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Purpose: During extended missions into deep space, astronauts will be exposed to a complex radiation field that includes high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation from high energy, heavy ions (HZE particles) at low dose rates of about 0.5 mGy/d for long durations. About 20% of the dose is delivered by ions with LET greater than 10 keV/ µ m. There are sparse empirical data in any species for carcinogenic effects from whole-body exposures to external sources of mixed or high LET radiation at this level of dose rates. For the induction of solid tumors, acute exposures to HZE ions have been shown to be substantially more effective per unit dose than low LET exposures associated with photons. To determine the health effects of high LET radiation at space-relevant dose rates on experimental animals, we developed a vivarium in which rodents could be irradiated with Californium ( 252 Cf) neutrons for protracted periods of time., Materials and Methods: The neutron source is a panoramic irradiator containing 252 Cf located in a concrete shielded vault with a footprint of 53 m 2 . The vault can accommodate sufficient caging to simultaneously irradiate 900 mice and 60 rats for durations up to 400 d at a dose rate of 1 mGy/d and is approved for extended animal husbandry., Results: The mixed field fluence is a combination of neutrons and photons emitted directly from the source and scattered particles from the concrete walls and floor. Mixed field dosimetry was performed using a miniature GM counter and CaF 2 :Dy thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) for photons and tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPC) for neutrons. TEPC data provided macroscopic dose rates as well as measurements of radiation quality based on lineal energy, y, and LET. The instantaneous dose rate from the source decreases with a half-life of 2.6 years. The exposure time is adjusted weekly to yield a total dose 1 mGy/d. The photon contribution is 20% of the total dose. The uncertainty in the delivered dose is estimated to be ±20% taking into account spatial variations in the room and random position of mice in each cage. The dose averaged LET for the charged particle recoil nuclei is 68 keV/ µ ., Conclusions: We have developed a facility to perform high LET studies in mice and rats at space relevant dose rates and career-relevant doses using neutrons emitted from the spontaneous fission of 252 Cf.

As NASA prepares for a mission to Mars, concerns regarding the health risks associated with deep space radiation exposure have emerged. Until now, the impacts of such exposures have only been studied in animals after acute exposures, using dose rates ∼1.5×10 5 higher than those actually encountered in space. Using a new, low dose-rate neutron irradiation facility, we have uncovered that realistic, low dose-rate exposures produce serious neurocognitive complications associated with impaired neurotransmission. Chronic (6 month) low-dose (18 cGy) and dose rate (1 mGy/d) exposures of mice to a mixed field of neutrons and photons result in diminished hippocampal neuronal excitability and disrupted hippocampal and cortical long-term potentiation. Furthermore, mice displayed severe impairments in learning and memory, and the emergence of distress behaviors. Behavioral analyses showed an alarming increase in risk associated with these realistic simulations, revealing for the first time, some unexpected potential problems associated with deep space travel on all levels of neurological function., (Copyright © 2019 Acharya et al.)

Measurements of the incident fluence of HZE particles, as a function of LET, are used to determine absorbed dose as well as Quality Factors for assigning risk estimates to astronauts during manned space missions. These data are often based on thin solid state detectors that measure energy deposition, dE, and the assumption that the trajectory of the particle, dx, is equivalent to the thickness of the detector. Heavy ions often fragment while penetrating shielding materials in vehicles or habitats. Projectile fragments can be clustered spatially and temporally at the location of the thin detector which are then misclassified as a single particle. Eliminating the confounding effects of coincident events is the first step in extending the reach of flight instruments to identify the charge and velocity of individual particles. Identification of individual particles, in a fragmentation spectrum, will require that detection systems have sufficient segmentation to eliminate coincident events. The objective of this study was to reduce coincident events while avoiding over-design and complexity. Monte Carlo simulations, using Geant4, were performed for 4 He, 12 C, 28 Si and 56 Fe ions at energies of 300, 900 and 2400 MeV/n incident upon aluminum shields having areal densities of 5.4, 13.5, and 54 g/cm 2 . The identity, energy and spatial distribution of all particles downstream from the shielding were analyzed using a novel approach based on proximity distributions. Results indicated that pixel dimensions on the order of 1 mm were sufficient to reduce errors caused by coincident events for active space radiation detectors., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Advanced imaging technologies (AIT) are being developed for passenger airline transportation. They are designed to provide enhanced security benefits by identifying objects on passengers that would not be detected by methodologies now used for routine surveillance. X-ray backscatter imaging is one AIT system being considered. Since this technology is based on scanning passengers with ionizing radiation, concern has been raised relating to the health risks associated with these exposures. Recommendations for standards of radiation safety have been proposed by the American National Standards Institute published in ANSI/HPS N43.17-2009. A Monte Carlo based methodology for estimating organ doses received from an X-ray backscatter AIT system is presented. Radiological properties of a reference scanner including beam intensity, geometry and energy spectra were modeled based on previous studies and physical measurements. These parameters were incorporated into a Monte Carlo source subroutine and validated with comparison of simulated versus measured data. One extension of this study was to calculate organ and effective dose on a wide range of potential passengers. Computational phantoms with realistic morphologies were used including adults of 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentile weight, children of 5th, 50th and 95th percentile weight, and the developing fetus of 15, 25, and 38 weeks after conception. Additional sensitivity studies were performed to evaluate effects of passenger positioning within the scanner, energy spectrum and beam geometry, as well as failure mode analyses. Results for routine operations yielded a maximum effective dose to the adult and pediatric passengers of 15 and 25 nSv per screen, respectively. The developing fetus received a maximum organ dose and whole body dose of 16 nGy and 8.5 nGy per screen, respectively. The sensitivity analyses indicated that variations in positioning, energy spectra, and beam geometry yielded a range of effective doses per screen that were an order of magnitude below the ANSI recommendation.

