• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.5
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• pp.499-516
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• 2023

To defend against harmful gamma radiation, new types of materials for use in the construction of heavyweight concrete (HWC) are still needed to be developed. This research introduces new materials to be employed as a partial replacement for fine aggregate (FA) to manufacture high-performance heavyweight concrete (HPHWC). These materials include hematite, black sand, ilmenite, and magnetite, with substitution ratios of 50% and 100% of FA. In this research, the hardening and fresh characteristics of HPHWC were obtained. Concrete samples' Gamma-ray linear attenuation coefficient was evaluated utilizing a gamma source of Co-60 through the thicknesses of 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 cm. High temperatures were studied for HPHWC samples, which were exposed to up to 700℃ for two hours. Energy-dispersive x-rays and a scanning electron microscope carried out microstructure analyses. Magnetite as an FA attained the lowest compressive strength of 87.1 MPa, but the best radiation protection characteristics and the highest density of 3100 kg/m³ were achieved. After 28 days, the attenuation efficiency of concrete mixtures was increased by 6.5% when fine sand was replaced with black sand at a ratio of 50%. HPHWC, which contains hematite, black sand, ilmenite, and magnetite, is designed to reduce environmental and health dangers and be used in medicinal, military, and civil applications.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.195-207
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• 2024

International organizations such as IAEA and EC recommend graded approach by identifying NORM industries requiring radiation protection. In Korea, single regulation rather than graded regulation for NORM industry is applied. Therefore, it consumes more manpower and costs than necessary for both regulators and workers, and is not optimized. The purpose of this study is to analyze domestic and foreign NORM industry regulatory standards and radiological characteristics for graded approach of NORM industry in Korea. Safety reports and publications such as SRS 49 and ICRP 142 published by international organizations were investigated, and domestic and foreign NORM regulatory guidelines and legislation such as Health Canada and the Act on Protective Action Guidelines Against Radiation in the Natural Environment were investigated to indicate NORM industries and regulatory standards. The radioactivity concentration of raw materials or by-products, radiation dose by industrial process of the NORM industry identified in IAEA and Korea were investigated. Nine NORM industries in Korea were identified based on the NORM industry from IAEA and KINS survey report. Foreign countries such as Canada, UK and Denmark were executing graded approach such as classification of dose level or licensing, registration, notification based on safety assessment. Radioactivity concentration of domestic and foreign NORM industries were widespread up to 200 Bq g^-1 or higher based on industrial process and work type, and numerous NORM industries that exceeded radiation dose of 1 mSv y^-1 were indicated. Therefore, it is necessary to consider handling materials and work types of identified NORM industry when establishing graded approach for NORM industry in Korea considering domestic situation. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for developing methodology of graded approach for NORM industry in Korea.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.103-107
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• 2012

This paper analyzes changes in the external radiation dose rate of PET-CT test patients as a part of providing basic materials for reduction of radiation exposure to PET-CT test patients. In theory the measurement of external radiation dose rate of PET-CT test patients shows that the further the distance from the patient injected with radioactive pharmaceutical and a longer time elapsement from the injection leads to a smaller amount of radiation. Particularly, the amount of radiation marked the highest in the chest was at 4.17 minutes immediately after the intravenous injection and in the head after 77.47 minutes after urination in advance to the PET-CT test. As in the generalized information, it is desired to keep distance between the patient and caretakers or professionals to reduce the amount of radiation exposure from PET-CT test patients and to resume contact the patient after the time when the radiation has reduced. If contact is unavoidable, it is desired to keep at least 200cm from the patient. In addition, the amount of radiation reached the highest in the chest at first and then in the head from 77 minutes after injection. Accordingly, it would be helpful in achieving the optimization if contact is made based on the patient's physical characteristics. This study is significant as it measures changes in radiation the dose rate by; distance from the PET-CT test patient, time elapsed, and specific parts of body. Further studies based on the findings in this paper are required to analyze changes in radiation dose rate in accordance with individual characteristics unique to PET-CT patients and to utilize the results to reduce the amount of radiation patient, caretakers and professions are exposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2444-2451
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• 2024

