• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.337-343
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe the proton therapy system at Samsung Medical Center (SMC-PTS) including the proton beam generator, irradiation system, patient positioning system, patient position verification system, respiratory gating system, and operating and safety control system, and review the current status of the SMC-PTS. Materials and Methods: The SMC-PTS has a cyclotron (230 MeV) and two treatment rooms: one treatment room is equipped with a multi-purpose nozzle and the other treatment room is equipped with a dedicated pencil beam scanning nozzle. The proton beam generator including the cyclotron and the energy selection system can lower the energy of protons down to 70 MeV from the maximum 230 MeV. Results: The multi-purpose nozzle can deliver both wobbling proton beam and active scanning proton beam, and a multi-leaf collimator has been installed in the downstream of the nozzle. The dedicated scanning nozzle can deliver active scanning proton beam with a helium gas filled pipe minimizing unnecessary interactions with the air in the beam path. The equipment was provided by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., RayStation from RaySearch Laboratories AB is the selected treatment planning system, and data management will be handled by the MOSAIQ system from Elekta AB. Conclusion: The SMC-PTS located in Seoul, Korea, is scheduled to begin treating cancer patients in 2015.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.76-83
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• 2007

This report presents the test technique using optic thermal sensor for the HERO evaluation of equipment installed EED. The calibration method of EED-thermal sensor assembly is explained by relation between the current in bridge wire and voltage in thermal sensor. And the HERO test and evaluation method is indicated based on MIL-STD-464A and MIL-STD-331C. The safety and reliability levels of EED-thermal sensor assembly are evaluated when exposed in the electromagnetic environment.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.204-213
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• 2022

Background: The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant increased the level of anxiety related to the radioactive contamination of various foods sourced in Japan. Particularly, after the accident, the detection of artificial radionuclides in locally produced foods raised food safety concerns. In this study, the radioactivity concentrations and annual ingestions of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in food products commonly and frequently consumed by the general public were investigated, and the annual effective dose of each was evaluated. Materials and Methods: The 2016-2018 data from the Radiation Safety Management Report released by the Korea Nuclear Safety Technology Center was referenced for the evaluation of the amounts of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs contained in food. Using the food-ingestion survey mentioned above as a reference, we selected 62 foods to include in our radioactivity concentration and dose assessment. We also developed a questionnaire and evaluated the responses from the subjects who answered the questionnaire. Results and Discussion: The radioactivity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs was found to be close to or below the level of minimum detectable activity. Additionally, the annual ingestion of 62 foods was 294.77 kg/yr, the effective doses from ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs were 136.4 and 0.163 μSv/yr, respectively. Conclusion: Thus, the findings confirmed that the effective dose from ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in food tends to be lower than the effective dose limit of 1 mSv/yr suggested by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 60. The questionnaire developed in this study is expected to be useful for estimating the annual effective dose status of Korean adults who consume foods containing ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.351-360
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• 2018

In recent years, demand for examination of bone mineral density (BMD) is increasing in Korea according aging society. Therefore, it is required to develop an efficient management program that can increase the safety and reliability of Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) that can be applied to the criteria of the World Health Organization. It is necessary to develop a management program that can design a program to improve the accuracy and precision of the results of the analysis and to improve the accuracy of diagnosis of osteoporosis by development a high quality DXA report. It is recommended to prepare the examination manuals and to establish procedures of standard operating including the program to prevent the pitfalls during the examination, the compatibility evaluation of the examination data, and the contents of the radiation safety. In addition, relevant regulations on the production of high-quality DXA reports are required and government and related agencies should introduce individual and facility recognition programs through DXA measurement and education programs and training. It is considered that efforts should be made to prepare high quality DXA report by guidelines on all aspects of BMD for preparation about aging society.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.354-358
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• 2016