Most accelerator-based space radiation experiments have been performed with single ion beams at fixed energies. However, the space radiation environment consists of a wide variety of ion species with a continuous range of energies. Due to recent developments in beam switching technology implemented at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), it is now possible to rapidly switch ion species and energies, allowing for the possibility to more realistically simulate the actual radiation environment found in space. The present paper discusses a variety of issues related to implementation of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) simulation at NSRL, especially for experiments in radiobiology. Advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to developing a GCR simulator are presented. In addition, issues common to both GCR simulation and single beam experiments are compared to issues unique to GCR simulation studies. A set of conclusions is presented as well as a discussion of the technical implementation of GCR simulation., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

In order to define the ranges of relevant neutron energies for the purposes of measurement and dosimetry in space, we have performed a series of Monte Carlo transport model calculations that predict the neutron field created by Galactic Cosmic Ray interactions inside a variety of simple shielding configurations. These predictions indicate that a significant fraction of the neutron fluence and neutron effective dose lies in the region above 20 MeV up to several hundred MeV. These results are consistent over thicknesses of shielding that range from very thin (2.7 g/cm(2)) to thick (54 g/cm(2)), and over both shielding materials considered (aluminum and water). In addition to these results, we have also investigated whether simplified Galactic Cosmic Ray source terms can yield predictions that are equivalent to simulations run with a full GCR source term. We found that a source using a GCR proton and helium spectrum together with a scaled oxygen spectrum yielded nearly identical results to a full GCR spectrum, and that the scaling factor used for the oxygen spectrum was independent of shielding material and thickness. Good results were also obtained using a GCR proton spectrum together with a scaled helium spectrum, with the helium scaling factor also independent of shielding material and thickness. Using a proton spectrum alone was unable to reproduce the full GCR results., (Copyright © 2015 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Effects on human health from the complex radiation environment in deep space have not been measured and can only be simulated here on Earth using experimental systems and beams of radiations produced by accelerators, usually one beam at a time. This makes it particularly important to develop instruments that can be used on deep-space missions to measure quantities that are known to be relatable to the biological effectiveness of space radiation. Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) are such instruments. Unfortunately, present TEPCs are too large and power intensive to be used beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). Here, the authors describe a prototype of a compact TEPC designed for deep space applications with the capability to detect both ambient galactic cosmic rays and intense solar particle event radiation. The device employs an approach that permits real-time determination of yD (and thus quality factor) using a single detector. This was accomplished by assigning sequential sampling intervals as detectors “1” and “2” and requiring the intervals to be brief compared to the change in dose rate. Tests with g rays show that the prototype instrument maintains linear response over the wide dose-rate range expected in space with an accuracy of better than 5% for dose rates above 3 mGy h(-1). Measurements of yD for 200 MeV n(-1) carbon ions were better than 10%. Limited tests with fission spectrum neutrons show absorbed dose-rate accuracy better than 15%.

Microdosimetric spectra of single event distributions have been used to provide estimates of quality factors for radiation protection of high-LET radiation. In situations with high-dose rates it becomes difficult to measure, record and store energy deposition from single events. An alternative approach is to store random energy deposition events in a sequence of fixed time intervals that does not require identifying from single events. This can be accomplished with a single detector without pulse height analysis. We show the development of the algorithm using expectation analysis of the statistical estimators for moments of lineal energy: ȳf and ȳD. The method was tested using Monte Carlo simulations based on single event distributions measured with spherical tissue equivalent proportional counters where the event sizes spanned more than two orders of magnitude. The evaluation included testing at various mean numbers of events per interval (i.e., dose rate) and numbers of intervals (i.e., total duration). Results of the expectation analysis and Monte Carlo simulation showed that the algorithm corrects for the excess dispersion due to the random number of events in each time interval when the underlying dose rate is constant. It also converges to the correct value when there is a linear trend in dose rate of the duration of the measurement process. Although this system is not applicable for pulsed radiation fields it proved to be robust when applied to measured distributions with single event spectra (PuBe neutrons, Fe ions at 1,000 MeV/nucleon and a power function distribution of single event sizes) with a coefficient of variation of 25% for estimates of ȳD using 100 sampling intervals and 10% using 400 sampling intervals.

