• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2022

Background: A comprehensive, traceable, and easy-to-understand radiation risk indicator is desired for radiological protection. The early-onset hypothesis could be used for this purpose. Materials and Methods: An indicator for early death (IED) was developed and calculated using the epidemiological dataset from the 14^th Report of the Life Span Study (LSS) of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By clarifying the calculation process, IED for all-cause mortality was estimated. In addition, the characteristics of IED for solid cancer mortality and cardiovascular mortality as well as those of men and women, and their dependence on age at exposure were investigated for detailed analysis. Results and Discussion: The IED for all-cause mortality was estimated to be approximately 4 years for an acute radiation exposure of 1 Gy regardless of the fitting dose range. The cumulative death rate for all solid cancers also indicated the early-death tendency (approximately 7-10 years at 1 Gy). Although, there is a slight difference in the characteristics of the risk obtained from the LSS study and this study, it is considered that the IED in a unit of years can also be used to show the overall picture of risk due to radiation exposure. Conclusion: We developed and calculated the indicator for early death, IED, for the cumulative mortality rate of all causes of death, all solid cancers, and circulatory diseases. The quantitative values of IED were estimated to be 4 years for all causes of death, 7-10 years for all solid cancers. IED has an advantage for intuitively understanding the meaning of radiation risk since it can be obtained by a simple and traceable method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.423-428
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• 2017

In this study, the calculation of the effective spatial dose distribution of the diagnostic imaging laboratory of K university was performed by the Monte Carlo simulation. The radiation generator has a maximum tube voltage of 150 kVp and a maximum current of 700 mA. Using the results, we compared the spatial effective dose distributions of diagnostic imaging laboratory when the shielding door was closed and opened. In conclusion, it was found that the effective dose in the operating room of the diagnostic imaging laboratory does not exceed the annual dose limit (6 mSv/y) of the student (occasional visitor) even when the door is opened. However, since the effective dose when the door is open is about 16 times higher in front of the lead glass window and about 3,000 times higher in front of the doorway than the case when the door is closed, closing the shielding door at the time of the practical exercising reduces unnecessary radiation exposure by great extent.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.28-36
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• 1987

Gaussian plume model is used to assess environmental dose for abnormal radioactive release in nuclear facility, but there has a problem to use it for complex terrain. In this report, MATTEW and WIND04 Codes which had been verified were used to calculate wind field in the complex terrain. Under the base of these codes principle, wind fields were obtained from the calculation of the finite difference approximation for advection-diffusion equations which satisfy the mass-conservative law. Particle concentrations and external doses were calculated by using PIC model which approximate the particle to radioactive cloud, and atmospheric diffusion of the particles from the random walk method. The results show that the adjusted wind fields and the distributions of the exposure dose vary with the topography of the complex terrain.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.80-90
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• 2018

Objectives: This study was performed to propose a domestic occupational exposure limit(OEL) following a health hazard assessment, calculation of a non-carcinogenicity reference concentration worker($RfC_{worker}$) value, and examination of international agencies' exposure limits. It also recommends legal management within the Occupational Safety and Health Act for HCFC-123, which caused an acute hepatotoxicity incident. Methods: An acute hepatotoxicity incident due to the fire extinguishing agent HCFC-123 was investigated. Toxicological hazard and health hazard classifications were examined and a non-carcinogenicity $RfC_{worker}$ value was calculated for HCFC-123. An OEL and the necessity of legal management were recommended as well. Results and Conclusions: An OEL for HCFC-123 of 10 ppm($62.5mg/m^3$), which considered the $RfC_{worker}$ value, 5.56 ppm, produced in dose-response assessment and the exposure level of 19.1-20.9 ppm measured as an eight-hour TWA(time-weighted average) in the incident place, is recommended. HCFC-123 is urged to be included as a chemical requiring legal management in the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations. In addition, it is recommended that a peak exposure of ACGIH be adopted in the Notice of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.39-49
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• 2018

Background: A model to assess the activity concentration of agricultural products and the public ingestion dose as result of a nuclear accident is necessarily required to manage the contaminated agricultural systems by the accident, or to estimate the effects of chronic exposure due to food ingestion at a Level 3 PSA. Materials and Methods: A dynamic compartment model, which is composed of three sub-modules, namely, an agricultural plant contamination assessment model, an animal product contamination assessment model, and an ingestion dose assessment model has been developed based on Korean farming characteristics such as the growth characteristics of rice and stockbreeding. Results and Discussion: The application study showed that the present model can predict well the characteristics of the activity concentration for agricultural products and ingestion dose depending on the deposition date. Conclusion: The present model is very useful to predict the radioactivity concentration of agricultural foodstuffs and public ingestion dose as consequence of a nuclear accident. Consequently, it is expected to be used effectively as a module for the ingestion dose calculation of the Korean agricultural contamination management system as well as the Level 3 PSA code, which is currently being developed.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.75-80
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• 2006

