective and comprehensive protection and safety for themselves and others;
(e) Abstain from any willful action that could put themselves or others in situations that
contravene the requirements of regulations.
- Workers are also responsible for providing feedback to the management, particularly when
adverse circumstances arise related to the radiation protection program.

- Female workers have responsibilities regarding the protection of the embryo or foetus. The
worker herself “should, on becoming aware that she is pregnant, notify the licensee in order that her
working conditions may be modified if necessary.

3. COOPRATION BETWEEN LICENSEES AND EMPLOYERS:

- The management of the occupational protection and safety of transient, temporary or itinerant
workers, and others who are employed under contracts to organizations other than the operator,
presents a major concern. In order that these workers are adequately protected and do not exceed
any appropriate dose limit, there should be an adequate degree of co-operation between the
employer, the workers and the management of the plants, for whom contracts are being undertaken.
- If workers are engaged in work that could involve a source that is not under the control of their
employer, the licensee responsible for the source and the employer, shall co-operate by the
exchange of information to facilitate proper protective measures and safety provisions of workers.

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 NATIONAL (SA) DOSE LIMITS
FOR RADIATION EXPOSURES

1. THE TERMS "LIMIT" AND "LEVEL":

- The term "limit" is defined, for radiation protection purposes, as the value of a quantity used in
a certain specified activities or circumstances, such as effective dose or equivalent dose, which must
not be exceeded.
- The term "level" is defined, for radiation protection purposes, as the value of a specified
quantity above which appropriate actions should be considered:
- Among levels used in radiation protection, some most important levels will be defined which are:
(a) The action level: is the level of dose rate or activity concentration above which remedial
actions or protective actions should be carried out in chronic exposure or emergency exposure
situations, such as sheltering, immigration or others. Action levels often serve to protect members
of the public, but they also have relevance in the context of occupational exposure in chronic
exposure situations, particularly that involving exposure to radon in workplaces.

(b) The clearance level: is a value, established by the regulatory authority, and expressed in terms
of activity concentration or total activity, below which sources of radiation may be released from
regulatory control.
(c) The guidance level for medical exposures: is the value of dose, dose rate or activity, selected
by professional bodies in consultation with the regulatory authority to indicate a level above which
there should be a review by medical practitioners, to determine whether or not the value is
excessive, taking into account the particular circumstances and applying sound clinical judgment
(d) The intervention level: is the level of avertable dose at which a specific protective action or
remedial action is taken in an emergency exposure situation or chronic exposure situation. The use
of this term is normally confined to interventions related to the protection of members of the public.
(e) The investigation level: The value of a quantity such as effective dose, intake, or
contamination per unit area or volume at which an investigation should be conducted.
(f) The recording level: is a level of dose, exposure or intake specified by the Regulatory
Authority at which values of dose, exposure or intake received by workers are to be entered in their
individual exposure records.
(g)The Reference level:is defined as a general term that can refer to an action level, an intervention
level, an investigation level or a recording level. Such levels are helpful in the management of
operations as ‘trigger levels’ above which some specified action or decision should be taken.
2- RADIATION EXPOSURES:
- Radiation exposure is, generally, defined as the act or condition of being subject to irradiation
by ionizing radiation. The term exposure is also used, in radiodosimetry, to express the amount of
ionization, produced in dry air by x-ray and low energy gamma radiation.
- In the general definition, exposure can be either external exposure, when the irradiating source
or sources are located outside the body, or internal exposure when the source or sources are inside
the body (by inhalation, ingestion, injection or any other pathway of intake). Moreover, exposure
can be classified as:
(a) either normal or potential exposure.
(b) either occupational, medical or general public exposure.
(c) in intervention situation, either emergency or chronic exposure.

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 2-1 The normal exposure:
-The normal exposure is defined as an exposure which is expected to be received under normal
operating conditions of an installation or a source, including possible minor mishaps that can be
kept under control.

2-2 The potential exposure:

- It is defined as the exposure that is not expected to be delivered with certainty, but may result
from an accident at a source or owing to an event or sequence of events of a probabilistic nature,
including equipment failures and operating errors.

2-3 The occupational exposure:

- It is defined as all exposures of workers incurred in their work due to this work, with the
exception of exposures excluded from the national regulations, and exposures from practices or
sources exempted by these regulations. The exposure of medical doctors and other technical and
nursing staff belongs to occupational exposure

2-4 The medical exposure:

- It is defined as exposure incurred by:

(a) patients as a part of their own medical or dental diagnosis or treatment.
(b) exposures incurred by persons, other than those occupationally exposed, knowingly while
voluntarily helping in the support and comfort of patients.

(c)Exposures incurred by volunteers in a program of biomedical research involving their exposure.

2-5 General public exposure:

- It is defined as exposure incurred by the members of the general public from radiation sources,
excluding any occupational or medical exposure and the normal local natural background radiation,
but including exposure from authorized sources and practices and intervention situations.

2-6 Chronic exposure:

- It is defined as exposure persisting in time and incurred with, relatively, small dose rates.
2-7 Acute exposure:
- It is defined as exposure incurred in a short time interval (minutes, hours or days) with very high
dose rate.
2-8 Emergency exposure:
- It is defined as exposure incurred in an emergency situation.

3- THE OCCUPATIONAL DOSE LIMITS:

3-1 Occupational limits for adult workers:
- The limits on effective dose for occupational exposure apply to the sum of effective doses from
external sources and committed effective doses from intakes in the same period.
- The occupational exposure of any worker must not be exceeded the following values:
(a) an effective dose of 20 mSv per year averaged over five consecutive years.
(b) an effective dose of 50 mSv in any single year, provided that the effective dose does not
exceed 100 mSv over five consecutive years.

69
(c) an equivalent dose to the lens of the eye of 150 mSv in a year
(d) an equivalent dose to the extremities (hands and feet) or the skin of 500 mSv in a year.

3-2 Occupational limits for apprentices of 16- 18 years age:

- Separate limits are specified for apprentices of age 16–18 years, who are training for
employment involving exposure to radiation, and for students of age 16–18 years, who need to use
sources in the course of their studies.

- The occupational exposure for this age category of trainees must not exceed:
(a) an effective dose of 6 mSv in a year.
(b) an equivalent dose to the lens of the eye of 50 mSv in a year.
(c) an equivalent dose to the extremities or the skin of 150 mSv in a year.

3-3 Occupational limits for pregnant workers:

- The Occupational exposure for pregnant woman must not exceed an effective committed dose
of 1mSv in the tatal period of pregnancy, when the irradiation is internal (i.e intake), and the
effective dose must not exceed 2 mSv, when the irradiation is external, during the 9 months of
pregnancy, in order to keep the effective dose to the embryo and foetus not more than 1 mSv.

4- THE DOSE LIMITS FOR GENERAL PUBLIC:

- The estimated average doses to a relevant critical group that are attributable to practices must
not exceed the following limits:
(a) an effective dose of 1 mSv per year averaged over five consecutive years.
(b) in a special circumstances, an effective dose of up to 2 mSv/year provided that the effective
dose does not exceed 5 mSv over five consecutive years.
(c) an equivalent dose to the lens of the eye of 15 mSv in a year
(d) an equivalent dose to the extremities (hands and feet) or the skin of 50 mSv in a year.

5- THE DOSE LIMITS FOR MEDICAL EXPOSURES:

- For medical exposure there are no limits. Instead of that the principle of guidance levels is
used.
- In medical exposure there is a dose limit for those persons, who are offering comfort or
supporting patients, undergoing medical diagnosis or treatment, or visitors of such patients. The
dose for these comforters or visitors of patient shall be constrained to 5 mSv, during the period of
diagnosis or treatment of the patient.
- The dose to children visiting patients who have ingested radioactive material shal be
constrained to 1 mSv.