NASA has derived new models for radiological risk assessment based on epidemiological data and radiation biology including differences in Relative Biological Effectiveness for leukemia and solid tumors. Comprehensive approaches were used to develop new risk cross sections and the extension of these into recommendations for risk assessment during space missions. The methodology relies on published data generated and the extensive research initiative managed by the NASA Human Research Program (HRP) and reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences. This resulted in recommendations for revised specifications of quality factors, QNASA(Z,β) in terms of track structure concepts that extend beyond LET alone. The new paradigm for quality factors placed demands on radiation monitoring procedures that are not satisfied by existing dosimetry systems or particle spectrometers that are practical for space exploration where mass, volume, band width and power consumption are highly constrained. We have proposed a new definition of quality factors that relaxes the requirements for identifying charge, Z, and velocity, β, of the incident radiation while still preserving the functional form of the inherent risk functions. The departure from the exact description of QNASA(Z,β) is that the revised values are new functions of LET for solid cancers and leukemia. We present the motivation and process for developing the revised quality factors. We describe results of extensive simulations using GCR distributions in free space as well as the resulting spectra of primary and secondary particles behind aluminum shields and penetration through water. In all cases the revised dose averaged quality factors agreed with those based on the values obtained using QNASA(Z,β). This provides confidence that emerging technologies for space radiation dosimetry can provide real time measurements of dose and dose equivalent while satisfying constraints on size, mass, power and bandwidth. The revised quality factors are sufficiently generalized to be applicable to radiation protection practices beyond space exploration., (Copyright © 2014 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ionizing radiation causes many types of DNA damage, including base damage and single- and double-strand breaks. Photons, including X-rays and γ-rays, are the most widely used type of ionizing radiation in radiobiology experiments, and in radiation cancer therapy. Charged particles, including protons and carbon ions, are seeing increased use as an alternative therapeutic modality. Although the facilities needed to produce high energy charged particle beams are more costly than photon facilities, particle therapy has shown improved cancer survival rates, reflecting more highly focused dose distributions and more severe DNA damage to tumor cells. Despite early successes of charged particle radiotherapy, there is room for further improvement, and much remains to be learned about normal and cancer cell responses to charged particle radiation., (2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Skyshine radiation scattered in the atmosphere above a radiation therapy accelerator facility can result in measurable dose rates at locations near the facility on the ground and at roof level. A Reuter Stokes RSS-120 pressurized ion chamber was used to measure exposure rates in the vicinity of a Varian Trilogy Linear Accelerator at the Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center. The linear accelerator was used to deliver bremsstrahlung photons from 6 MeV and 10 MeV electron beams with several combinations of field sizes and gantry angles. An equation for modeling skyshine radiation in the vicinity of medical accelerators was published by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements in 2005. However, this model did not provide a good fit to the observed dose rates at ground level or on the roof. A more accurate method of estimating skyshine may be to measure the exposure rate of the radiation exiting the roof of the facility and to scale the results using the graphs presented in this paper.

Since deletion of the PU.1 gene on chromosome 2 is a crucial acute myeloid leukemia (AML) initiating step in the mouse model, we quantified PU.1 deleted cells in the bone marrow of gamma-, X- and 56Fe-ion-irradiated mice at various times postirradiation. Although 56Fe ions were initially some two to three times more effective than X or gamma rays in inducing PU.1 deletions, by 1 month postirradiation, the proportions of cells with PU.1 deletions were similar for the HZE particles and the sparsely ionizing radiations. These results indicate that while 56Fe ions are more effective in inducing PU.1 deletions, they are also more effective in causing collateral damage that removes hit cells from the bone marrow. After X, gamma or 56Fe-ion irradiation, AML-resistant C57BL/6 mice have fewer cells with PU.1 deletions than CBA mice, and those cells do not persist in the bone marrow of the C57B6/6 mice. Our findings suggest that quantification of PU.1 deleted bone marrow cells 1 month postirradiation can be used as surrogate for the incidence of radiation-induced AML measured in large-scale mouse studies. If so, PU.1 loss could be used to systematically assess the potential leukemogenic effects of other ions and energies in the space radiation environment.