This work demonstrates a new sol-gel approach for synthesizing PbO₂-doped zirconia using zircon mineral precursors. The streamlined methodology enables straightforward fabrication of the doped zirconia composites. Comprehensive materials characterization was performed using XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques to analyze the crystal structure, microstructure, and morphology. Quantitative analysis of the XRD data provided insights into the nanoscale crystallite sizes achieved, along with their relationship to lattice imperfections. Furthermore, the gamma-ray shielding capacity for the PbO₂-doped zirconia samples was estimated by the Monte Carlo simulation, which proves an increase in the gamma ray shielding properties by raising the Pb concentration. The linear attenuation coefficient increased between 0.467 and 0.499 cm^-1 (at 0.662 MeV) by increasing the Pb content between 11 and 21 wt%. By increasing the Pb content to 21 wt%, the synthesized composites' lead equivalent thickness reaches 2.49 cm. The radiation shielding properties for the synthesized composites revealed a remarkable performance against low and intermediate γ-ray photons, with radiation shielding capacity of 37.3 % and 21.4 % at 0.662 MeV and 2.506 MeV, respectively. As a result, the developed composites can be employed as an alternative shielding material in hospitals and radioactive zones.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 1991

Radon-222 exhalation rate from several domestic building materials were experimentally measured by using radon cup method, in which a CR-39 plastic is used as a passive radon detector. The radon detection factor of CR-39 detector determined in a series of calibration experiments was $0.164{\pm}0.005(tracks\;cm^{-2}/Bq\;d\;m^{-3})$, which is consistent with those reported by other investigators. The radon exhalation rates of several building materials (brick, red brick, concrete block, granite plate, concrete floor and wall) ranges from $6.8{\times}10^{-6}\;(granite plate)\;to\;75.0{\times}10^{-6}Bq/m^2-sec(brick)$ with the increasing order of granite plate, red brick, concrete wall, concrete block, concrete floor and brick. It showed that the CR39 radon cup can be efficiently utilized in measuring the radon-222 gas exhalation rate from building materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.239-244
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• 2013

Radiation were seriously damaged on liver functions. Blueberry was fruits that contains Vit A, Vit c, Vit E, follic acid, ${\beta}$-carotene, and anthocyanin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protection effects of blueberry the liver functions. Irradiation dose was used to 4 Gy (Linac 6 Mev) X-ray Treatment device Experiment animals was used to 7 rats in each groups. It was investigated liver functions that contains TP, ALB, GLOB, ALT, ALKP and CHOL. We showed that Blueberry was not recovery effects on radiation-induced liver functions. But, Statistically significant value was showed ALB (p>0.01) and ALT (p>0.1). It was concluded that blueberry was not used to recovery materials on radiation-induced liver functions.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2011

We developed an alternative radiation shielding material which is economical and has high protection efficiency. We validated the material in the form of sheet to make an apron. We increased the rate of barium and mixed tourmaline into silicon to improve the flexibility and protection rate of the sheet. The results showed that the shielding effect at low radiation energy is good enough with both 5 mm and 7 mm thickness. In the future, we will perform a quantitative evaluation of the reproducibility, volumetric efficiency, and porosity in mixing the ingredients.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2016