6- THE DOSE LIMITS FOR EMERGENCY EXPOSURES:

- For emergency situations the objective should be to keep doses to intervening personnel below
an effective dose of 100 mSv or equivalent doses of 1 Sv to the skin and 300 mSv to the lens of the
eye in some situations.
- However, where life saving actions are concerned significantly higher levels of dose could be
justified, although every effort should be made to keep doses below ten times the maximum single
year dose limit (i.e. below 500 mSv) in order to avoid deterministic effects on health.

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 THE RADIATION PROTECTION PROGRAM (RPP)

1. INTRODUCTION
- It has been mentioned that the licensee shall establish a radiation protection program (RPP),
which is one of the requirements for all phases of a practice, and to the lifetime of a facility, from
design through process control to decommissioning. The general objective of RPP is to reflect the
application of the management responsibility for radiation protection and safety through the
adoption of management structures, policies, procedures and organizational arrangements that are
commensurate with the nature and extent of the risks.
- Prior to establishment of the RPP for a practice, a radiological evaluation shall be conducted to
describe, as precisely as necessary, the situation involving occupational, medical and public
exposures. This evaluation should include, all aspects of operations an identification of the sources
of routine and potential exposures and a realistic estimate of the relevant doses and probabilities

- the legal person (licensee) applying for an authorization should make an assessment of the
nature, magnitude and likelihood of the exposures and, if necessary, a safety assessment. Such a
safety assessment should contribute to the design of the RPP.

2- STRUCTURE OF THE RPP

- The RPP covers the main elements contributing to protection and safety of the practices and is
therefore a key factor for the development of protection and safety.
- The RPP is composed of 6 main elements (or components), which are:
(a) A committed administration to safety and protection.
(b) Selection of personnel and their training.
(c) An effective surveillance for occupational exposure.
(d) An effective surveillance for public exposure.
(e) A proper quality assurance program.
(f) An emergency response plan.
2-1. A COMMITTED ADMINISTRATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES
- The highest managerial level should submit, in written, the policy statements which ensure that
radiation protection in the practices, related with radiation exposure, deserves the highest
consideration at all levels. The licensee shall appoint other people to carry out actions and tasks
related to responsibilities in radiation protection aspects, but he shall retain the responsibility for the
actions and tasks himself. The licensee shall specifically identify the individuals responsible for
ensuring compliance with the national regulations. The responsibilities of each level, from the top
management to the workers, regarding each aspect of the RPP should be clearly delineated and
documented in written policy statements to ensure that all are aware of them. Radiation protection
officer (or officers) must be appointed, to oversee the application of the regulatory requirements.
- The organizational structures at the licensee should reflect the assignment of responsibilities,
and the commitment of the organization to protection and safety. The management structure should
facilitate co-operation between the various individuals involved. The RPP should be designed in
such a way that the relevant information is provided to the individuals involved in the radiography
work.

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2-2. SELECTION OF PERSONNEL AND THEIR TRAINING:
- Criteria for selection of personnel should be defined, including medical and moral aspects, and
technical educational levels
- It may be appropriate, depending on the size of the organization, to create a specific
committee with representatives of those departments concerned with radiation exposures. The main
role of this committee would be to advise senior management on the RPP individuals in charge of
the various aspects of the work.
- Qualified experts in radiation protection should be identified and made available for providing
advice on the observance of the Standards.
- Senior management should be trained in the risks associated with ionizing radiation, the basic
principles of radiological protection, their main responsibilities regarding radiation risk
management and the principal elements of the RPP.
- Training for those workers directly involved in work with radiation sources should include
relevant information, presented in the form of documents, lectures and applied training, which
emphasizes procedures specific to the worker’s job assignment.
- Training programs should be documented and approved at an appropriate level within the
organization. Such programs should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain up to date.

2-3. AN EFFECTIVE SURVEILLANCE FOR OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE:

- An effective surveillance for occupational radiation protection shall be established. This
surveillance shall include:
- Systems and procedures for securing radioactive source (or sources) and an accountability
system, which includes records of these sources.
- A health surveillance program should be prepared and health criteria should be established for
radiation workers.
- Classification of working areas, whenever there is occupational exposure to
radiation. These areas should be clearly defined as part of the RPP, and their classification should
result from the prior radiological evaluation. The two types of areas, which are controlled and
supervised, shall be delineated. Restriction of access to the controlled and supervised by permits,
and physical barriers, locks or interlocks shall be provided.
- Establishment of occupational radiation protection and safety measures, including rules and
procedures that are appropriate,
- Local rules, describing the organizational structures and the procedures to be followed in
classified areas, should be developed by management and written down. The rules should be
prominently displayed or readily available in the workplace. and they should include procedures
and values of any relevant investigation level or authorized level, and the procedure to be followed
in the event that any such value is exceeded. The local rules and procedures and the protective
measures
- A radiological monitoring program for workplaces shall be established and implemented. The
nature and extent of the monitoring program shall provide the primary justification for radiological
protection Monitoring program can be divided and subdivided into a number of different types. The
first division relates to the objectives of the monitoring. At this level, three types of monitoring are
conducted for radiation protection purposes. These are routine monitoring, which is associated with
continuing operations and is intended to demonstrate that the working conditions, including the
levels of individual dose, remain satisfactory, and to meet regulatory requirements, task related
monitoring which applies to a specific operatio, and special monitoring which is investigative in

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nature and typically covers a situation in the workplace for which insufficient information is
available to demonstrate adequate control.
- Individual monitoring for internal or external dose assassment shall be undertaken for any
worker who is regularly employed in a controlled or supervised areas or who enters a controlled
area only occasionally. Individual monitoring in a supervised area shall not be required but the
occupational exposure of the worker shall be assessed This assessment shall be on the basis of the
results of monitoring of the workplace or individual monitoring. The nature, frequency and
precision of individual monitoring shall be determined with consideration of the magnitude and
possible fluctuations of exposure levels and the likelihood and magnitude of potential exposures.
- To secure the necessary accuracy and precision, individual dosimetry should be performed,
whenever possible, by an approved dosimetry service. The regulatory authority should give
consideration to the establishment of a national accreditation procedure as a basis for the approval
of dosimetry services.
- Record keeping is an essential part of the individual monitoring process. In making records of
dose assessments it is important to establish the
- Many of records, for example the full details of a particular radiation survey, are transitory in
nature are only relevant for the lifetime of an established review period, and there may be no need
to retain such records for extended periods. Other records may be related to decisions about the
definition of the workplace, and these records may be relevant for the lifetime of the workplace.
- Exposure records for each worker shall be preserved during the worker’s working life and
afterwards at least until the worker attains or would have attained the age of 75 years, and for not
less than 30 years after the termination of the work involving occupational exposure.

2-4. AN EFFECTIVE SURVEILLANCE FOR PUBLIC EXPOSURE:

- An effective surveillance for radiation protection of general public and the environment shall
be established. This surveillance shall include:

- Establishment of the efficient systems that will ensure securing of the radioactive sources
against accessing them for any unauthorized person, and against loss and theft.
- Establishment of an effective surveillance for conduction of all necessary radiological surveys
and monitoring in all places accessed by the general public around the controlled and supervised
areas, either locally or by contracting with an authorized party.
- A radiological monitoring program for areas, which may be affected from the licensed sources
or authorized releases of radionuclides, shall be established and implemented. The nature and extent
of the monitoring program shall provide the primary justification for radiological protection for
general public. This monitoring should include conduction of environmental radiological
monitoring in these areas, by studying samples taken from these areas and their radiological
analyses to assess any environmental hazards.
- Establishment of safety measures for radioactive releases to the environment, including rules
and procedures that are appropriate,
- Optimization of the generation of radioactive waste, as low as reasonably achievable, and
establishment of measures, criteria and procedure for safe interim storage of the generated
radioactive waste from the authorized practices and for safe disposal of that waste, in accordance
with the national regulations for waste disposal.
- Record keeping, of all information related with all radioactive releases, waste generation, and
waste disposal of used sources, radionuclides, or wastes.

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- Establishment of measures, rules and procedures, that should be implemented for safe transport
of the radioactive material, and record keeping for all transport process, so that to minimize the
general public exposures from the transport activities.

