ABSTRACT
Based on the recommendations issued by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), equivalent doses and effective doses for different ages are obtained for external neutron sources. The calculations at 28 neutron energies from 1 x 10(-9) MeV to 20 MeV are carried out for six irradiation geometries: AP, PA, RLAT, LLAT, ROT and ISO. An age-dependent anthropomorphic mathematical phantom series of six age groups: newborn, 1, 5, 10, 15 years old and adult is used with the Monte Carlo computer code MCNP for the dose evaluations. The results for adults are compared with those in ICRP Publication 74 and are in good agreement. At low energies the effective doses increase as the phantom age increases, but at high energics they decrease with increasing age for the AP, PA, ROT and ISO irradiation geometries. In the whole energy region the effective doses decrease as the phantom age increases for the RLAT and LLAT irradiation geometries. The age-dependent equivalent doses behave similarly to the effective doses, with some exceptions caused by the influence of the organ position.
Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Colon/physiology , Liver/physiology , Models, Biological , Neutrons , Radiation Protection/methods , Radiometry/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Body Burden , Child , Child, Preschool , Computer Simulation , Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Organ Specificity , Radiation Dosage , Radiation Protection/standards , Radiometry/standards , Relative Biological Effectiveness , Whole-Body Counting/methods , Whole-Body Counting/standards , Whole-Body Irradiation/methodsABSTRACT
The age-dependent conversion coefficients of the protection quantities, the equivalent dose and the effective dose defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), are obtained. A Monte Carlo computer code and the age-dependent hermaphrodite mathematical phantoms of six age groups: newborn, 1, 5, 10, 15 years old and adult are used for the evaluation. Twenty-three photon source energies from 10 keV to 10 MeV and six kinds of irradiation geometries: AP, PA, RLAT, LLAT, ROT, and ISO are chosen in the calculation. The evaluated conversion coefficients for the adult are compared with those in ICRP Publication 74 with good agreement. The conversion coefficients of the equivalent dose and the effective dose increase while the age of the phantom decreases, but with some exceptions for the AP irradiation geometry under certain conditions.