Chromosome aberrations in mitotic bone marrow cells of CBA/Ca and C57BL/6 mice were measured 1 day after exposure to 1 Gy of 1 GeV/nucleon 56Fe ions or 3 Gy of gamma rays. The proportion that have lost a region of chromosome 2 containing the PU.1 gene could be explained by a model based on these measurements. The distribution of aberrations among cells was close to the expected Poisson for the gamma-irradiated cells, but for the HZE 56Fe ions the distribution was highly dispersed. The observations were consistent with the results of an analysis similar to that of Edwards and co-workers in 1980 after ex vivo irradiation of human blood with alpha particles. The analysis used to fit the current data was based on a compound Poisson process, also used previously by others, but in addition included the random nature of parameters involved such as cell nuclear diameter, particle traversal lengths through cell nuclei, production of aberrations, and cell cycle arrest per traversal. From the measured numbers of acentric fragments produced, the relative size of chromosome 2 and the region associated with PU.1 deletions, an independent prediction of PU.1 loss agreed well with measurements described in the accompanying paper.

Monte Carlo simulations of heavy ion interactions using the Geant4 toolkit were compared with measurements of energy deposition in a spherical tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC). A spherical cavity with a physical diameter of 12.7 mm was filled with propane-based tissue-equivalent gas surrounded by a wall of A-150 tissue-equivalent plastic that was 2.54 mm to thick. Measurements and Monte Carlo simulations were used to record the energy deposition and the trajectory of the incident particle on an event-by-event basis for ions ranging in atomic number from 2 ((4)He) to 26 ((56)Fe) and in energy from 200 MeV/nucleon to 1000 MeV/nucleon. In the simulations, tracking of secondary electrons was terminated when the range of an electron was below a specified threshold. The effects of range cuts for electrons at 0.5 μm, 1 μm, 10 μm, and 100 μm were evaluated. To simulate an energy deposition influenced by large numbers of low energy electrons with large transverse momentum, it was necessary to track electrons down to range cuts of 10 μm or less. The Geant4 simulated data closely matched the measured data acquired using a TEPC for incident particles traversing the center of the detector as well as near the gas-wall interface. Values of frequency mean lineal energy and dose mean lineal energy were within 8% of the measured data. The production of secondary particles in the aluminum vacuum chamber had no effect on the response of the TEPC for (56)Fe at 1000 MeV/nucleon. The results of this study confirm that Geant4 can simulate patterns of energy deposition for existing microdosimeters and is valuable for improving the design of a new generation of detectors used for space dosimetry and for characterizing particle beams used in hadron radiotherapy.

A tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) has been used as a dosimeter in mixed radiation fields. Since it does not measure LET directly, the response function must be characterized in order to estimate quality factor and thus equivalent dose for the incident radiation. The objectives of this study were to measure the response of a spherical TEPC for different high-energy heavy ions (HZE) having similar velocity and to determine how quality factors can be determined. Data were obtained at the HIMAC heavy ion accelerator for (4)He and (12)C at 220 +/- 5 MeV/nucleon (beta = 0.59) and (12)C, (16)O, (28)Si and (56)Fe at 376 +/- 15 MeV/nucleon (beta = 0.70). A particle spectrometer recorded the charge and position of each incident beam particle. Events with low energy deposition were observed for particles that passed through the wall of the TEPC but not through the sensitive volume. The frequency averaged lineal energy, y(f), was always less than the LET of the incident particles. The dose averaged lineal energy, y(D), was approximately equal to LET for particles with LET greater than 10 keV/mum, whereas y(D) was larger than LET for the lighter particles with lower LET. Part of this effect is due to detector resolution and energy straggling that increases the variance of the response function. Although the TEPC is not a LET spectrometer, it can provide real time measurements of dose and provide estimates of quality factors for HZE particles using averaged values of lineal energy.

Experiments have been performed to measure the response of a spherical tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) and a silicon-based LET spectrometer (RRMD-III) to protons with energies ranging from 50-200 MeV. This represents a large portion of the energy distribution for trapped protons encountered by astronauts in low-Earth orbit. The beam energies were obtained using plastic polycarbonate degraders with a monoenergetic beam that was extracted from a proton synchrotron. The LET spectrometer provided excellent agreement with the expected LET distribution emerging from the energy degraders. The TEPC cannot measure the LET distribution directly. However, the frequency mean value of lineal energy, y(-)(f), provided a good approximation to LET. This is in contrast to previous results for high-energy heavy ions where y(-)(f) underestimated LET, whereas the dose-averaged lineal energy, y(-)(D), provided a good approximation to LET.

The response of a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) to different ions having a similar linear energy transfer (LET) has been studied. Three ions, 14N, 20Ne and 28Si, were investigated using the HIMAC accelerator at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences at Chiba, Japan. The calculated linear energy transfer (LET( infinity )) of all ions was 44 +/- 2 keV/microm at the sensitive volume of the TEPC. A particle spectrometer was used to record the charge and position of each incident beam particle. This enabled reconstruction of the location of the track as it passed though the TEPC and ensured that the particle survived without fragmentation. The spectrum of energy deposition events in the TEPC could be evaluated as a function of trajectory through the TEPC. The data indicated that there are many events from particles that did not pass through the sensitive volume. The fraction of these events increased as the energy of the particle increased due to changes in the maximum energy of the delta rays. Even though the LET of the incident particles was nearly identical, the frequency-averaged lineal energy, y(F), as well as the dose-averaged lineal energy, y(D), varied with the velocity of the incident particle. However, both values were within 15% of LET in all cases.

