Evaluation of uncertainties in lung measurement of actinides due to non-uniform distribution of activity in lungs.

Various parameters can introduce uncertainties in the lung activity measurements of actinides. In this study, uncertainties due to non-uniform distribution of activity in the lungs are evaluated. To study the effect of non-uniform distribution, lungs of ICRP male thorax voxel and resized phantoms are divided into upper and lower parts of both right and left lungs as well as into anterior and posterior lung regions. Simulation of uniform and non-uniform distribution of activity in lungs is carried out using thorax voxel phantoms in FLUKA for Phoswich and an array of three HPGe detectors for 18-238keV photons. Source sampling for non-uniform distribution of activity is carried out by selecting the source points by varying the weightage to 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 1 in different parts of lungs. Uncertainties in lung activity estimation at different energies are quantified in the form of scattering factors (SFs) which are geometric standard deviations. The SFs due to non-uniform distribution of activity of the order of 0.4-0.6 in different parts of the lungs are found to be ~ 1.25 for Phoswich and HPGe array detectors above 18keV.

METHODOLOGY FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF INGESTED ACTINIDES FROM MONTE CARLO SIMULATION OF VOXEL PHANTOM.

In case of internal contamination of actinides by ingestion pathway, activity will be transferred to various regions of the alimentary tract over a period of time. In this article, counting efficiencies (CEs) of Phoswich and an array of HPGe detectors are estimated for source in alimentary tract of voxel phantom. The phantom as well as Phoswich, and an array of three HPGe detectors are incorporated in Monte Carlo code 'FLUKA'. Human alimentary tract model is solved using default parameters to identify different compartments where activity will accumulate after an ingestion intake of 1 Bq as a function of time. Accordingly, CEs are evaluated on 0.5-5 d post ingestion intake for the source distributed in the contents of alimentary tract for photon energies in 18-238 keV range representing sources of actinides. The assessment of ingested activity of actinides from abdomen measurements is discussed. Higher CEs are observed with Phoswich detector compared with HPGe array due to its large size and high effective Z. Also, the CEs observed on Days 1-5 using both the detectors are found to decrease by 16-75 % with respect to the CE on half day. Thus, there is need to use CEs according to the observed activity distribution post ingestion intake. The contribution in the abdomen measurements due to source in the lungs and vice versa is also studied for intake by both inhalation and ingestion pathways. The contribution of source in the liver is found to be ∼30-50 % in chest and 75 % in abdomen measurements.

Applying a low energy HPGe detector gamma ray spectrometric technique for the evaluation of Pu/Am ratio in biological samples.

The estimation of Pu/(241)Am ratio in the biological samples is an important input for the assessment of internal dose received by the workers. The radiochemical separation of Pu isotopes and (241)Am in a sample followed by alpha spectrometry is a widely used technique for the determination of Pu/(241)Am ratio. However, this method is time consuming and many times quick estimation is required. In this work, Pu/(241)Am ratio in the biological sample was estimated with HPGe detector based measurements using gamma/X-rays emitted by these radionuclides. These results were compared with those obtained from alpha spectroscopy of sample after radiochemical analysis and found to be in good agreement.

Assessment of uncertainties in the lung activity measurement of low-energy photon emitters using Monte Carlo simulation of ICRP male thorax voxel phantom.

Assessment of intake due to long-lived actinides by inhalation pathway is carried out by lung monitoring of the radiation workers inside totally shielded steel room using sensitive detection systems such as Phoswich and an array of HPGe detectors. In this paper, uncertainties in the lung activity estimation due to positional errors, chest wall thickness (CWT) and detector background variation are evaluated. First, calibration factors (CFs) of Phoswich and an array of three HPGe detectors are estimated by incorporating ICRP male thorax voxel phantom and detectors in Monte Carlo code 'FLUKA'. CFs are estimated for the uniform source distribution in lungs of the phantom for various photon energies. The variation in the CFs for positional errors of ±0.5, 1 and 1.5 cm in horizontal and vertical direction along the chest are studied. The positional errors are also evaluated by resizing the voxel phantom. Combined uncertainties are estimated at different energies using the uncertainties due to CWT, detector positioning, detector background variation of an uncontaminated adult person and counting statistics in the form of scattering factors (SFs). SFs are found to decrease with increase in energy. With HPGe array, highest SF of 1.84 is found at 18 keV. It reduces to 1.36 at 238 keV.

Validation of the TRMM Multi Satellite Rainfall Product 3B42 and estimation of scavenging coefficients for (131)I and (137)Cs using TRMM 3B42 rainfall data.

