• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.12-20
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• 2010

In a primary system at nuclear power plants (NPPs), various radionuclides including fission products and corrosion products are generated due to the complex water conditions. Particularly, $^3H,\;^{14}C,\;^{58}Co,\;^{60}Co,\;^{137}Cs,\;and^{131}I$ are important radionuclides in respect of dose assessment for radiation workers and management of radioactive effluents. In this paper, the dominant contributors of radiation exposure for radiation workers and the member of public adjacent to NPPs were reviewed and the process of dose assessment attributable to those contributors were introduced. Furthermore, the analysis for some examples of radiation exposure to radiation workers and the public during the NPP operation was carried out. This analysis included the notable precedents of internal radiation exposure and contamination of demineralized water occurred in Korean NPPs. Particularly, the potential issue about the dose assessment of tritium and carbon-14 was also reviewed in this paper.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.3919-3925
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• 2015

When a patient with thyroid cancer is released from isolation after I-131 treatment and return to home using a vehicle, travel time should be controlled to reduce the amount of radiation to accompanying person. As the calculation of appropriate travel time is difficult, there is no patient-specific guideline until now. If we assume that there is no excretion and no physical decay during the relatively short travel time, calculation become quite simple; total radiation dose = dose rate ${\times}$ travel time. Results of this simple calculation and conventional calculation were compared using datum from 120 patients. Travel time calculated by simple method was 56% of conventional method in 0.3 m, 91% in 0.5 m and 96% in 1 m. Simple method was safe. It can be applied easily and also can be applied to the patients with hyperthyroidism treated by I-131.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.133-137
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to validate for GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission) simulation by comparing the results of GATE simulation and experiment in real SPECT system. Futhermore, we want to prove that it is possible that the quantitative research of gamma camera/SPECT imaging for therapeutic radio isotope by using GATE simulation. In this study, the SPECT system on simulation referred to the parameters of Stream-R Forte version 1.2 (Philips Medical System, Best and Heerlen, Netherlands). To understand the I-131 image of gamma camera/SPECT system, we acquired the energy spectrum and measured the full width at half maximum (FWHM) which comes from line spread function (LSF) with and without scatter material in real SPECT system. And to compare with experiment, we also measured the FWHM and acquired the energy spectrum without scatter material in GATE simulation. As a result, without scatter material, the energy peak was almost same location, which are located nearby 364 keV, and other spectrum factors are same tendency in both cases. The FWHM was increased by increasing the distance of source to detector, and the error rate was approximately 3.8%. When we used the line source with scatter material, energy spectrum also indicated similar tendency in both cases. As you confirmed earlier, GATE simulation included real instrument and radioisotope characters for therapeutic radioisotope. Therefore this result that it was possible that various quantitative study for therapeutic radioisotope imaging in gamma camera/SPECT using GATE simulation.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.374-381
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• 1998

Purpose: I-131 labeled (2'-deoxy-2'-iodo-${\beta}$-D-arabinofuranosyl) adenine (IAD) may be involved in DNA synthesis during active proliferation of tumor cells. We conducted this study to find out the biodistribution of IAD and it's feasibility for scintigraphic tumor imaging. Materials and Methods: Tosyl acetyl-adenosine was dissolved in acetonitrile, and I-131-NaI was added and heated to synthesize IAD. Female Fisher 344 rats innoculated with breast tumor cells were injected with 0.27 MBq of IAD. Rats were sacrificed at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 24h and the % of injected dose per gram of tissue (%ID/g) was determined. For scintigraphy, rats bearing breast cancer were administered with 1.11 MBq of IAD and imaging was performed after 2 and 24h. Then, rat body was fixed and microtomized slice was placed on radiographic film for autoradiography. Results: %ID/g of tumor was 0.74 (0.5h),0.73 (1h), 0.55 (2h), 0.38 (4h), and 0.05 (24h), respectively. At 1h after injection, %ID/g of tumor was higher than that of heart (0.34), liver (0.42), spleen (0.47), kidney (0.69), muscle (0.14), bone (0.33) and intestine (0.51). However, %ID/g of tumor was lower than blood (1.06), lung (0.77), and thyroid (177.71). At 4h, %ID/g of tumor in comparison with other tissue did not change. Tumor contrast expressed by tumor to blood ratio was 0.69 and tumor to muscle ratio was 5.11 at 1h. However, these ratios did not improve through 24h. On autoradiogram and scintigraphy at 2 and 24 hour, the tumor was well visualized. Conclusion: This results suggest that IAD may have a potential for tumor scintigraphy. However, further work is needed to improve localization in tumor tissue.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 1985

