• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2022

Background: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident, a model was developed to estimate the external exposure doses for residents who were expected to return to their homes after evacuation orders were lifted. However, the model's accuracy and uncertainties in parameters used to estimate external doses have not been evaluated. Materials and Methods: The model estimates effective doses based on the integrated ambient dose equivalent (H^*(10)) and life patterns, considering a dose reduction factor to estimate the indoor H^*(10) and a conversion factor from H^*(10) to the effective dose. Because personal dose equivalent (H_p(10)) has been reported to agree well with the effective dose after the FDNPS accident, this study validates the model's accuracy by comparing the estimated effective doses with H_p(10). The H_p(10) and life pattern data were collected for 36 adult participants who lived or worked near the FDNPS in 2019. Results and Discussion: The estimated effective doses correlated significantly with H_p(10); however, the estimated effective doses were lower than H_p(10) for indoor sites. A comparison with the measured indoor H^*(10) showed that the estimated indoor H^*(10) was not underestimated. However, the H_p(10) to H^*(10) ratio indoors, which corresponds to the practical conversion factor from H^*(10) to the effective dose, was significantly larger than the same ratio outdoors, meaning that the conversion factor of 0.6 is not appropriate for indoors due to the changes in irradiation geometry and gamma spectra. This could have led to a lower effective dose than H_p(10). Conclusion: The estimated effective doses correlated significantly with H_p(10), demonstrating the model's applicability for effective dose estimation. However, the lower value of the effective dose indoors could be because the conversion factor did not reflect the actual environment.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.155-162
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• 2016

Radiographs can help in the diagnosis and treatment planning, but the exposure to ionizing radiation may elevate the risk of developing cancer in a person's lifetime. The objective of this review is to briefly summarize 1) radiation risk, especially cancer risks associated with diagnostic imaging, 2) linear, non-threshold (LNT) hypothesis, 3) the risks of radiation exposure to a fetus, and 4) the campaign of Image Gently. The individual risk of radiation-related cancer from any single medical imaging procedure is extremely small and it is not likely to be cancer risk at doses lower than 100 mGy, but patients may be harmed by avoiding diagnostic imaging due to fear of radiation hazard. Dentists need to understand the radiation doses delivered by various radiographic techniques and the acceptable exposure thresholds to effectively advise the patient and to reduce the unnecessary radiation

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2022

The decommissioning of a nuclear power plant generates large amounts of radioactive waste, which is of several types. Radioactive concrete powder is classified as low-level waste, which can be disposed of in a landfill. However, its safe disposal in a landfill requires that it be immobilized by solidification using cement. Herein, a safety assessment on the disposal of solidified radioactive concrete powder waste in a conceptual landfill site is performed using RESRAD. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses of certain selected input parameters are conducted to investigate their impact on exposure doses. The exposure doses are estimated, and the relative impact of each pathway on them during the disposal of this waste is assessed. The results of this study can be used to obtain information for designing a landfill site for the safe disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated from the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.239-244
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• 2015

Background: One of the causes of acute leukemia can be exposure to certain chemicals such as pesticides. This study determined the relationship between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence of acute leukemia in Fars province, south of Iran. Materials and Methods: Between April 2011 and April 2013 in a case-control study conducted in Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz, Southern Iran; 314 subjects diagnosed with acute leukemia (94 pediatric cases and 220 adults) were enrolled to determine any correlation between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence. Controls (n=314) were matched by sex and age. Results: There was a history of exposure to pesticides among 85% of pediatric cases and 69% of their controls and 83% of adult cases and 75% of their controls while 87.5% of pediatric cases and 90% of adult cases reported exposure to intermediate and high doses of pesticides and among the controls, the exposure to low doses of pesticides was 70.5% and 65%, respectively. Exposure to indoor pesticides was seen among most of cases and controls. Being a farmer was at a significantly more increased risk of developing acute leukemia in comparison to other jobs, especially for their children. Conclusions: Exposure to pesticides was shown to be one of the most important causes of acute leukemia. It seems that there is a need to educate the people on public health importance of exposure to pesticides especially during school time to reduce the risk of malignancies during childhood.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2013

Purpose: This study aimed to provide comparative measurements of the effective dose from direct and indirect digital panoramic units according to phantoms and exposure parameters. Materials and Methods: Dose measurements were carried out using a head phantom representing an average man (175 cm tall, 73.5 kg male) and a limbless whole body phantom representing an average woman (155 cm tall, 50 kg female). Lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) chips were used for the dosimeter. Two direct and 2 indirect digital panoramic units were evaluated in this study. Effective doses were derived using 2007 International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations. Results: The effective doses of the 4 digital panoramic units ranged between $8.9{\mu}Sv$ and $37.8{\mu}Sv$. By using the head phantom, the effective doses from the direct digital panoramic units ($37.8{\mu}Sv$, $27.6{\mu}Sv$) were higher than those from the indirect units ($8.9{\mu}Sv$, $15.9{\mu}Sv$). The same panoramic unit showed the difference in effective doses according to the gender of the phantom, numbers and locations of TLDs, and kVp. Conclusion: To reasonably assess the radiation risk from various dental radiographic units, the effective doses should be obtained with the same numbers and locations of TLDs, and with standard hospital exposure. After that, it is necessary to survey the effective doses from various dental radiographic units according to the gender with the corresponding phantom.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2021