The work reported here was originally motivated by a discussion of Monte Carlo computer codes for electron transport in water given in Report No. 130 by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). It was pointed out (correctly) that a published depth-dose distribution calculated by the Oak Ridge electron transport code, OREC, for 800 keV electrons normally incident on a water slab was apparently in error, possibly due to inadequate treatment of elastic scattering. In this paper we describe the replacement of the original OREC elastic cross sections by current ones from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This investigation led also to the critical examination and revision of some other parts of the program, as described here. The revised code, which we have renamed NOREC, represents the first substantial review and modification of the Oak Ridge code in a number of years. We also present some comparisons of results calculated with the old and new versions and discuss their implications with respect to earlier studies. We have also written a version of NOREC in C++ language, which is available to other investigators. This paper provides a record of a response to the NCRP published statement and documentation for the revised code, NOREC.

The radiation environment on board the space shuttle and the International Space Station includes high-Z and high-energy (HZE) particles that are part of the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) spectrum. Iron-56 particles are considered to be one of the most biologically important parts of the GCR spectrum. Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) are used as active dosimeters on manned space flights. These TEPCs are further used to determine the average quality factor for each space mission. A TEPC simulating a 1-microm-diameter sphere of tissue was exposed as part of a particle spectrometer to (56)Fe particles at energies from 200-1000 MeV/nucleon. The response of TEPCs in terms of mean lineal energy, y(F), and dose mean lineal energy, y(D), as well as the energy deposited at different impact parameters through the detector was determined for six different incident energies of (56)Fe particles in this energy range. Calculations determined that charged-particle equilibrium was achieved for each of the six experiments. Energy depositions at different impact parameters were calculated using a radial dose distribution model, and the results were compared to experimental data.

A concept of a mean or dose averaged quality factor was defined in ICRP Publication 26 using relationships for quality factor as a function of LET. The concept of radiation weighting factors, wR, was introduced in ICRP Publication 60 in 1990. These are meant to be generalized factors that modify absorbed dose to reflect the risk of stochastic effects as a function of the quality of the radiation incident on the body or emitted by radioactivity within the body. The values of wr are equal to 20 for all alpha particles externally or internally emitted. This note compares the dose averaged quality factor for alpha particles originating in tissue using the old and revised recommendations for quality factor as a function of LET. The dose averaged quality factor never exceeds 20 using the old recommendations and is never less than 20 with the revised recommendations.

Determinations of the LET distribution, phi(L), of charged particles within a spacecraft in low-Earth orbit have been made. One method used a cylindrical tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC), with the assumption that for each measured event, lineal energy, y, is equal to LET and thus phi(L) = phi(y). The other was based on the direct measurement of LETs for individual particles using a charged-particle telescope consisting of position-sensitive silicon detectors called RRMD-III. There were differences of up to a factor of 10 between estimates of phi(L) using the two methods on the same mission. This caused estimates of quality factor to vary by a factor of two between the two methods.

We have developed a method for determining the leakage of 133Xe gas from septum-sealed glass vials that are supplied for medical examinations. Twenty vials each originally containing 370 MBq of 133Xe and 20 vials each originally containing 740 MBq 133Xe were measured daily for 26 d. Retention of 133Xe within the vial was modeled as a first order process with a constant rate coefficient, lambdaT. The value of lambdaT was estimated for each vial using a regression analysis. The leakage rate, lambdaL, was then determined assuming that lambdaT = lambdaL + lambda(r) where lambda(r) represents the physical decay of 133Xe. Monte Carlo simulations were performed using uncertainties in the estimates of each vial to obtain the mean and tails of the distribution for the average leakage rate, lambdaL. The average leakage rate for the complete sample of vials was 0.00007 d(-1) with an upper, one-sided, 95% confidence limit of 0.0011 d(-1). Uncertainties in the published values of lambda(r) for 133Xe made a significant contribution to the uncertainties of the leakage rate for this sample of vials. The methods described can be applied to other situations where leakage of radioactive materials may be of concern.

Measurements were made of 222Rn concentrations outdoors in Ft. Collins, Colorado, using a continuously sampling scintillation flask between January 1993 and December 1995. These data were analyzed for hourly, daily, and seasonal variations. The average 222Rn concentration at 1 m above the ground was 18 +/- 10 Bq m(-3) with a geometric mean of 15 Bq m(-3) and a geometric standard deviation of 1.7. Hourly averaged data indicated a diurnal pattern with the outdoor 222Rn concentration reaching a maximum in the early morning between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. and a broad minimum between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon. An analysis also indicated that the outdoor 222Rn concentrations were consistently lowest during the spring (March and April) and highest during the late summer (July-September).