2-5 THE QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM:

- A quality assurance (QA) program shall be established as part of the RPP. The licensee shall
be responsible for establishing the quality assurance program required by the principal requirements
of the national regulation, and the nature and extent of the quality assurance program shall be
commensurate with the magnitude and the likelihood of the potential exposures from the sources
for which they are responsible
- The quality assurance program shall provide for planned and systematic actions, aimed at
providing adequate confidence that the specified design and operational requirements related to
protection and safety are satisfied, including provisions for feedback of operational experience.
Additionally, it shall provide for validation of designs, and supply and use of materials, of
manufacturing, inspection and testing methods, and of operating procedures.
- Maintaining the effectiveness of any RPP relies on the ability of those in charge of
implementing its various components to adopt a QA program and to pay as much attention as
possible to lessons learned from experience. The evaluations through appropriate reviews and
audits, of the way in which the RPP is implemented are key elements of an effective quality
assurance program.
- Management should be committed to QA and should provide the financial and human
resources necessary to achieve quality standards and to maintain them continuously.
- The RPP should be assessed on a regular basis. Audits and reviews of activities within the RPP
should be scheduled on the basis of the status and importance of the activity. Management should
establish a process for such assessments to identify and correct administrative and management
problems that may prevent the achievement of program objectives. Audits and reviews should be
conducted by persons who are technically competent to evaluate the processes and procedures being
assessed, but do not have any direct responsibility for those activities.
- Audits and reviews should be performed in accordance with written procedures and checklists.

2-6 THE EMERGENCY PLANNING:

- The licensee, responsible for sources for which prompt intervention may be required, shall
ensure that an emergency plan exists that defines on-site responsibilities and takes account of off-
site responsibilities appropriate for the source and provides for implementation of each form of
protective action.
- The emergency or contingency plans should specify how the responsibilities for the
management of interventions will be discharged on the site, off the site and across national
boundaries.
- The emergency and contingency plans should include objectives of the plans, scenarios for all
possible accidents and incidents with the authorized practices and sources and actions that should
be taken in each scenario.
- The emergency plans prepared in advance should include definition of the roles and
responsibilities of all workers concerned in the emergency response. Details of protective actions to
be taken, protective clothing and monitoring instruments to be used, and dosimetry arrangements
should also be specified.

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- The dose limits for workers should be assumed to apply unless there are overriding reasons not
to apply them. However, exceeding the dose limit of exposure in an emergency situation may be
permitted, exclusively, for volunteers who know how to act correctly in the prevailing situation.
There are three situations where it would be justified for the dose limits to be exceeded, which are

(a) for the purpose of saving life or preventing serious injuries.

(b) if actions intended to avert a large collective dose or to prevent the development of catastrophic
conditions.
- An emergency team should be formed, and this team should be trained on actions hat should be
undertaken in different scenarios. Additional training should be provided on use of protective
clothing, respiratory protective equipments, the means of shielding, and iodine prophylaxis. Where
workers may be exposed to radiation fields with relatively high dose rates, pre-established guidance
should be given on dose, dose rates and air concentrations for the appropriate time period.

- Doses incurred by workers during the emergency phase of the intervention should be recorded
separately, if possible, from the doses incurred during routine work, but should be noted on the
workers’ dose records.
- In accordance with the conditions of authorization, management should draw up formal plans
to deal with situations in which workers might be overexposed. These plans should address the
management of overexposed workers and the health consequences that might be encountered. They
should specify the necessary actions to be taken, and management should allocate resources for
carrying out those actions.

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 SAFE TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

1. INTRODUCTION
- The transport regulations establish standards of safety which provide an acceptable level of
protection against radiation and thermal hazards to persons, property and the environment that are
associated with the transport of radioactive material. This protection is achieved by requiring:
(a) Proper containment of the radioactive contents.
(b) Control of the external radiation levels
(d) Prevention of damage caused by heat.
- These requirements are satisfied firstly, by applying a graded approach to contents limits for
packages and conveyances, to the performance standards applied to package designs depending
upon the hazard of the radioactive contents. Secondly, they are satisfied by imposing requirements
on the design and operation of packages and on the maintenance of packaging, including a
consideration of the nature of the radioactive contents. Finally they are satisfied by requiring
administrative controls including approval by regulatory authorities.

2. DEFINITIONS
- For safe transport of radioactive material, special definitions are applied. Some of these
definitions are:
2-1 A1 and A2
- A1 means the activity value of a special form radioactive material which is used to determine
the activity limits in a type A package.
- A2 means the activity value of a radioactive material, other than special form radioactive
material, which is used to determine the activity limits in a type A package.
2-2 Approval
- Unilateral approval means an approval of a design which is required to be given by the
regulatory authority of the country of origin of the design only
- Multilateral approval means approval by the regulatory authority of the country of origin of the
design or shipment and also, where the consignment is to be transported through or into any other
country, approval by the regulatory authority of that country. The term “through or into”
specifically excludes “over”, i.e. the approval shall not apply to a country over which radioactive
material is carried in an aircraft, provided that there is no scheduled stop in that country.
2-3 Carrier
- Carrier means any person, organization or undertaking the carriage of radioactive material by
any means of transport. The term includes both carriers for hire or reward (known as common or
contract carriers in some countries) and carriers on own account (known as private carriers in some
countries).

2-4 Consignee
- Consignee means any person, organization or government which receives a consignment.
2-5 Consignment
- Consignment means any package or packages, or load of radioactive material, presented by a
consignor for transport.

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2-6 Consignor
- Consignor means any person, organization or government which prepares a consignment for
transport.

2-7 Contamination

- Contamination means the presence of a radioactive substance on a surface in quantities in

excess of 0.4 Bq/cm2 for beta and gamma emitters and low toxicity alpha emitters, or 0.04 Bq/cm2
for all other alpha emitters.
- Non-fixed contamination means contamination that can be removed from a surface during
routine conditions of transport.
- Fixed contamination means contamination other than non-fixed contamination.

2-8 Conveyance
- Conveyance means:

(a) For transport by road or rail: any vehicle,

(b) For transport by water: any vessel, or any hold, compartment, or defined deck area of a vessel

(c) For transport by air: any aircraft.

2-9 Exclusive use

- Exclusive use means the sole use, by a single consignor, of a conveyance or of a large freight
container, in respect of which all initial, intermediate and final loading and unloading is carried out
in accordance with the directions of the consignor or consignee.

2-10 Low dispersible radioactive material

- Low dispersible radioactive material means either a solid radioactive material or a solid
radioactive material in a sealed capsule that has limited dispersibility and is not in powder form.
2-11 Low specific activity material
- Low specific activity (LSA) material means radioactive material which by its nature has a
limited specific activity, or radioactive material for which limits of estimated average specific
activity apply. External shielding materials surrounding the LSA material shall not be considered in
determining the estimated average specific activity. LSA material shall be in one of three groups:
(a) LSA-I (b) LSA-II (c) LSA-III

2-12 Overpack
- Overpack means an enclosure such as a box or bag, used by a single consignor to facilitate as a
handling unit a consignment of one or more packages for convenience of handling, stowage and
carriage.
2-13 Package
- Package means the packaging with its radioactive contents as presented for transport. The
types of packages which are subject to the activity limits and material restrictions are:

(a) Excepted package (b) Type A package (c) Type B(U) package
(d) Type B(M) package (e) Type C package

77
 2-14 Packaging
- Packaging means the assembly of components necessary to enclose the radioactive contents
completely. It may, in particular, consist of one or more receptacles, absorbent materials, spacing
structures, radiation shielding and service equipment for filling, emptying, venting and pressure
relief; devices for cooling, or absorbing mechanical shocks.

2-15 Radiation level

- Radiation level means the corresponding dose rate expressed in milli-sieverts per hour.

2-16 Shipment

- Shipment means the specific movement of a consignment from origin to destination.