Background: To find out the leak characteristic of research reactor 'HANARO' building in a typhoon condition Materials and Methods: MELCOR code which normally is used to simulate severe accident behavior in a nuclear power plant was used to simulate the leak rate of air and fission products from reactor hall after the shutdown of the ventilation system of HANARO reactor building. For the simulation, HANARO building was designed by MELCOR code and typhoon condition passed through Daejeon in 2012 was applied. Results and Discussion: It was found that the leak rate is $0.1%{\cdot}day^{-1}$ of air, $0.004%{\cdot}day^{-1}$ of noble gas and $3.7{\times}10^{-5}%{\cdot}day^{-1}$ of aerosol during typhoon passing. The air leak rate of $0.1%{\cdot}day^{-1}$ can be converted into $1.36m^3{\cdot}hr^{-1}$, but the design leak rate in HANARO safety analysis report was considered as $600m^3{\cdot}hr^{-1}$ under the condition of $20m{\cdot}sec^{-1}$ wind speed outside of the building by typhoon. Conclusion: Most of fission products during the maximum hypothesis accident at HANARO reactor will be contained in the reactor hall, so the direct radiation by remained fission products in the reactor hall will be the most important factor in designing emergency preparedness for HANARO reactor.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.118-126
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• 2019

Background: Government conducts environmental radioactivity surveillance for verification purpose around nuclear facilities based on the Nuclear Safety Law and issues a surveillance report every year. This study aims to evaluate the short and the long-term fluctuation of radionuclides detected above MDC and their origins using concentration ratios between these radionuclides. Materials and Methods: Sample media for verification surveillance are air, rainwater, groundwater, soil, and milk for terrestrial samples, and seawater, marine sediment, fish, and seaweed for marine samples. Gamma-emitting radionuclides including $^{137}Cs$, $^{90}Sr$, Pu, $^3H$, and $^{14}C$ are evaluated in these samples. Results and Discussion: According to the result of the environmental radioactivity verification surveillance in the vicinity of nuclear power facilities in 2017, the anthropogenic radionuclides were not detected in most of the environmental samples except for the detection of a trace level of $^{137}Cs$, $^{90}Sr$, Pu, and $^{131}I$ in some samples. Radioactivity concentration ratios between the anthropogenic radionuclides ($^{137}Cs/^{90}Sr$, $^{137}Cs/^{239+240}Pu$, $^{90}Sr/^{239+240}Pu$) were similar to those reported in the environmental samples, which were affected by the global fallout of the past nuclear weapon test, and Pu atomic ratios ($^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$) in the terrestrial sample and marine sample showed significant differences due to the different input pathway and the Pu source. Radioactive iodine ($^{131}I$) was detected at the range of < $5.6-190mBq{\cdot}kg-fresh^{-1}$ in the gulfweed and sea trumpet collected from the area of Kori and Wolsong intake and discharge. A high level of $^3H$ was observed in the air (Sangbong: $0.688{\pm}0.841Bq{\cdot}m^{-3}$) and the precipitation (Meteorology Post: $199{\pm}126Bq{\cdot}L^{-1}$) samples of the Wolsong nuclear power plant (NPP). $^3H$ concentration in the precipitation and pine needle samples showed typical variation pattern with the distance and the wind direction from the stack due to the gaseous release of $^3H$ in Wolsong NPP. Conclusion: Except for the detection of a trace level of $^{137}Cs$, $^{90}Sr$, Pu, and $^{131}I$ in some samples, anthropogenic radionuclides were below MDC in most of the environmental samples. Overall, no unusual radionuclides and abnormal concentration were detected in the 2017's surveillance result for verification. This research will be available in the assessment of environment around nuclear facilities in the event of radioactive material release.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2010

Purpose: We report the results of an external audit on the absorbed dose of radiotherapy beams independently performed by third parties. For this effort, we developed a method to measure the absorbed dose to water in an easy and convenient setup of solid water phantom. Materials and Methods: In 2008, 12 radiotherapy centers voluntarily participated in the external auditing program and 47 beams of X-ray and electron were independently calibrated by the third party’s American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) task group (TG)-51 protocol. Even though the AAPM TG-51 protocol recommended the use of water, water as a phantom has a few disadvantages, especially in a busy clinic. Instead, we used solid water phantom due to its reproducibility and convenience in terms of setup and transport. Dose conversion factors between solid water and water were determined for photon and electron beams of various energies by using a scaling method and experimental measurements. Results: Most of the beams (74%) were within ${\pm}2%$ of the deviation from the third party's protocol. However, two of 20 X-ray beams and three of 27 electron beams were out of the tolerance (${\pm}3%$), including two beams with a >10% deviation. X-ray beams of higher than 6 MV had no conversion factors, while a 6 MV absorbed dose to a solid water phantom was 0.4% less than the dose to water. The electron dose conversion factors between the solid water phantom and water were determined: The higher the electron energy, the less is the conversion factor. The total uncertainty of the TG-51 protocol measurement using a solid water phantom was determined to be ${\pm}1.5%$. Conclusion: The developed method was successfully applied for the external auditing program, which could be evolved into a credential program of multi-institutional clinical trials. This dosimetry saved time for measuring doses as well as decreased the uncertainty of measurement possibly resulting from the reference setup in water.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.114-129
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• 2017