This study was designed to investigate the influence of the volume irradiated on the probability of ureteral complications and to provide data for volume modeling. One hundred thirty-four purpose-bred beagle dogs received single intraoperative doses of 6 MeV electrons ranging from 12 to 54 Gy to three lengths of ureter: 2, 4 or 8 cm. The response was evaluated by excretory urography. The ED50 was 21.9 Gy (95% CI 13.3-30 Gy) for 8 cm 3 years after treatment. The estimated ED50's were greater than 43 Gy for 4 cm and 85 Gy for 2 cm. Reducing the length of ureter irradiated from 8 cm to 4 cm increased the ED50 for ureteral dilation by at least a factor of 2, while reduction from 8 cm to 2 cm increased the ED50 by at least a factor of 4. The ED50 for renal injury secondary to stenosis was 30.5 Gy (95% CI 17.2-232 Gy) when an 8-cm field was irradiated. There was a significant effect of volume irradiated on the frequency of ureteral stenosis. Reducing the length of ureter included in the treatment field should allow delivery of higher doses to tumors without increased complications.

Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) have been used to measure energy deposition in simulated volumes of tissue ranging in diameter from 0.1 to 10 microm. There has been some concern that the wall used to define the volume of interest could influence energy deposition within the sensitive volume because it has a density significantly greater than that of the cavity gas. These effects become important for high-velocity heavy ions. Measurements of energy deposition were made for 1 GeV/nucleon iron particles in a TEPC simulating a 1-microm-diameter sphere of tissue. The TEPC was nested within a particle spectrometer that provided identification and flight path of individual particles. Energy deposition was studied as a function of pathlength through the TEPC. Approximately 30% of the energy transfer along trajectories through the center of the detector escapes the sensitive volume. The response of the TEPC, for trajectories through the detector, is always larger than calculations for energy loss in a homogeneous medium. This enhancement is greatest for trajectories near the cavity/wall interface. An integration of the response indicates that charged-particle equilibrium is essentially achieved for a wall thickness of 2.54 mm. However, estimates of the linear energy transfer for the incident particles are influenced by these wall effects.

Purpose: Late radiation injury to peripheral nerve may be the limiting factor in the clinical application of intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). The combination of IORT with intraoperative hyperthermia (IOHT) raises specific concerns regarding the effects on certain normal tissues such as peripheral nerve, which might be included in the treatment field. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of IORT alone to the effect of IORT combined with IOHT on peripheral nerve in normal beagle dogs., Methods and Materials: Young adult beagle dogs were randomized into five groups of three to five dogs each to receive IORT doses of 16, 20, 24, 28, or 32 Gy to 5 cm of surgically exposed right sciatic nerve using 6 MeV electrons and six groups of four to five dogs each received IORT doses of 0, 12,16, 20, 24, or 28 Gy simultaneously with 44 degrees C of IOHT for 60 min. IOHT was performed using a water circulating hyperthermia device with a multichannel thermometry system on the surgically exposed sciatic nerve. Neurologic and electrophysiologic examinations were done before and monthly after treatment for 24 months. Electrophysiologic studies included electromyographic (EMG) examinations of motor function, as well as motor nerve conduction velocities studies., Results: Two years after treatment, the effective dose for 50% complication (ED50) for limb paresis in dogs exposed to IORT only was 22 Gy. The ED50 for paresis in dogs exposed to IORT combined with IOHT was 15 Gy. The thermal enhancement ratio (TER) was 1.5. Electrophysiologic studies showed more prominent changes such as EMG abnormalities, decrease in conduction velocity and amplitude of the action potential, and complete conduction block in dogs that received the combination of IORT and IOHT. The latency to development of peripheral neuropathies was shorter for dogs exposed to the combined treatment., Conclusion: The probability of developing peripheral neuropathies in a large animal model was higher for IORT combined with IOHT, than for IORT alone. The dose required to produce the same level of late radiation injury to the sciatic nerve was reduced by a factor of 1.5 (TER) if IORT was combined with 44 degrees C of IOHT for 60 min.

It is often necessary to make a decision whether or not a sample contains radioactivity in excess of background. The most common procedure is a deterministic approach that compares the result from each sample against a critical level, Lc. Originally Lc was derived from the case where each sample is paired with a blank or control that is known not to contain excess radioactivity. However, most analytic laboratories do not process a blank with each and every sample. Another approach computes Lc using a collection of measurements to form a "well defined" background. This paper presents a method for determining a decision level, L delta, that includes the uncertainties in both the mean and variance of background and how these combine to form uncertainties in estimating the tails of the background distribution. The values of L delta are greater than Lc for a given Type I error. It can be applied whenever the true distribution of background is either normal or log normal. The process is not restricted to counting statistics and is valid for identifying excess contamination of any type providing that unknown samples are processed identically to background samples.