2-17 Special arrangement

- Special arrangement means those provisions, approved by the regulatory authority, under
which consignments which do not satisfy all the applicable requirements of the transport
regulations may be transported.

2-18 Special form radioactive material

- Special form radioactive material means either an indispersible solid radioactive material or a
sealed capsule containing radioactive material.

2-19 Surface contaminated object

- Surface contaminated object (SCO) means a solid object which is not itself radioactive but
which has radioactive material distributed on its surfaces. SCO shall be in one of two groups:
(a) SCO-I (b) SCO-II:

2-20 Transport index

- Transport index (TI) assigned to a package, overpack or freight container means a number
which is used to provide control over radiation exposure.

3. GENERAL PROVISIONS
3-1 Radiation protection
- Doses to persons shall be below the relevant dose limits. Protection and safety shall be
optimized in order that the magnitude of individual doses, the number of persons exposed, and the
likelihood of incurring exposure shall be kept as low as reasonably achievable, economic and social
factors being taken into account.
- A Radiation Protection Program shall be established for the transport of radioactive material.
The nature and extent of the measures to be employed in the program shall be related to the
magnitude and likelihood of radiation exposures.
- A radioactive material shall be segregated from the transport workers and from members of the
public. For the purpose of calculation of segregation distance, the following values should be used:
(a) For workers a dose of 5 mSv/year
(b) For members of the public 1 mSv/year.

78
- Radioactive material shall be segregated from undeveloped photographic films. The basis for
determining the segregation distances, is that the dose to these films shall not exceed 0.1 mSv for
the whole transport period.
- A package shall not contain any items other than those that are necessary for the use of the
radioactive material. The interaction between these items and the package, under the conditions of
transport applicable to the design, shall not reduce the safety of the package.

- Tanks and intermediate bulk containers used for the transport of radioactive material shall not
be used for the storage or transport of other goods unless decontaminated to below the level of 0.4
Bq/cm2 for beta and gamma emitters and low toxicity alpha emitters and 0.04 Bq/cm2 for all other
alpha emitters.
- The transport of other goods with consignments being transported under exclusive use shall be
permitted provided the arrangements are controlled only by the consignor and it is not prohibited by
other regulations.
- Consignments shall be segregated from other dangerous goods during transport, in compliance
with the transport regulations for these goods.

3-2 Control of contamination and leaking packages

- The non-fixed contamination on the external surfaces of any package shall be kept as low as
practicable and, under routine conditions of transport, shall not exceed the following limits:

(a) 4 Bq/cm2 for beta and gamma emitters and low toxicity alpha emitters

(b) 0.4 Bq/cm2 for all other alpha emitters.

These limits are applicable when averaged over any area of 300 cm2 of any part of the surface.
- If it is evident that a package is damaged or leaking, or if it is suspected that the package may
have leaked or been damaged, access to the package shall be restricted and a qualified person shall,
as soon as possible, assess the extent of contamination and the resultant radiation level of the
package. The scope of the assessment shall include the package, the conveyance, the adjacent
loading and unloading areas and all other material which has been carried if necessary.

4. DETERMINATION OF THE TRANSPORT INDEX

4-1 Determination of the TI:
- The transport index (TI) for a package, overpack or freight container, or for unpackaged LSA-I
or SCO-I, shall be the number derived in accordance with the following procedure:

a) Determine the maximum radiation level (experimentally) in units of millirem per hour (mrem/h)
at a distance of 1 m from the external surfaces of the package, overpack, freight container. The
resulting number is the transport index.
For uranium and thorium ores and their concentrates the maximum radiation level at any point 1 m
from the external surface of the load may be taken as:

(i) 40 mrem/h for ores and physical concentrates of ores

(ii) 30 mrem/h for chemical concentrates of thorium
(iii) 2 mrem/h for chemical concentrates of uranium, other than uranium hexafluoride.

79
(b) For tanks, freight containers and unpackaged LSA-I and SCO-I, the value determined in step (a)
above shall be multiplied by the appropriate factor from Table 1.

Table 1: Multiplication factors for large dimension load

Size (i.e area) of load Multiplication factor
 1 m2 1
1 m2 < area  5 m2 2
5 m2 < area  20 m2 3
20 m2 < area 10

(c) The value obtained in steps (a) and (b) above shall be rounded up to the first decimal place (e.g.
1.13 becomes 1.2), except that a value of 0.05 or less may be considered as zero.
- The transport index for each overpack, freight container or conveyance shall be determined as
either the sum of the TIs of all the packages contained, or by direct measurement of radiation level,
except in the case of non-rigid overpacks, for which the transport index shall be determined only as
the sum of the TIs of all the packages.

4-2 Limits on the TI and radiation level:

- Except for consignments under exclusive use, the transport index of any package or overpack
shall not exceed 10.
- Except for consignments transported under exclusive use or special arrangement the maximum
radiation level at any point on the external surface of package or overpack shall not exceed 2mSv/h.
- The maximum radiation level at any point on the external surface of a package or overpack,
under exclusive, use shall not exceed 10 mSv/h.

5. CATEGORIES OF PACKAGES:
- Packages and overpacks shall be assigned to either category WHITE-I, YELLOW-II or
YELLOW-III in accordance with the conditions specified in Table 2 and with the following
requirements:
(a) For a package or overpack, both the transport index and the surface radiation level conditions
shall be taken into account in determining the appropriate category for it. Where the transport index
satisfies the condition for one category but the surface radiation level satisfies the condition for a
different category, the package or overpack shall be assigned to the higher category. For this
purpose, category WHITE-I shall be regarded as the lowest category.
(b) If the surface radiation level is greater than 2mSv/h the package or overpack shall be transported
under exclusive use.
(c) A package transported under a special arrangement shall be assigned to category YELLOW-III.
Table 2: Categories of packages and overpacks

Conditions
Transport Index Maximum radiation level at any point on the surface Category
0 Not more than 0.005 mSv/h WHITE -I
0 < TI  1 More than 0.005 mSv/h, but not more than 0.5 mSv/h YELLOW-II
1 < TI  10 More than 0.5 mSv/h, but not more than 2 mSv/h YELLOW-III
10 < TI More than 2 mSv/h YELLOW-III
under exclusive use

80
 6. MARKING AND LABELLING:
6-1 Marking:
- Each package shall be legibly and durably marked on the outside of the packaging with an
identification of either the consignor or consignee, or both.

6-2 Labelling:
- Each package, overpack and freight container shall bear the labels which conform to the
models in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 or Fig. 4, except as allowed under the alternative provisions for large freight
containers and tanks, according to the appropriate category. Any labels which do not relate to the
contents shall be removed or covered.
- The labels conforming to the models in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 shall be affixed to two opposite
sides of the outside of a package or overpack or on the outside of all four sides of a freight container
or tank.

7. STORAGE IN TRANSIT:
7-1 Segregation during transport and storage in transit:
- Packages, overpacks and freight containers containing radioactive material and unpackaged
radioactive material shall be segregated during transport and during storage in transit:
(a) From workers in regularly occupied working areas by distances calculated using a dose criterion
of 5mSv in a year and conservative model parameters.
(b) From members of the critical group of the public, in areas where the public has regular access,
by distances calculated using a dose criterion of 1mSv in a year and conservative model parameters;
(c) From undeveloped photographic film by distances calculated using radiation exposure criterion
for undeveloped photographic film due to the transport of radioactive material of 0.1 mSv per
consignment of such film; and

(d) From other dangerous goods.

- Category II-YELLOW or III-YELLOW packages or overpacks shall not be carried in
compartments occupied by passengers, except those exclusively reserved for couriers specially
authorized to accompany such packages or overpacks.
7-2 Stowage during transport and storage in transit:
- Consignments shall be securely stored. Provided that its average surface heat flux does not
exceed 15 W/m2 and that the immediately surrounding cargo is not in sacks or bags, a package or
overpack may be carried or stored among packaged general cargo without any special storage
provisions except as may be specifically required by the regulatory authority in an applicable
approval certificate.
- Loading of freight containers and accumulation of packages, overpacks and freight containers
shall be controlled as follows:
(a) Except under the condition of exclusive use, and for consignments of LSA-I material, the total
number of packages, overpacks and freight containers aboard a single conveyance shall be so
limited that the total sum of the transport indexes aboard the conveyance does not exceed the values
50. The same rule is applied for storage in transit. For this purpose packages are grouped in separate
groups each with TI not exceeding 50.