The results of radioiodine treatment of 88 patients are reported. As in the case presented above, careful follow-up with continuous administration of adequate amount of thyroid hormone is very important. To check whether recurrent lesions have appeared or not, scintigrams with test dose of $I^{131}$, usually 1 to 10 mCi, are taken in general. However, it is important that there is a fact that administration of much larger dose (30 to 100 mCi) of $I^{131}$ may result in presenting additional lesions on the scintigrams. Recently, clinical usefulness of serum thyroglobulin determination has been mentioned in literatures from the standpoint of follow-up study of patients after radioiodine treatment. Although this technique seems to be valuable, we have to be aware of the possibility of fluctuation of data which may occur in connection with administration of thyroid hormone. Finally, I would like to say that radioiodine treatment is an effective method for thyroid cancer if patients are adequately selected. However, radioiodine treatment itself is sometimes not enough from the standpoint of radiation dose to the lesions. In such cases, we should not hesitate to consider combination therapy with other modalities. Therefore, in order to overcome this undesirable disease, cooperation between nuclear medicine specialists and other oncologists, such as radiotherapists, is necessary.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.333-338
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• 2016

Background: In case of radiation emergencies, internal exposure monitoring for the members of public will be required to confirm internal contamination of each individual. In-vivo monitoring technique using portable gamma spectrometer can be easily applied for internal exposure monitoring in the vicinity of the on-site area. Materials and Methods: In this study, minimum detectable doses (MDDs) for $^{134}Cs$, $^{137}Cs$, and $^{131}I$ were calculated adjusting minimum detectable activities (MDAs) from 50 to 1,000 Bq to find out the optimal in-vivo counting condition. DCAL software was used to derive retention fraction of Cs and I isotopes in the whole body and thyroid, respectively. A minimum detect-able level was determined to set committed effective dose of 0.1 mSv for emergency response. Results and Discussion: We found that MDDs at each MDA increased along with the elapsed time. 1,000 Bq for $^{134}Cs$ and $^{137}Cs$, and 100 Bq for $^{131}I$ were suggested as optimal MDAs to provide in-vivo monitoring service in case of radiation emergencies. Conclusion: In-vivo monitoring program for emergency response should be designed to achieve the optimal MDA suggested from the present work. We expect that a reduction of counting time compared with routine monitoring program can achieve the high throughput system in case of radiation emergencies.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.219-224
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• 2023

A high-efficiency underwater radiation monitoring system, HydroGamma, has been developed for detecting ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³¹I in the event of waterborne radiation contamination. The system consists of a 3-inch NaI (Tl) detector, solar panels for power supply, data acquisition and transmission modules, and batteries. HydroGamma also includes a ⁴⁰K calibration source for remote performance evaluation and energy calibration. In this study, some simulations and experiments were carried out to evaluate the minimum detectable activities (MDA) of HydroGamma. We installed the HydroGamma at Tapjeongho Lake in Nonsan-si and acquired background data since MDA is calculated based on the experimental background data. The results show that the minimum detectable activities for ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³¹I were 1.78Bq L^-1 and 1.81Bq L^-1, respectively even though the gamma rays emitted from ⁴⁰K(1,460 keV) affect the minimum detectable activities for them.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2523-2527
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• 2014