The TRMM rainfall product 3B42 is compared with rain gauge observations for Kaiga, India on monthly and seasonal time scales. This comparison is carried out for the years 2004-2007 spanning four monsoon seasons. A good correlation is obtained between the two data sets however; magnitude wise, the cumulative precipitation of the satellite product on monthly and seasonal time scales is deficient by almost 33-40% as compared to the rain gauge data. The satellite product is also compared with APHRODITE's Monsoon Asia data set on the same time scales. This comparison indicates a much better agreement since both these data sets represent an average precipitation over the same area. The scavenging coefficients for (131)I and (137)Cs are estimated using TRMM 3B42, rain gauge and APHRODITE data. The values obtained using TRMM 3B42 rainfall data compare very well with those obtained using rain gauge and APHRODITE data.

Monte Carlo simulation of skull and knee voxel phantoms for the assessment of skeletal burden of low-energy photon emitters.

In case of internal contamination due to long-lived actinides by inhalation or injection pathway, a major portion of activity will be deposited in the skeleton and liver over a period of time. In this study, calibration factors (CFs) of Phoswich and an array of HPGe detectors are estimated using skull and knee voxel phantoms. These phantoms are generated from International Commission of Radiation Protection reference male voxel phantom. The phantoms as well as 20 cm diameter phoswich, having 1.2 cm thick NaI (Tl) primary and 5cm thick CsI (Tl) secondary detector and an array of three HPGe detectors (each of diameter of 7 cm and thickness of 2.5 cm) are incorporated in Monte Carlo code 'FLUKA'. Biokinetic models of Pu, Am, U and Th are solved using default parameters to identify different parts of the skeleton where activity will accumulate after an inhalation intake of 1 Bq. Accordingly, CFs are evaluated for the uniform source distribution in trabecular bone and bone marrow (TBBM), cortical bone (CB) as well as in both TBBM and CB regions for photon energies of 18, 60, 63, 74, 93, 185 and 238 keV describing sources of (239)Pu, (241)Am, (238)U, (235)U and (232)Th. The CFs are also evaluated for non-uniform distribution of activity in TBBM and CB regions. The variation in the CFs for source distributed in different regions of the bones is studied. The assessment of skeletal activity of actinides from skull and knee activity measurements is discussed along with the errors.

Concentration of 3H in ground water and estimation of committed effective dose due to ground water ingestion in some places in the Maharashtra state, India.

The measurement of tritium in environmental samples requires highest possible sensitivity. In the present study, the authors have optimised the counting window for the analysis of (3)H in environmental samples using the recently installed Ultra Low Level Quantulus 1220 Liquid Scintillation Counting at BARC to improve the detection limit of the system. The optimised counting window corresponding to the highest figure of merit of 883.8 was found to be 20-162 channels. Different brands of packaged drinking waters were analysed to select a blank that would define the system background. The minimum detectable activity (MDA) achieved was 1.5 Bq l(-1) for a total counting time of 500 min. The concentration of tritium in well and bore well water samples collected from the villages of Pune, villages located at 1.8 km from Tarapur Atomic Power Station, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri, was analysed. The activity concentration ranged from 0.55 to 3.66 Bq l(-1). The associated age-dependant dose from water ingestion in the study area was estimated. The effective committed dose recorded for different age classes is negligible compared with World Health Organization and US Environmental Protection Agency dose guidelines.

Study on enhanced atmospheric dispersion of 41Ar at the Trombay site.

An extensive study has been carried out within the site of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, for examining the atmospheric dispersion of (41)Ar released from research reactors. The release rate, release height, meteorological parameters and geographical information were used to establish correlation between theoretical estimation using Gaussian plume dispersion model (GPDM) and dose/dose rate data obtained from Gammatracers (GTs). Ten monitoring locations were selected in five sectors and at different downwind distances from the release point. Analysis of dose rate data shows that the maximum dose rate (7.19 µSv h(-1)) and the total annual dose (1051 µSv) were observed at a downwind distance of 0.36 km. Average dose rates of all monitoring locations were varying from 0.03±0.02 to 0.12±0.07 µSv h(-1). The average dose rate increases at the monitoring locations placed at N to NE sectors during monsoon, and for monitoring locations placed at SW and SSE sectors during winter. The maximum dose rates, monthly and annual doses recorded by GT, have been compared with predicted values. Most of the locations show statistically significant coherence in the case of monthly dose.