Background: The use of computed tomography (CT) device has increased in the past few decades in Japan. Dose optimization is strongly required in pediatric CT examinations, since there is concern that an unreasonably excessive medical radiation exposure might increase the risk of brain cancer and leukemia. To accelerate the process of dose optimization, continual assessment of the dose levels in actual hospitals and medical facilities is necessary. This study presents organ dose estimation using pediatric cerebral CT scans in the Kyushu region, Japan in 2012 and the web-based calculator, WAZA-ARI (https://waza-ari.nirs.qst.go.jp). Materials and Methods: We collected actual patient information and CT scan parameters from hospitals and medical facilities with more than 200 beds that perform pediatric CT in the Kyushu region, Japan through a questionnaire survey. To estimate the actual organ dose (brain dose, bone marrow dose, thyroid dose, lens dose), we divided the pediatric population into five age groups (0, 1, 5, 10, 15) based on body size, and inputted CT scan parameters into WAZA-ARI. Results and Discussion: Organ doses for each age group were obtained using WAZA-ARI. The brain dose, thyroid dose, and lens dose were the highest in the Age 0 group among the age groups, and the bone marrow and thyroid doses tended to decrease with increasing age groups. All organ doses showed differences among facilities, and this tendency was remarkable in the young group, especially in the Age 0 group. This study confirmed a difference of more than 10-fold in organ doses depending on the facility and CT scan parameters, even when the same CT device was used in the same age group. Conclusion: This study indicated that organ doses varied widely by age group, and also suggested that CT scan parameters are not optimized for children in some hospitals and medical facilities.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.331-339
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to evaluate maternal organ and fetal doses by week of pregnancy for pregnant women nuclear medicine practitioners in the nuclear medicine field. In addition, we intend to present basic data for the management of exposure doses of female nuclear medicine practitioners. In this study, phantoms of childbearing women, 3, 6, 9 months pregnant women were simulated using MCNPX(Monte Carlo N-Particle Extended) among the Monte Carlo methods. First, volume source was constructed based on 10 cm of the anterior part of the lower abdomen of the phantom, and the organ and fetal doses were evaluated for each week of the pregnant woman according to the type of radioactive isotope. Second, the organ and fetal dose of pregnant women were evaluated by increasing the distance between the source and the abdominal surface by 50 and 100 cm. As a result, ¹⁸F sources showed high organ and fetal doses in pregnant women 0 to 3 months, and the dose distribution gradually decreased in 6 to 9 months pregnant women. The distribution of organ and fetal doses for ⁹⁹mTc and ¹²³I sources showed the same tendency as that of ¹⁸F, and the overall absorbed dose distribution was relatively lower than that of ¹⁸F. Through this study, it is considered that workers in the early stages of pregnancy within 3 months will need appropriate management to minimize occupational exposure dose.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.237-242
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• 2012

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to survey the radiographic exposure parameters, to measure the patient doses for intraoral dental radiography nationwide, and thus to establish the diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) in intraoral dental X-ray examination in Korea. Materials and Methods: One hundred two intraoral dental radiographic machines from all regions of South Korea were selected for this study. Radiographic exposure parameters, size of hospital, type of image receptor system, installation duration of machine, and type of dental X-ray machine were documented. Patient entrance doses (PED) and dose-area products (DAP) were measured three times at the end of the exit cone of the X-ray unit with a DAP meter (DIAMENTOR M4-KDK, PTW, Freiburg, Germany) for adult mandibular molar intraoral dental radiography, and corrections were made for room temperature and pressure. Measured PED and DAP were averaged and compared according to the size of hospital, type of image receptor system, installation duration, and type of dental X-ray machine. Results: The mean exposure parameters were 62.6 kVp, 7.9 mA, and 0.5 second for adult mandibular molar intraoral dental radiography. The mean patient dose was 2.11 mGy (PED) and 59.4 $mGycm^2$ (DAP) and the third quartile one 3.07 mGy (PED) and 87.4 $mGycm^2$ (DAP). Doses at university dental hospitals were lower than those at dental clinics (p<0.05). Doses of digital radiography (DR) type were lower than those of film-based type (p<0.05). Conclusion: We recommend 3.1 mGy (PED), 87.4 $mGycm^2$ (DAP) as the DRLs in adult mandibular molar intraoral dental radiography in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.177-183
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• 2011

This study intends to investigate patients' exact exposure doses by comparatively measuring ESD (Entrance Surface Dose) with the DAP meter, which excludes scattered rays, and ESD with the Xi multifunction meter, which includes scattered rays, by posture changes for Esophagography test and UGI test. The materialwere examined through Sonialvision-SafireII SPEC overtube system. ESD was measured by using the DAP meter, and as a tool to measure ESD including scattered rays on the plane of incidence of human phantom, the Xi multifunction meter was used. The average fluoroscopic time of Esophagography test was 4.192 minutes and the average number of images was 47.7, while the average fluoroscopic time of UGI test was 6.881 minutes and the average number of images was 37.8. The ratios of the incident dose of DAP meter and the ESD of Xi meter were calculated bydividing the fluoroscopic time and the number of images by each posture change. As for Esophagography test, the dose increased by 21.6~55.5% in the fluoroscopic test and by 4.8~24.7% in the spot test. In the front spot test, however, the does increased by as little as 5.3%. As for UGI test, the dose increased by 21.1~49.5% in the fluoroscopic test and by 10.1~34.9% in the spot test. It is expected that measuring doses in consideration of scattered rays by posture changes will be an important index in evaluating and managing patients' exact exposure doses for each test above. Furthermore, it is judged that this sort of study is inevitable and desirable to reduce patients' exposure doses after all.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2004.12a
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• pp.83-84
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• 2004