Background: Serum thyroglobulin detection plays an essential role during the follow-up of thyroid cancer patients treated with total/near total thyroidectomy and radioiodine ablation. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the relationship between stimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) level at the time of high dose $^{131}I$ ablation and risk of recurrence, using a three-level classification in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) according to the ATA guidelines. Also we investigated the relationship between postoperative stimulated Tg at the time of ablation and DxWBS results at 8-10 months thereafter. Materials and Methods: Patients with radioiodine accumulation were regarded as scan positive (scan+). If there was no relevant pathological radioiodine accumulation or minimal local accumulation in the thyroid bed region, this were regarded as scan negative (scan-) at the time of DxWBS. We classified patients in 3 groups as low, intermediate and high risk group for assessment of risk of recurrence according to the revised ATA guidelines. Also, we divided patients into 3 groups based on the stimulated serum Tg levels at the time of $^{131}I$ ablation therapy. Groups 1-3 consisted of patients who had Tg levels of ${\leq}2ng/ml$, 2-10 ng/ml, and ${\geq}10ng/ml$, respectively. Results: A total of 221 consecutive patients were included. In the high risk group according to the ATA guideline, while 45.5% of demonstrated Scan(+) Tg(+), 27.3% of patients demonstrated Scan(-) Tg(-); in the intermediate group, the figures were 2.3% and 90.0% while in the low risk group, they were 0.6% and 96.4%. In 9 of 11 patients with metastases (81.8%), stimulated serum Tg level at the time of radioiodine ablation therapy was over 10, however in 1 patient (9.1%) it was <2ng/mL and in one patient it was 2-10ng/mL (p=0.005). Aggressive subtypes of DTC were found in 8 of 221 patients and serum Tg levels were ${\leq}2ng/ml$ in 4 of these 8. Conclusions: We conclude that TSH-stimulated serum thyroglobulin level at the time of ablation may not determine risk of recurrence. Therefore, DxWBS should be performed at 8-12 months after ablation therapy.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2002

For the consideration of the influence on radioactive contamination of foods due to rain during the release period of radionuclides in a nuclear accident, the previous dynamic food chain model was improved. Wet interception coefficients for the agricultural plants were derived as a function of radionuclide and rainfall amount, and mathematical formula of the model was also re-established. In the results for the same time-integrated radioactive concentrations on the ground, radioactive contamination of foods decreased greatly by rainfall, and it decreased dramatically according to increasing rainfall amount. It means that predictive contamination in foods using the previous dynamic food chain model, in which dry interception to the agricultural plants is only considered, can be overestimated. Among radionuclides considering in this study ($^{137}Cs,\;^{90}Sr,\;^{131}I$), influence of rainfall for food contamination was the most sensitive to $^{131}I$, and the least sensitive to $^{90}Sr$.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.233-239
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• 2000

The sensitivity analysis of input parameters was Performed fer an ingestion dose assessment model (U. S. NRC's Regulatory Guide 1.109 model) from routine releases of radionuclides. In this study, three kinds of typical Korean foodstuffs (rice, leaff vegetables, milk) and two kinds of radionuclides $(^{l37}Cs,\;^{131}I)$ were considered. The values of input parameters were sampled using a Latin hypercube sampling technique based on Monte Carlo approach. Sensitivity indices, which represent the influence or the importance of input parameters for predictive results, were quantitatively expressed by the partial rank correlation coefficients. As the results, the ratio of the interception fraction to the yield of agricultural plants and the human consumption rate were sensitive input parameters for the considered foodstuffs and radionuclides. Additionally, in case of milk, the transfer factor of radionuclides from animal intake to milk and the daily intake rate of feedstuffs were sensitive input parameters. The weathering removal half-life and the delay time from food production to human consumption were relatively sensitive for $^{137}Cs$ and $^{131}I$ depositions, respectively.