81
(b) The radiation level under routine conditions of transport shall not exceed 2mSv/h at any point
on the external surface, and 0.1mSv/h at 2 m from the external surface of the conveyance, except
for consignments transported under exclusive use, by road or railways.
- Any package or overpack having a transport index greater than 10 shall be transported only,
under exclusive use.
- Groups of packages shall be stored so as to maintain a spacing of at least 6 m between any two
groups.

Fig. 1: Label for the category WHITE- I

Fig. 2: Label for the category YELLOW-II

82
Fig. 3: Label for the category YELLOW-III

83
Questions: Theory.

1. Different form of same element having same mass number but different atomic number is:

a. Isotopes
b. Radioactivity
c. Radionuclides
d. None of the above
Answer is Isobars.

2. Alpha particle is the nucleus of:

a. Radium atom
b. Helium -4 atom
c. Helium -2 atom
d. Thorium atom

3. In alpha decay, the atomic number is changed by ………….. while the mass number is changed
by………

a. 2, 4
b. 4, 4
c. 4, 2
d. None of the above

4. In alpha decay alpha particle are emitted:

a. With a single energy value

b. With a multiple energy value, each of them fixed value
c. With a multiple energy value
d. None of the above

5. In beta positive decay atomic number is changed by………

a. 1
b. 2
c. -1
d. -2

6. In beta decay, in which process beta particle is not emitted:

a. Beta positive
b. Beta negative
c. Electron capture
d. All of the above

7. In beta decay followed by gamma disintegration, number of photons may be:

a. Less than number of beta particle

b. Equal to number of beta particle
 c. Higher than number of beta particle
d. All of the above

8. Co-60, Ir-192, Cs-137 are:

a. Gamma emitter
b. Beta emitter
c. First beta, then gamma emitter
d. None of the above

9. Electromagnetic radiations are:

a. Alpha
b. X-ray
c. Beta
d. X-ray, gamma ray

10. Am-242 is an alpha particle which interacts with …………..to produces neutron.

a. Helium
b. Beryllium
c. Carbon
d. None of the above

11. In neutron generators, (d, n) reaction on:

a. Helium
b. Beryllium
c. Tritium
d. All of the above

12. The most commonly used gamma emitter in the photo neutron sources is:

a. Neon -24
b. Argon -24
c. Helium -24
d. Sodium -24

13. The activity of the source will be decreased by factor of:

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

14. Which are all the heavy charged particles:

a. Alpha
b. Protons
c. Deuterons
d. All of the above
 e. None of the above

15. Heavy charged particles interact with matter through:

a. Ionization
b. Excitation
c. A&b
d. A only

16. Heavy charged particles are moving in:

a. Broken line
b. Straight line
c. Curved line
d. Zigzag
17. The average energy needed for one ionization in air, water, and human tissue:

a. 10ev
b. 34ev
c. 24ev
d. 30ev

18. ……….is defined as number of electron ion pair in 1 mm of track.

a. Ionization
b. Specific ionization
c. Excitation
d. A&b

19. The fraction of energy in beta particle converted to x-ray is:

a. 1
b. 0.5
c. 0.035
d. 2

20. Beat particles interact with matter mainly through:

a. Ionization
b. Excitation
c. Production of x-ray
d. All of the above

21. For high atomic number and energy, beta particle interacting with high z material mainly through:

a. Ionization
b. Excitation
c. Production of x-ray
d. All of the above
22. The photo electric effect occurs on:

a. Weakly bounded electrons

b. Strongly bounded electrons
c. Free electrons
d. None of the above

23. Pair production yields:

a. Deflected photon
b. Scattered electron
c. Electron and positron
d. A&c

24. Compton effect occurs on:

a. Free electrons
b. Loosely bounded electrons
c. Strongly bounded electrons
d. A&b

25. In beta particle, 1 Mev of energy travel in aluminum:

a. 2-3 mm
b. 4-5 mm
c. 5-6 mm
d. 1-2 mm

26. In interaction of x-ray and gamma ray with matter, photons is fully vanished in which mechanism:

a. Compton effect
b. Photo electric effect
c. Pair production
d. B&c
e. A&c

27. In interaction of gamma ray, the pair production depend of z is:

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 5

28. At low energy, gamma and x-ray are interacting with matter mainly through:

a. Photo electric and Compton effect

b. Compton and Pair production
c. Pair production and Photo electric effect
d. All of the above
29. In interaction of neutrons with matter, neutrons are mainly interacting with:

a. Hydrogen rich material

b. High atomic number material
c. Low atomic number material
d. None of the above

30. The unit of linear attenuation co-efficient is:

a. Cm
b. Per cm
c. Mm
d. Cm2

31. The main process is used for detection of different types of ionizing radiation:

a. Ionization
b. Excitation
c. A&b
d. Only a

32. Type of detector should be used for detection of ionizing radiation depends on:

a. Type of radiation
b. Energy of particle
c. Intensity of radiation
d. All of the above

33. Gas detectors detection is done thorough:

a. Ionization
b. Excitation
c. A&b
d. Only a
e. A&d

34. The recombination of ionization chamber depends on:

a. Applied voltage
b. Volume of chamber
c. Energy of radiation
d. Intensity of radiation
e. All of the above

35. A beta emitter followed by gamma emitter can be identified by:

a. Ionization chamber
b. Geiger Muller counter
c. Scintillation counter
d. None of the above
36. Multiplication gain of ionization chamber is:

a. <1
b. >1
c. =1
d. ≠1

37. To measure the dose rate in mixed gamma radiation, one should use:

a. Pressurized ionization chamber

b. Air wall ionization chamber
c. Normal ionization chamber
d. Scintillation counter

38. The amplitude of the output pulse in Geiger Muller counter depends on:

a. Volume
b. Applied voltage
c. Energy]
d. A&b
e. B&c

39. To search for the lost of small gamma source with small activity, one should use:

a. Nai(TI) scintillation counter

b. Nai(TI) ionization chamber
c. Nai(TI) Geiger Muller counter
d. Nai(TI) proportional counter

40. The energy required to form one electron hole pair in silicon and germanium is:

a. 1.1ev and 3.3ev

b. 1.1ev and 0.5ev
c. 0.3ev and 0.4ev
d. 1.1ev and 0.7ev

41. To detect contamination with a neutron Am-Be source, one should use:

a. Accurate neutron survey meter

b. A detector with window
c. Zns with window
d. B&c

42. To measure contamination with very low activity, one should use:

a. Ionization chamber
b. Liquid scintillator
c. Geiger Muller
d. None of the above
43. All inert gases are ……….. to be subjected to wipe test.

a. Need
b. Need not
c. Both a & b
d. All of the above

44. The recommended personnel dosimeter is:

a. TLD
b. EPD
c. Film Badge
d. All of the above

45. Which process takes place in TLD:

a. Ionization
b. Excitation
c. Both a, b
d. None of the above

46. The detectors which must not be used with a high radio frequency source is:

a. G-M counter
b. Scintillation counter
c. Proportional counter
d. Ionization chamber

47. The unit of Kerma is:

a. Rem
b. Roentgen
c. Rad
d. C/kg

48. The SI unit of exposure is:

a. Rem
b. Roentgen
c. Rad
d. C/kg

49. ……….. is defined as the ratio of amount of energy deposited from any type of ionizing radiation to unit
mass of any matter:

a. Exposure
b. Kerma
c. Absorbed dose
d. Equivalent dose
50. Old and SI unit of equivalent dose:

a. Rem, sv
b. Rem, roentgen
c. Sv, gray
d. Rad, gray

51. Two diseases belong to deterministic effect are:

a. Erythema and cataract

b. Vomiting and cancer
c. Leukemia and cancer
d. Cataract and heredity problem

52. Which effect requires acute dose:

a. Deterministic effect
b. Stochastic effect
c. Genetic effect
d. All of the above