Measurements of the effective diffusion coefficient, De, of 222Rn in concrete are important for accurate determination of transport mechanisms and computer modeling of radon entry into structures. A method for in-situ determination of De as well as the emanation fraction, F, is described. It is based on continuous measurement of the radon flux from an intact slab and the concentrations on both sides. A non-linear regression algorithm was used to fit these data to the steady state solution to Fick's law. The regression output includes estimates of both De and F. The method has the advantage over typical laboratory procedures since it measures an undisturbed surface area of concrete where the samples exhibit moisture, temperature, and loading conditions that are experienced in a real structure. Effective diffusion coefficients ranged from 1.1 x 10(-8) to 4.4 x 10(-8) m2 s-1 for measurements of concrete floor slabs in two structures. The measured emanation fraction of radon in concrete in one structure was 0.2 +/- 0.02. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the values of De and F estimated by the regression procedure are strongly dependent on the thickness of the slab. The porosity of the concrete had little affect on the regression results.

A flask coated with ZnS(Ag) scintillator is one of the most accurate detectors available for measuring 222Rn. To maintain this accuracy, the counting system consisting of a photomultiplier tube and associated electronics must be checked on a regular basis. A combination of an alpha source and a ZnS(Ag) scintillator is commonly used for these purposes. This paper compares the pulse height distributions of 4 alpha sources with the pulse height distribution from a 100 cm3 scintillation flask containing 222Rn. The source that most closely reproduced the distribution from an actual 222Rn sample in a 100 cm3 scintillation flask consisted of a sealed flask, of the same type, which contains a small piece of uranium-ore.

This paper describes the entry rate of 222Rn into a basement structure surrounded by a sandy clay loam soil. The highest indoor radon concentrations occurred when the rate of entry was lowest. Data from in-situ measurements were used to identify the entry pathways and also the origins of the radon during periods when the entry rate was low. Results indicated that 25% of the radon entered through the floor-wall joint and 75% through the floor and walls. About 30% of the radon originated in the concrete. Diffusion was the primary transport mechanism. However, radon entry through the floor-wall joint was a combination of diffusion and a convective flow between the subslab region and the interior of the structure.

A method is described that uses a Monte Carlo approach for computing the distribution of random chord lengths in objects traversed by rays originating uniformly in space (mu-randomness). The resulting distributions converge identically to the analytical solutions for a sphere and satisfy the Cauchy relationship for mean chord lengths in circular cylinders. The method can easily be applied to geometrical shapes that are not convex such as the region between nested cylinders to simulate the sensitive volume of a detector. Comparisons with other computational methods are presented.

Peripheral nerve appears to be a dose-limiting normal tissue in the clinical application of intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). To assess IORT injury to peripheral nerve, three groups of five beagle dogs received doses of 12, 20 or 28 Gy to the surgically exposed and isolated right sciatic nerve in the mid-femoral region using 6 MeV electrons. The left sciatic nerve of each dog served as its own control. As a surgical control five dogs received surgical exposure of the nerve only. Monthly neurologic exams, electromyogram and nerve conduction studies were performed following treatment for 12 months. After that dogs were euthanatized and histologic studies of nerves were done to define the degree of axon and myelin loss as well as presence of fibrosis and vascular lesions for different doses of IORT. Results showed that the threshold dose most likely related to expression of severe radiation damage to the nerve in this model is between 20 and 25 Gy. Radiation injury to peripheral nerve appears to be the result of direct radiation effects on Schwann cells and nerve vasculature and secondary effects resulting from damage to regional muscle and vasculature. A theoretical mechanism of radiation injury to peripheral nerve is proposed.

The tolerance of peripheral nerves to heat may limit the heat dose which can be applied to tumours. This may be particularly important in intraoperative hyperthermia (IOHT) for pelvic and retroperitoneal tumours. Furthermore the effects of hyperthermia alone must be known before its effects can be assessed in combination with irradiation. In this study injury to sciatic nerves was evaluated in 30 beagle dogs for 1 year following IOHT. IOHT was performed using a water circulating hyperthermia device with multichannel thermometry system. Neurological and electrophysiological examinations were done before, during and after IOHT treatment. Electrophysiological examinations showed a significant decrease in sciatic nerve conduction velocity and potential amplitude immediately after 60 min of heating for all temperatures. The greatest decrease in conduction velocity was observed for a temperature of 45 degrees C. Full recovery of nerve conduction velocity was observed 3 weeks following hyperthermia for all dogs except for those exposed to 45 degrees C. Neurological findings correlated with electrophysiological results. All five dogs which had nerve exposed to 45 degrees C for 60 min had severe neurological changes, with recovery taking place between 3 and 11 months after treatment. Based on these results it appears that temperatures to the peripheral nerve exceeding 44 degrees C for 1 h are likely to cause significant, but not necessarily permanent, nerve injury.