Background: Any real application of Bayesian inference must acknowledge that both prior distribution and likelihood function have only been specified as more or less convenient approximations to whatever the analyzer's true belief might be. If the inferences from the Bayesian analysis are to be trusted, it is important to determine that they are robust to such variations of prior and likelihood as might also be consistent with the analyzer's stated beliefs. Materials and Methods: The robust Bayesian inference was applied to atmospheric dispersion assessment using Gaussian plume model. The scopes of contaminations were specified as the uncertainties of distribution type and parametric variability. The probabilistic distribution of model parameters was assumed to be contaminated as the symmetric unimodal and unimodal distributions. The distribution of the sector-averaged relative concentrations was then calculated by applying the contaminated priors to the model parameters. Results and Discussion: The sector-averaged concentrations for stability class were compared by applying the symmetric unimodal and unimodal priors, respectively, as the contaminated one based on the class of ${\varepsilon}$-contamination. Though ${\varepsilon}$ was assumed as 10%, the medians reflecting the symmetric unimodal priors were nearly approximated within 10% compared with ones reflecting the plausible ones. However, the medians reflecting the unimodal priors were approximated within 20% for a few downwind distances compared with ones reflecting the plausible ones. Conclusion: The robustness has been answered by estimating how the results of the Bayesian inferences are robust to reasonable variations of the plausible priors. From these robust inferences, it is reasonable to apply the symmetric unimodal priors for analyzing the robustness of the Bayesian inferences.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2020

Background: Kori unit #1 is permanently shut down after a 40-year lifetime. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission recommends establishing initial decommissioning plans for all nuclear and radwaste treatment facilities. Therefore, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) must establish an initial and final decommissioning plan for radwaste-treatment facilities. Radiation safety assessment, which constitutes one chapter of the decommissioning plan, is important for establishing a decommissioning schedule, a strategy, and cost. It is also a critical issue for the government and public to understand. Materials and Methods: This study provides a method for assessing external radiation dose to workers during decommissioning. An external dose is calculated following each exposure scenario, decommissioning strategy, and working schedule. In this study, exposure dose is evaluated using the deterministic method. Physical characterization of the facility is obtained by both direct measurement and analysis of the drawings, and radiological characterization is analyzed using the annual report of KAERI, which measures the ambient dose every month. Results and Discussion: External doses are calculated at each stage of a decommissioning strategy and found to increase with each successive stage. The maximum external dose was evaluated to be 397.06 man-mSv when working in liquid-waste storage. To satisfy the regulations, working period and manpower must be managed. In this study, average and cumulative exposure doses were calculated for three cases, and the average exposure dose was found to be about 17 mSv/yr in all the cases. Conclusion: For the three cases presented, the average exposure dose is well below the annual maximum effective dose restriction imposed by the international and domestic regulations. Working period and manpower greatly affect the cost and entire decommissioning plan; hence, the chosen option must take account of these factors with due consideration of worker safety.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.130-140
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• 2017

Background: With the need for a domestic level 3 probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), it is essential to develop a Korea-specific code. Health effect assessments study radiation-induced impacts; in particular, long-term health effects are evaluated in terms of cancer risk. The objective of this study was to analyze the latest cancer risk models developed by foreign organizations and to compare the methodology of how they were developed. This paper also provides suggestions regarding the development of Korean cancer risk models. Materials and Methods: A review of cancer risk models was carried out targeting the latest models: the NUREG model (1993), the BEIR VII model (2006), the UNSCEAR model (2006), the ICRP 103 model (2007), and the U.S. EPA model (2011). The methodology of how each model was developed is explained, and the cancer sites, dose and dose rate effectiveness factor (DDREF) and mathematical models are also described in the sections presenting differences among the models. Results and Discussion: The NUREG model was developed by assuming that the risk was proportional to the risk coefficient and dose, while the BEIR VII, UNSCEAR, ICRP, and U.S. EPA models were derived from epidemiological data, principally from Japanese atomic bomb survivors. The risk coefficient does not consider individual characteristics, as the values were calculated in terms of population-averaged cancer risk per unit dose. However, the models derived by epidemiological data are a function of sex, exposure age, and attained age of the exposed individual. Moreover, the methodologies can be used to apply the latest epidemiological data. Therefore, methodologies using epidemiological data should be considered first for developing a Korean cancer risk model, and the cancer sites and DDREF should also be determined based on Korea-specific studies.