Background: The purpose of this paper is to confirm the event timings and the magnitude of fission product aerosol release from the Fukushima accident. Over a few hundreds of technical papers have been published on the environmental impact of Fukushima Daiichi accident since the accident occurred on March 11, 2011. However, most of the research used reverse or inverse method based on the monitoring of activities in the remote places and only few papers attempted to estimate the release of fission products from individual reactor core or from individual spent fuel pool. Severe accident analysis code can be used to estimate the radioactive release from which reactor core and from which radionuclide the peaks in monitoring points can be generated. Materials and Methods: The basic material used for this study are the initial core inventory obtained from the report JAEA-Data/Code 2012-018 and the given accident scenarios provided by Japanese Government or Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in official reports. In this research a forward method using severe accident progression code is used as it might be useful for justifying the results of reverse or inverse method or vice versa. Results and Discussion: The release timing and amounts to the environment are estimated for volatile radioactive fission products such as noble gases, cesium, iodine, and tellurium up to 184 hours (about 7.7 days) after earthquake occurs. The in-plant fission product behaviors and release characteristics to environment are estimated using the severe accident progression analysis code, MELCOR, for Fukushima Daiichi accident. These results are compared with other research results which are summarized in UNSCEAR 2013 Report and other technical papers. Also it may provide the physically based arguments for justifying or suspecting the rationale for the scenarios provided in open literature. Conclusion: The estimated results by MELCOR code simulation of this study indicate that the release amount of volatile fission products to environment from Units 1, 2, and 3 cores is well within the range estimated by the reverse or inverse method, which are summarized in UNSCEAR 2013 report. But this does not necessarily mean that these two approaches are consistent.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 1998

An analysis has been performed to estimate the additional number of workers and the additional collective dose in man-cSv which would be required, nuclear industry-wide as a result of reducing individual dose limit. This analysis can be extended to the reduction in the dose limits recommended by ICRP Publ.60 and BEIR V report as well as the proposed dose limits by regulatory authorities. An industry-wide database was employed in the analysis based on a summary of industry-wide occupational radiation exposure compiled by the Korea Radioisotope Association. Correlation model was employed to compute the affects of setting specific annual individual dose limits. In this study, we have addressed worker non-productivity while in the radiation environment on a parametric or 'sensitivity analysis' basis. This alleviates the need for developing such data underlying a summation of many individual tasks at many nuclear facilities. It has the advantage that very low non-productivity assumptions can readily be defended as conservative, in that it is difficult to approach such low worker non-productivity factors even in the best of environments in any industry. On a per facility basis, for calendar year 1997, the number of workers required would be increased from 231 workers to 269 workers and collective man-cSv dose would be also increased by approximately fourteen percent if the individual dose limit was reduced to 2 cSv/y and an individual worker non-productivity fraction of 0.1 is assumed.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 1997

Purpose : This study is to report experience with Fractionated Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (FSRT) for locally recurrent nasopharynx cancer after curative conventional radiation therapy. Materials and Methods : Three Patients with locally recurrent and symptomatic nasopharynx cancer were given FSRT as reirradiation method between the Period of September of 1995 and August of 1996 For two Patients, application of FSRT is their third radiation therapy directed to the nasopharynx. Two patients were given low dose chemotherapy as radiation sensitizer concurrently with FSRT Authors used 3-dimensional coordinate system by individually made, relocatable Gill-Thomas-Cosman (GTC) stereotactic frame and multiple non-coplanar arc therapy dose Planning was done using Xknife-3. Total of 45 Gy/18 fractions or 50 Gy/20 fractions were given. Results : Authors observed satisfactory symptomatic improvement and remarkable objective tumor size decrease by follow-up MR images taken 1 month Post-FSRT in ali three patients, while no neurologic side effect attributable to reirradiation was noticed. Two died at 7 and 9 months with loco-regional and distant seeding outside FSRT field, while one patient is living for 4 month. Conclusion Authors experienced satisfactory therapeutic effectiveness and safety of FSRT as reirradiatlon method for locally recurrent nasopharynx cancer Development of more effective systemic chemotherapeutic regimen is desired for distant metastasis