An experimental facility has been developed to monitor the entry rate and concentration of 222Rn in a basement-type structure surrounded by soil having a permeability on the order of 10(-11) m2. A data acquisition system recorded environmental conditions outside and inside the structures, plus basement air exchange rate information, every 15 min. Indoor 222Rn concentrations ranged from 400 to 1,400 Bq m-3. The observed 222Rn entry rate is highly variable and has two primary components; a constant input rate caused by diffusion of 222Rn through the concrete walls and floor, and a variable rate that depends upon indoor-soil pressure differentials of only a few pascals. Pressure differentials are dependent upon wind speed and wind direction. Stack effect was not significant. During a 2-wk period, with relatively calm winds, diffusion through the concrete walls and floor plus the floor-wall joint accounted for more than 80% of the total 222Rn entry.

This paper describes a method to obtain time-varying 222Rn concentrations from the series of gross alpha measurements recorded with a flow-through scintillation detector. The continuous input of 222Rn into the detector is treated as a series of independent pulses. The response of the detector to a single pulse containing 222Rn can be measured in the laboratory and is used to determine a normalized detector response function (NDRF). The NDRF contains information on the combined effects of detector design, operating parameters, and the presence of 222Rn progeny. The estimation of individual plate-out or counting efficiencies is not needed, as they are appropriately included in the NDRF. The equation describing the response function can be inverted to yield the actual 222Rn concentration in terms of detector output. The technique was applied to actual indoor monitoring data and the results presented.

A rapid system has been developed for computing charged-particle distributions generated in tissue by any neutron spectra less than 4 MeV. Oxygen and carbon recoils are derived form R-matrix theory, and hydrogen recoils are obtained from cross-section evaluation. Application to two quite different fission-neutron spectra demonstrates the flexibility of this method for providing spectral details of the different types of charged-particle recoils. Comparisons are made between calculations and measurements of event-size distributions for a sphere of tissue 1 micrometer in diameter irradiated by these two neutron spectra. LET distributions have been calculated from computed charged-particle recoils and also derived from measurements using the conventional approximation that all charged particles traverse the chamber. The limitations of the approximation for these neutron spectra are discussed.

Periodic grab sampling in combination with time-of-occupancy surveys has been the accepted procedure for estimating the annual exposure of underground U miners to Rn daughters. Temporal variations in the concentration of potential alpha energy in the mine generate uncertainties in this process. A system to randomize the selection of locations for measurement is described which can reduce uncertainties and eliminate systematic biases in the data. In general, a sample frequency of 50 measurements per year is sufficient to satisfy the criteria that the annual exposure be determined in working level months to within +/- 50% of the true value with a 95% level of confidence. Suggestions for implementing this randomization scheme are presented.

Radon-222 and 222Rn progeny concentrations, barometric pressure and pressure differentials between inside and outside were measured continuously in the basement of a recently constructed energy-efficient house in metropolitan Denver, CO. Although the monitoring equipment was developed primarily for underground mines, it proved to be applicable for house monitoring. Results indicate that for tightly sealed houses, forced-flow transport does not significantly contribute to the 222Rn present even when the pressure within the house is less than the outside pressure by 0.8 Pa (.006 mm Hg). Calculations of 222Rn levels using diffusion as the primary transport mechanism are in agreement with observed data. The diffusion coefficient of 222Rn in the walls and floor surrounding the basement is higher than values previously reported. Ventilation by means of a heat exchanger reduces the 222Rn levels in accordance with measured air exchange rates, regardless of the pressure differential between inside and outside.

Charged-particle production by neutrons and the resulting energy-deposition spectra in micron-sized spheres of tissue of varying diameters were calculated from thermal energies to 4 MeV. These data were used to obtain dose-average values of several quality-indicating parameters as functions of neutron energy and of tissue sphere diameter. The contrast among the parameters is shown and discussed. Applications are made to two neutron spectra, one a fission spectrum in air and the other a moderated spectrum at the center of an irradiated cube of water.

Occupational radiation dose assessment at a nuclear facility can benefit from a systems approach that recognizes the complex dynamics of the facility. A simulation model can be a useful tool for accomplishing this goal. This technique can quantify the uncertainty in estimates of occupational dose equivalent and illustrate the effects of system interactions. A simulation model of operations at a high-level radioactive waste repository together with a radiological dose assessment model were used to illustrate this technique. Annual individual and collective occupational dose equivalents were estimated in the truck cask receiving and handling stations at a repository. The uncertainty of these estimates is shown through the use of complementary cumulative distribution functions. The effects of changing parameters in cask handling operations are examined.

The equations describing serial radioactive build-up and decay contain symmetries which provide flexibility for measuring potential alpha energy. Mathematical analysis indicates that sample and count times may be interchanged or combined to enhance measurement protocols. Experiments have verified that these mathematical properties can be used for routine measurements of working level from Rn daughters.