Purpose: In radiation therapy, precise calculation of dose toward malignant tumors or normal tissue would be a critical factor in determining whether the treatment would be successful. The Radiation Treatment Planning (RTP) system is one of most effective methods to make it effective to the correction of dose due to CT number through converting linear attenuation coefficient to density of the inhomogeneous tissue by means of CT based reconstruction. Materials and Methods: In this study, we carried out the measurement of CT number and calculation of mass density by using RTP system and the homemade inhomogeneous tissue Phantom and the values were obtained with reference to water. Moreover, we intended to investigate the effectiveness and accuracy for the correction of inhomogeneous tissue by the CT number through comparing the measured dose (nC) and calculated dose (Percentage Depth Dose, PDD) used CT image during radiation exposure with RTP. Results: The difference in mass density between the calculated tissue equivalent material and the true value was ranged from $0.005g/cm^3\;to\;0.069g/cm^3$. A relative error between PDD of RTP and calculated dose obtained by radiation therapy of machine ranged from -2.8 to +1.06%(effective range within 3%). Conclusion: In conclusion, we confirmed the effectiveness of correction for the inhomogeneous tissues through CT images. These results would be one of good information on the basic outline of Quality Assurance (QA) in RTP system.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2018

Objectives: Currently, there is only limited knowledge regarding the hazard of low-level exposure to CMR materials in workplaces. To overcome this limitation, a reference concentration for workers($RfC_w$) from among the risk assessment tools proposed by the US EPA is widely used to set a provisional workplace exposure level(PWEL) for CMR materials for which there are no established Korea Occupational Exposure Limits(KOELs) or subjective chemicals for work environment measurements as regulated by Korea Ministry of Employment and Labor(KMOEL). A simple European calculator of derived no effect level(SECO-DNEL) as proposed by REACH can also be used in place of $RfC_w$ to set the PWEL for chemicals. This study was performed to test the acceptability of using SECO-DNEL as an alternative to $RfC_w$ when setting a PWEL for low-level exposures. Methods: The $RfC_w$ and DNEL for the five CMR materials of dinitrogen oxide, catechol, 2-phenoxy ethanol, carbitol, and carbon black were calculated using the dose-response assessments of the US EPA for $RfC_w$ and REACH guidance for SECO-DNEL, respectively. They were compared using paired t-tests to determine the statistical differences between them. Results: For the five chemicals, the $RfC_w$ were 2.53 ppm, 0.10 ppm, 1.73 ppm, 1.66 ppm, and $0.05mg/m^3$, respectively, while the SECO-DNEL were 2.01 ppm, 0.11 ppm, 1.83 ppm, 1.77 ppm, $0.14mg/m^3$, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between $RfC_w$ and SECO-DNEL. Conclusions: This study suggests that the SECO-DNEL could be applied in place of $RfC_w$ to set a PWEL for low-level exposure to chemicals, especially CMR materials. To further ensure the reliability of SECO-DNEL as an alternative tool, more chemicals should be applied for calculation and comparison with $RfC_w$.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.377-387
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• 2018

Korea's first commercial nuclear power plant, Kori Unit 1, was permanently shut down on June 18, 2017, after 40 years of successful operation. Kori Unit 1 plans to construct a waste treatment facility in the turbine building prior to commencement of dismantling in earnest. Various radioactive wastes are decontaminated, disassembled, cut and melted in the waste treatment facility and sent to the radioactive waste repository. The proportion of metal radioactive waste in dismantled waste is about 70%, of which large metal radioactive waste is mainly generated in the primary circuit and has high radioactivity, so radiation exposure must be managed during disassembly. In this study, the steam generators are selected as large metal radioactive waste, the exposure doses of the dismantling workers are calculated using RESRAD-RECYCLE code and the methods for reducing the exposure doses are suggested.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2005

X-ray examinations represent the largest man-made source of radiation exposure for the population. The need for standardization of radiation exposures has been suggested and the guidance levels for various radiographic and radioisotope examinations has been proposed by the International Atomic Energy Aency(IAEA) as a safety standard. In many countries, the situation of medical radiographic exposures in each country should be researched before the appropriate guidance level is established. In this study, measurements of entrance surface dose, dose-area product(DAP), computed tomograghic dose index(CTDI) and mean glandular dose(MGD) were carried out in patients who underwent routine x-ray examinations, fluoroscopy, computed tomograghy and mamography in Korea. These measured quantities were compared with the results from the calculation method in previous study. And we suggested diagnostic reference levels in medical imaging in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.279-287
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• 2020

Recently, interest in radiation protection is increasing because of the occurrence of accidents related to exposure dose. So, the nuclear safety act provides to install the shields to avoid exceeding the dose limit. In particular, when the worker conducts the non-destructive testing (NDT) without the fixed shielding structure, we should monitor the access to the workplace based on a constant dose rate. However, when we apply for permits for NDT work in these work environments, the consideration factors to the estimation of the distance and exposure dose are not legally specified. Therefore, we developed the excel model that automatically calculates the distance, exposure dose, and cost if we input the factors. We applied the assumption data to this model. As a result of the application, the distance change rate was low when the thickness of the lead blanket and collimator is above 25 mm, 21.5 mm, respectively. However, we didn't consider the scattering and build-up factor. And, we assumed the shape of the lead blanket and collimator. Therefore, if we make up for these limitations and use the actual data, we expect that we can build a database on the distance and exposure dose.