53. In which effect, the severity of the disease is not dose depended:

a. Deterministic effect
b. Stochastic effect
c. Genetic effect
d. All of the above

54. The committed dose arises due to:

a. Intake of radionuclides
b. Emission of radionuclides
c. A&b
d. All of the above

55. Radiation are starting destruction of human body by:

a. Ionization
b. Excitation
c. All of the above
d. None of the above

56. Central nervous system syndrome occurs, after relatively high doses of acute exposure which is not less
than:

a. 10 Gy
b. 20 Gy
c. 30 Gy
d. 40 Gy
57. Lethal dose leads to:

a. 50% of death within 30 days

b. No death
c. Not affect anybody
d. None of the above

58. The best shield for beta particle is:

a. Plastic
b. Aluminum
c. Steel
d. Lead

59. The best material for shielding gamma ray:

a. Lead
b. Uranium
c. Steel
d. Aluminum

60. The effect of phenomena responsible for buildup are:

a. Compton and pair production

b. Pair production and photo electric
c. Compton and photoelectric
d. None of the above

61. Factors affecting build up factor are depends on:

a. Thickness of material
b. Energy of gamma radiation
c. Type of material
d. All of the above

62. The ideal shield for neutron sources consist of three consequent layers which are 1) 20 – 25 cm wax,
plastic 2) 1 mm cadmium sheet 3) lead or high z material 4) 50 cm wax.

a. 1-2-3 sequence
b. 4-2-3 sequence
c. 2-3-4 sequence
d. None of the above

63. The disintegration constant λ of a radionuclide is defined as the:

a. Time period through which a single atom of this nuclide will decays.
b. Time period through which 50% of atoms of this nuclide will decay.
c. Probability of decay of one atom of that nuclide through one second.
d. Probability of decay of one atom of the nuclide through one hour.
64. The specific activity of a contaminated surface is measured in:

a. Bq/m2
b. Bq/m3
c. Bq/kg
d. Bq/sec

65. In beta decay followed by gamma disintegration, number of the emitted gamma photons can be:

a. Equal to the number of beta particles

b. Less than the number of beta particles
c. Higher than the number of beta particles
d. All of the above

66. When beta particles with a spectrum with maximum energy of 1 Mev, these particles loose their energy
while interacting with the human tissue, mainly through:

a. Emission of bremsstrahlung radiation

b. Ionization and excitation of molecules
c. Elastic scattering on electrons
d. None of the above

67. The neutron sources and generators that are used in well logging yield:

a. Slow neutrons
b. Thermal neutrons
c. None of the above
d. All of the above

68. The mechanism for interaction between neutrons emitted from all neutron sources and generators with
the human tissue is:

a. Neutron radiative capture

b. Neutron inelastic scattering
c. (n,p) reaction on hydrogen nuclei
d. Elastic scattering on hydrogen nuclei

69. X- and low energy gamma ray transfer their energy to matter mainly via:

a. Ionization & excitation

b. Photoelectric effect & Compton scattering
c. Compton scattering & ionization
d. Pair production & photo electric effect

70. Attenuation of a photon beam of gamma and x-rays means that:

a. The energy of photons is completely absorbed in the medium

b. The energy of photons decreases with increasing the thickness of penetration
c. The number of photons decreases with increasing the thickness of penetration
d. Both number and energy of photons decreases with increasing the thickness
71. To measure accurately, the exposure in a mixed energy radiation field, one should use:

a. Pressurized ionization chamber

b. An air wall ionization chamber
c. A GM counter
d. A NaI scintillation detector

72. The sodium iodide scintillation detector is used with ……… to detect ………. .

a. A photomultiplier tube – protons

b. A photomultiplier tube – gamma radiation
c. A GM tube – protons
d. A GM tube – gamma radiation

73. To detect fast neutrons with a GM counter, this counter should be filled with a containing ……….and
should be surrounded by……………

a. BF3 gas – wax

b. BF3 gas – lead
c. Helium3 gas – lead
d. Helium3 gas – boron

74. To detect a surface contamination, with a Cs-137 radionuclides one should use:

a. An accurate beta-gamma survey meter

b. A beta contamination monitor
c. A sodium iodide detector
d. A high resolution germanium detector

75. The amplification gain inside a current type ionization chamber is:

a. Strongly dependent on the applied voltage

b. Higher than 1
c. Less than 1
d. None of the above

76. The recommended personal dosimeter in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is:

a. A liquid scintillation detector

b. A whole body counter
c. A pressurized ionization chamber
d. TLD

77. In the classic system of units the roentgen R is the unit of the:

a. Absorbed dose and is equivalent to 2.58x10-4 coulomb/kg of air

b. Exposure and is equivalent to 2.58x10-4 coulomb/kg of matter
c. Exposure and is equivalent to 2.58x10-4 coulomb/kg of air
d. Equivalent dose and is equivalent to 2.58x10-4 coulomb/kg of air
78. The classic unit of the kerma is ……, while the SI unit of the equivalent and effective dose is ……….

a. Gray – seivert
b. Gray – rem
c. Rad – rem
d. Rad – seivert

79. A radiation effect which is somatic, and for which generally a threshold level of dose exists is called:

a. Stochastic somatic effect

b. Deterministic prompt effect
c. Deterministic delayed effect
d. Stochastic hereditary effect

80. The lethal dose within 30 days after exposure for 50% of individuals exposed to an acute dose of
radiation is about:

a. 20 msv
b. 200 msv
c. 2 sv
d. None of the above

81. Two diseases belonging to deterministic effects are:

a. Cancer & cataract

b. Cataract & erythema
c. Erythema & leukemia
d. Leukemia & radiation sickness

82. The specific gamma-ray constant in the classic system of units is defined as:

a. The exposure rate at 1 meter from 1 curie gamma source

b. The equivalent dose at 1 meter from 1 curie gamma source
c. The exposure rate at meter from 1 MBq gamma source
d. The equivalent dose at 1 meter from 1 MBq gamma source

83. It is required to shield a high energy pure beta source, then the principle which shall be applied is to
contain this source in a !.5 cm thick:

a. Aluminum container surrounded by 5 cm lead

b. Lead container surrounded by 5 cm aluminum
c. Steel container surrounded by 5 cm plastic
d. Plastic container surrounded by 5 cm lead

84. While Am-Be neutron source was transported it became exposed due to a traffic accident, if the
following materials are available:
1. A 4 cm thick steel sheet
2. A 4 cm thick lead sheet
3. 1 mm thick cadmium sheet
4. 20 cm thick polyethylene block
5. 4 cm thick plastic block
The best shield for the source that should be used and order from the source to outside are:

a. 5-3-2
 b. 5-3-1
c. 4-2-3
d. 4-3-2

85. No practice that involves radiation exposure shall be conducted, and no source within the practice shall
be used, unless the practice and the source are authorized. This principle is known as:

a. Justification
b. ALARA principle
c. Basic obligation
d. None of the above

86. The underlying radiation protection principle with respect to the exposure to ionizing radiation is that:

a. The risk involved with exposure below the limit is acceptable risk taken by radiation workers
b. Any exposure has some risk and it should be maintained as low as practicable
c. Exposure below the threshold for a certain effect is not likely to produce other effects
d. The risk increases with increasing the dose for all effects

87. The radiation level inside a store of radioactive sources exceeds 10µsv/h, then the entrance to this store
should be subjected to:

a. Time control
b. Access control
c. Distance control
d. Application of a proper shield

88. A multilayer system of provisions for protection against ionizing radiation and for the safety of
radiation sources shall be applied to sources, so that a failure at one layer is corrected by subsequent
layers. This principle is known as:

a. Safety culture
b. Defense in depth
c. Quality assurance
d. Safety requirements

