ABSTRACT
Potassium-40 constitutes the main natural source of potassium present in the body, which influences the effective dose received by people. With the aim of assessing the contribution of this component to the doses received by the Cuban population, a study intended to assess the doses was developed. For this purpose, a representative sample of the Cuban population was selected according to age and sex. The measurements were made using the whole-body counter (WBC) of the Center for Radiation Protection and Hygiene (CPHR). For dose estimations, a uniform distribution of potassium for the whole body was assumed. The methodology used was the one recommended by the ICRP. The values of annual effective dose range between 93 and 209 microSv for females and between 123 and 212 microSv for males. The annual average effective dose for members of the public was estimated as 150 +/- 40 microSv, taking into account the experimental data and the specific features of the Cuban population. With the dose values obtained, it was possible to model dose estimates by means of a neural network, which was trained with the results obtained and using as starting data the sex, age, height and corporal weight of people studied. The modelobtained allows consideration of the anatomical features of each person in the estimation of doses.
Subject(s)
Environmental Exposure/analysis , Environmental Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Models, Biological , Neural Networks, Computer , Potassium Radioisotopes/analysis , Potassium Radioisotopes/pharmacokinetics , Risk Assessment/methods , Whole-Body Counting/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Aged , Algorithms , Body Burden , Child , Child, Preschool , Computer Simulation , Cuba/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , Models, Statistical , Radiation Dosage , Relative Biological Effectiveness , Sample Size , Sex DistributionABSTRACT
The results are described of the study carried out with the aim of assessing doses received by the Cuban population due to the external exposure to environmental radiation sources. Contributions of cosmic radiation's ionising and indirectly ionising components to these doses, as well as the fraction resulting from terrestrial radiation, were also assessed as part of this study. Measurements made enabled us to estimate representative effective average doses received by the Cuban population from external exposure to cosmic and terrestrial radiation. Both outdoor and indoor permanency were taken into account for this estimate as well as the distribution of the Cuban population by altitude. The average representative dose due to cosmic radiation was estimated to be 298 +/- 17 microSv per year, while the dose received by terrestrial radiation represented 180 +/- 14 microSv per year, for a total annual dose of 78 +/- 20 microSv. These values are within the range of those reported throughout the world by other authors.