89. Adequate training of workers involved in practices containing radiation sources and safety assessment
are the responsibility of the:

a. The radiation workers

b. The regulatory authority
c. The radiation protection officers
d. The manager of the installation

90. According to Saudi national regulations, the area, where the annual accumulated dose may reach 3/10
of the annual dose limit, is called:

a. Controlled area
b. Supervised area
c. General public area
d. Monitored area

91. Two components of the radiation protection program are:

a. Distance and use of shielding

b. Justification and optimization
c. Quality assurance and emergency planning
d. Committed management and dose limitation
92. The most effective ALARA program will be based on:

a. The workers awareness of hazards

b. A good radiological control supervisor
c. A large radiological control staff
d. Strong management committed to radiation protection

93. According to Saudi national regulations, the annual effective dose limit for apprentices and students of
age between 16 and 18 years is:

a. 1msv
b. 5msv
c. 6msv
d. 20msv

94. Radioactive waste management is carried out to control:

a. Occupational exposure
b. General public exposure
c. Potential exposure
d. All of the above

95. The limit for surface non fixed contamination of sealed radioactive beta sources is …………., and the
wipe test should be sensitive enough to detect ………… .

a. 0.4 Bq/cm2 – 185 Bq

b. 4 Bq/cm2 – 0.005µ curies
c. 0.4 Bq/cm2 – 0.05 Ci
d. 4 Bq/cm2 – 185 Bq

96. The maximum dose rate measured at 1 m from the external surface of a low size package is 0.0241 milli
Sievert/hour then the transport index of the package is …………., and the package should be labeled by
……. Label:

a. 0.24 – Yellow II
b. 2.5 – Yellow II
c. 2.4 – Yellow III
d. 2.5 – Yellow III

97. The transport index of a package, for radiation protection purposed, is defined as:

a. The max effective dose rate in mSv/h on the external surface of the package
b. The max effective dose rate in mrem/h on the external surface of the package
c. The max effective dose rate in mrem/h at 1m from the external surface of the package
d. The max effective dose rate in mSv/h at 1 m from the external surface of the package

98. Sievert can…

a. Can measured directly.

b. Cannot measured directly.

99. Lethal dose (LD 30/50 %)

a. 2 mSv
b. 4 Sv
c. 5 mSv
100. No practice involving exposure to radiation should be performed unless there are benefits to the
individual and society.

a. Justification
b. Optimization
c. Dose and risk limits
101. Attenuation of Gama rays means:

a. Decrease no of rays, decrease energy of gamma ray.

b. Decrease no of rays, energy does not affect.
c. Decrease the energy, intensity of gamma ray as it is.

102. After completing radiography you need to check camera from:

a. Guide tube to back side.

b. Back side to guide tube.
c. Side of camera.

103. After completing radiography why you need to check the camera:

a. To confirm that source returns to camera.

b. To confirm that source outside of camera.

104. Gamma factor of cobalt -60:

a. 0.351
b. 0.12

105. Wipe test should be performed ………… and maximum amount of reasonable contamination
is…………

a. Every month and 185 Bq.

b. Every week and 165 Bq.
c. Every 6 month and 185 Bq.
d. Every month and 185 Bq.

106. Radiographer should check the camera …….and shall be checked by a qualified expert once in
every………

a. Daily and month

b. Weekly and 3 month
c. Weekly and 1 month
d. Daily and 3 month

107. High level radiation can be handled by:

a. Concentrate and contain

b. Dilute and disperse
c. Hold for decay and then dispose
d. Dispense in sewage water
108. Unite of kerma in SI unit:

a. Gray
b. Sievert
c. Rad
d. REM

109. Relation between absorbed dose (D), Equivalent dose (HT), Radiation Weighting factor (WR),
Effective Dose (E), Tissue Weighting factor (DTR)

a. HT = ∑ WR, DTR, ET = ∑ WR, HT

b. HT = ∑ WT, DTR, ET = ∑ WR, DTR
c. HT = ∑ WR, DTR, ET = ∑ WT, DTR
d. None of above

110. Maximum effective dose for trainees (16 – 18 years) for whole body in Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia:

a. 6 mSv
b. 3 mSv
c. 20 mSv
d. 1 mSv

111. Maximum equivalent dose per year for general public for extremities in Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia:

a. 20 mSv
b. 50 mSv
c. 5 mSv
d. 15 mSv

112. The following radiation detector should not be used when you expect high frequent:

a. GM
b. NaI
c. Ionization Chamber
d. TLD

113. After complete the radiography job, the radiographer need the do:

a. Check the camera

b. Write n log sheet

114. The establishment of radiation protection program and QA management system in a company
is the responsibility of:

a. RSO
b. Director
c. Employee

115. Low energy Beta particle can be detected efficiently using:

 a. GM
b. Liquid Scintillation
c. Ionization Chamber
d. NaI

116. Which detector is very efficient for detecting for Gamma ray:

a. GM
b. Liquid Scintillation
c. Ionization Chamber
d. NaI (TI)

117. A radioactive isotope has a transport Index of 7 and the radiation intensity at surface 210
mrem/hr. This can be classified as:

a. Yellow II
b. Yellow III
c. Yellow III exclusive
d. Yellow II exclusive

118. Proper ties of radioactive isotope:

a. Can be change physically

b. Can be change chemically
c. Depends on the element compound
d. Cannot be altered.

119. If you are going for radiography testing far from your office. After going there you noticed that
your survey meter is not working. Then you should do:

a. Stop the work and return to the office for new survey meter
b. Continue with approximation based on your experience
c. Call the RSO, while you continue with work.

120. The principle of ALARA the effective method is:

a. Management commitment
b. Workers awareness about health hazards
c. To send the employee for training
d. Effective control of records

Practical:

121. A source composed of 1018 atoms of cs-137 with a half-life time 30 years, then the activity of source is
……………
Answer: 19.8 mCi

122. 2x1017 atoms of a radionuclide and their activity is 3.9567mci then the half life time is…………..
 Answer: 30 Years

123. A sample composed of 1013 atoms emitting alpha particle with the rate 4200cpm then, the half life time
of this sample is……………
Answer: 3139.3 Years

124. The activity of a sample was defined as 120mci, if the half life time of this sample is 74 days, then the
activity of sample after 90 days will be……….
Answer: 51.66 mCi

125. You need a source with activity 100ci to fulfill a certain job, if the shipment time will consume 45 days,
the half life time of the source is 74 days, then the activity of the required source at the moment of shipment
shall be…………..
Answer: 152.4 Ci

126. A Co-60 source with activity 16 Ci and half life time is 5.27 years, after a certain period of time the
activity became 7mci, then the time period is…………
Answer: 58.8 Years

127. An operator injected 300mci of radionuclide with a physical half life time of 90 days, then the
remaining activity in his body after 120 days will be………..
Answer: 119 mCi

128. 19.65mci of Cs-137 is obtained from 1018 atoms then the half life time of the Cs is?
Answer: 30 Years

129. An operator was injected by 200mci Iodine -131 with a half-life time of 8 days. A biological half life time
0.1 year, then the remaining activity in his body after 100 days will be?
Answer: 5.5 µCi

130. A radioactive source with the activity of 50mci decayed after 100 days to 1300 MBq then the half life
time of the source is?
Answer: 198 Days

131. A 10µci Cs- source located at a distance 40cm from a detector with sensitive area 2πcm2 , if the
efficiency of this detector energy is 8x10-3, then the count rate is…….
Answer: 0.79 cps

132. The count rate of a radioisotope was found to be 3cps, if the efficiency of the used system is the used
configuration is 5x10-6, then the activity is……….
Answer: 600,000 Bq

133. If the count rate is 18000cpm and the dead time of the system is 0.5ms, then the corrected count rate
is………
Answer: 21176 cpm

134. Your survey meter is indicating that the radiation level at a fixed point is 15µsv/hr, if you know that this
reading was displayed from 64 counts then the radiation level with 2 standard deviation is…….
Answer: 15±3.75 µSv/hr

135. The back ground was measured during for example 60mins and it was found 18000counts and when the
source was counted with the background during 10mins it give 10000 counts then the net count rate from
the source with third confidence level…….
Answer: 700±30.75 cpm

136. A sample was divided into two portions and was measured separately and the activity was found to be
21±2.8Bq and 32±10%Bq. Then the activity of the sample is…………
Answer: 53±4.35 Bq
137. A Cs source was counted in a certain geometrical configuration with n= 4x10-5 , then the C= 3600cpm,
then source activity is ? (f=0.851)
Answer: 47.67 µCi

138. The measured count rate is 12000cpm, if the counting system dead time is 400µsec, then the correct
count rate is……….
Answer: 13043 cpm

139. A sample was counted using a detector with radius 3cm located at a distance 70cm from the sample, if
the activity of this sample is 10mci and the efficiency of detector is 5x10-3 then the count rate in the detector
will be………..
Answer: 849.15 cps

140. The dead time of a system is 400µsec; and the measured counting rate is 30000cpm, ctr=?
Answer: 37500 cps

141. The stomach of an operator got 1rad, 2rad, 3 rad and 4rad from alpha particles, gamma rays, beta
particles and slow neutrons respectively, then the equivalent dose in stomach is.
Answer: 65 rem

142. In the previous problem the effective dose of stomach is…

Answer: 7.8 rem

143. One operator is getting for 4, 6, 8 and 10 msv in gonads, stomach, liver, and colon respectively the
effective dose for this operator is.
Answer: 3.14 mSv

144. A 1000 workers are subjected to 20msv each annually for 25 years, if the risk factor is equal to 5x10-2
per man.sv then the additional cancer disease among this group is………
Answer: 25 weeks

145. A radiation worker is working with radiation for 30years getting 20msv/year, if the risk factor is 5x10-2
/man.sv, then the probability of this by cancer due to this job is…
Answer: 0.03

146. A radiation worker can fulfill a job with a source standing 25cm from the source and then he will
consume 5min getting 200msv if this will be long handle so that the distance between him and source 1.5m
and the time will increase up to 10min, then his dose will be…..
Answer: 11.12 mSv

147. The gamma specific factor for Co 60 which is emitting photons with 1173kev and 1332kev is…
Answer: 0.356

148. An Americium Be neutron source of 4ci activity emitting 2x108 neutrons/sec, then the dose rate at 50cm
from the source is…..
Answer: 9408 µSv/hr

149. The beta dose rate of Cs-137 source with activity 16ci at a distance 40cm from the source is…
Answer: 3.15 Sv/hr

150. The dose rate of Cs-137 source with activity 16ci at a distance 40cm from the source is…
Answer: 0.32 Sv/hr

151. One injected of inhaled 0.6ALI

Answer: 12 mSv

152. One injected 5x105 Bq for radionuclide, ALI for which is 106 Bq
 Answer: 10 mSv

153. One inhaled 600DAC/hr then his dose..

Answer: ?

154. One operator injected 0.4ALI and inhaled 800 DAC hour, then the maximum external dose he may be
exposed in this year is….
Answer: 4 mSv

155. If the buildup factor =10, then the fraction of photons directly emitting from the source is …………….
And indirectly reaching is ………….
Answer: 1&9

156. If you know that the primary to secondary photons is 1:7, then build up factor is..
Answer: 8

157. If you know that the tenth value layer of concrete for cobalt energy is 20cm, then a thickness of 207cm
of this concrete will resist a transmission factor of…
Answer: 4.48/1011

158. If you know that the relaxation length is (0.693x/x/2 is 7) then the transmission factor is.
Answer: 9.12/104

159. It is necessary to reduce the dose rate at a certain point outside the accelerator from 107sv/hr to
0.2µsv/hr, use hvl=6cm concrete for this accelerator the require thickness of this concrete is…
Answer: 273 cm

160. In the previous problem, if you know that build up factor is 128 then the require thickness will be….
Answer: 315 cm

161. Suppose you have 70 ci. Ir.-192 source, after how many days it will be 10 MBq?
Answer: 3.6 Years

162. Calculate the true count rate of a sample if the observed count rate is 7000 counts/min and the dead
time is 300 µs and confidence level 2 σ
Answer: 7254±174 cpm
 
163. Build up factor = 6, Io = 20 mSv, HVL = 1.25 cm, X(thickness) = 17.5 cm I in µSv:
a) 1.22
b) 7.3
Answer: b

164. Source (Co-60 or Ir-192) emits 6000 photon/min (Gamma factor from table and it is not mention) what
is the dose rate at distance 0.5 mm?
Answer: 1.424x10-4 µSv/hr

165. An amount of 4x1017 atoms of Am-241, with a half-life time of 432 years. The activity of this amount is
about: in mci
Answer: 0.55 mCi

166. The measured activity of a radioactive source at a certain moment was found to be 3600000
dis/2minutes, if the half-life time of this source is 30 years. Then the activity of this source after 10 years is:
in KBq
Answer: 23.8 KBq
167. The activity of a sample of a radionuclide with 74 days half-life time is 6.66x1013 dis/min. at a certain
moment, then the activity of this sample 30 days earlier was about: in ci
Answer: 39.8 Ci

168. The measured counting rate of a given source was 15000 counts/minute. If the system dead time is 300
microseconds, then the real counting rate is:
Answer: 16216 cpm

169. A standard Cs-137 point source of activity 0.2mci activity is located 30cm from the sensitive scintillation
disc, with a circular area of, πcm2 . if the intrinsic efficiency of the disc is equal 6%, then the counting rate,
due to this source, in counts/min., will be:
Answer: 6300 cpm

170. The average dose rate at a certain point was measured by an accurate survey meter, during one minute,
and the number of counts registered by the detector was 25 counts/ minute. If this number was displayed as
a dose rate of 8µsv/h, the 2σ confidence level yields for the dose rate:
Answer: 8±3.2 µSv/hr

171. If the absorbed dose in a certain organ of a radiation worker, from neutrons with energy 14 Mev is 120
ergs/gm, then the equivalent dose in this organ is …….., and if the tissue weighting factor WT of this organ
is 0.12, then the effective dose is ………….:
Answer: 12 & 1.44

172. If you know that the specific gamma ray constant for Co-60 is 1.32 R.m2 /h.ci., then the effective dose
rate in SI unit, at a distance 0.5 m from an exposed Co-60 point source with activity 1.85x105 MBq, is about:
in msv/h.
Answer: 263.44 mSv/hr

173. An americium-beryllium neutron source with activity 5 Ci, emits 4.5x107 neutrons/sec., then the
equivalent dose rate at a distance 25 cm from the source, (in msv/h), will be about:
Answer: 8.5 mSv

174. The dose rate (in msv/h), arising from a thin beta source with activity 2 Ci, emitting beta particles with
max energy of 316 kev, at 0.4 m distance from the source, taking into consideration that 20% of the energy
is absorbed in the source and air, is about:
Answer: 203.5 mSv/hr

175. A radiation worker ingested 5x105 Bq of a radionuclide ALI of which is 2x106 Bq, and inhaled 800
DAC.h in the same year, then the max effective dose he may exposed to externally, during the same year is:
Answer: 7 mSv

176. A certain correction action can be carried out by a worker when he is standing at 25cm from a gamma
source, during 4 minutes, so that the incurred dose will be 150 mSv, if this worker will use a long handle, so
that the distance will be 2 m and the action will last for 10 minutes, then the incurred dose will be:
Answer: 5.85 mSv

177. The dose rate from a Co-60 source used for sterilization at certain point outside the sterilization hall is
100 Sv/h. to reduce this rate to 0.2µSv/h using concrete with a tenth value layer of 20 cm for this source,
then the required thickness of the concrete wall shall be about:
Answer: 173 cm
178. In the previous problem if the buildup factor is 64 then the required wall thickness shall be:
Answer: 210 cm

The end

Good luck