• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.159-167
• /
• 2014

In Korea, July 2012, the law as called 'Act on Safety Control of Radioactive Rays Around Living Environment' was implemented to control the consumer product containing Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), but, there are no appropriate database and effective dose calculation system. The aim of this study was to develop evaluation technique of the exposure dose with the use of the consumer products containing NORM and to understand the characteristics of the exposed dose according to the radiation type and energy. For the evaluate of exposure dose, the ICRP reference phantom was simulated by the MCNPX code based on Monte Carlo method, and the minimum, medium, maximum energy of alphas, betas, gammas from the representative NORM of Uranium decay series were used as the source term in the simulation. The annual effective doses were calculated by the exposure scenario of the consumer product usage time and position. Short range of the alpha and beta rays are mostly delivered the dose to the skin. On the other hand, the gamma rays mostly delivered the similar dose to all of the organs. The results of the annual effective dose with $1Bq{\cdot}g^{-1}$ radioactive stone-bed and 10% radioactive concentration were employed with the usage time of 7 hours 50 minute per day, the maximum annual effective dose of alphas, betas, gammas were calculated 0.0222, 0.0836, $0.0101mSv{\cdot}y^{-1}$, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.267-278
• /
• 1985

Some kinds of methods have been applied to regulate the exposure doses by the radioactive effluents from nuclear power plants. The essential one is primary dose equivalent limit recommended by the ICRP. When the primary limit cannot be applied directly for regulation, there have been dose equivalent index in case of external exposure, or maximum permissible concentration, annual limit on intake, derived air concentration and maximum permissible body burden in case of internal exposure. But the derived limit is required from the viewpoint of discharge, for those values are inadequate to control discharge rate directly. This study was carried out to derive the release limit for the Wolsung nuclear power plant by the concentration factor method. This method is based on the assumption of steady state transfer between environment compartments.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.291-298
• /
• 2001

The designed release rate of liquid effluents from radwaste treatment system should be calculated and evaluated during normal operation, including anticipated operational occurrence and be assured that the release concentration and off-site dose at unrestricted area do not exceed the limits of regulation. The expected annual release rate and off-site dose for the currently operating nuclear power plants in Korea had been calculated and evaluated using PWR-GALE and LADTAP-II which was based on USNRC Regulatory Guide 1.109. Recently, the MOST Notice 2001-2 related to release concentration and off-site dose at unrestricted area was revised to reflect the concept of ICRP-60. It is necessary for KORI 3&4 to re-calculate the release concentration and off-site dose and to compare these results with the limits of regulation. As the results of assessment, we confirmed that the release concentrations were less than its limits of MOST Notice 2001-2 and the off-site dose at unrestricted area using K-DOSE60 was 3.61E-03 mSv/yr to the age of five for the effective dose, and 4.10E-2 mSv/yr to thyroid of the age of five for the organ equivalent dose. We also confirmed the off-site dose was within the limits of MOST Notice 2001-2. Therefore, the release concentration and off-site dose re-evaluated at unrestricted area in KORI 3&4 were well below the regulation limits of MOST Notice 2001-2.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.7
• /
• pp.2614-2624
• /
• 2022

Monte Carlo simulations were used to model a portable Neutron backscattering (NBT) sensor suitable for detecting plastic anti-personnel mines (APMs) buried in dry and moist soils. The model consists of a 100 MBq ²⁵²Cf source encapsulated in a neutron reflector/shield assembly and centered between two ³He detectors. Multi-parameter optimization was performed to investigate the efficiency of Be/Zr(BH₄)₄ and Be/Be(BH₄)₂ assemblies in terms of increasing the signal-to-background (S/B) ratio and reducing the total dose equivalent rate. The MCNP results showed that 2 cm Be/3 cm Zr(BH₄)₄ and 2 cm Be/3 cm Be(BH₄)₂ are the optimal configurations. However, due to portability requirements and abundance of Be, the ²⁵²Cf-2 cm Be/3 cm Be(BH₄)₂ NBT model was selected to scan the center of APM buried 3 cm deep in dry and moist soils. The selected NBT model has positively identified the APM with a S/B ratio of 886 for dry soils of 1 wt% hydrogen content and with S/B ratios of 615, 398, 86, and 12 for the moist soils containing 4, 6, 10, and 14 wt% hydrogen, respectively. The total dose equivalent rate reached 0.0031 mSv/h, suggesting a work load of 8 h/day for 806 days within the permissible annual dose limit of 20 mSv.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.5
• /
• pp.1757-1762
• /
• 2023

Radiological hazards from external exposure of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) scales residues, generated during the extraction process of oil and gas production in southern Algeria, are evaluated. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were measured using high-purity gamma-ray spectrometry (GeHP). Mean activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, found in scale samples are 4082 ± 41, 1060 ± 38 and 568 ± 36 Bq kg^-1, respectively. Radiological hazard parameters, such as radium equivalent (Ra_eq), external and internal hazard indices (H_ex, H_in), and gamma index (I_γ) are also evaluated. All hazard parameter values were greater than the permissible and recommended limits and the average annual effective dose value exceeded the dose constraint (0.3 mSv y^-1). However, for occasionally exposed workers, the dose rate of 0.65 ± 0.02 mSv y^-1 is lower than recommended limit of 1 mSv y^-1 for public.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.477-484
• /
• 2000

To estimate the degree of intake of $^{238}$ U and $^{232}$ Th through daily diet, a Korean mixed diet sample was prepared after the investigation of the amount of consumption of the daily diet which corresponds to the age of 20 to 60 years. For the analysis of U and Th, the RNAA method was applied. Two standard reference materials were used for quality control and assurance and the analytical results were compared with a certified value. The determination of U and Th in the Korean mixed diet sample was carried out under the same analytical conditions and procedures with SRM. It is found that the concentration of U and Th in a Korean mixed diet was about 35.4 ppb and 3.4 ppb. From these results, the daily intake of $^{238}$ U and $^{232}$ Th by diet is evaluated to be 6.98 and 0.67 $\mu\textrm{g}$ per day, respectively. Radioactivities related to the intake of $^{238}$ U and $^{232}$ Th were estimated to be about 86 mBq and 27 mBq per person per day and the annual dose equivalents from $^{238}$ U and $^{232}$ Th revealed as 3.18 $\mu$Sv and 0.29 $\mu$Sv per person, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.4
• /
• pp.1431-1438
• /
• 2022

In this study, natural radioactivity concentrations and dosimetric values of fly ash samples were evaluated for the landfill area of the coal-fired power plant (CFPP) complex at Binh Thuan, Vietnam. The average activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were 93, 77, 92 and 938 Bq kg^-1, respectively. The average results for radon dose, indoor external, internal, and total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) were 5.27, 1.22, 0.16, and 6.65 mSv y^-1, respectively. The average emanation fraction for fly ash were 0.028. The excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCR) were recorded as 20.30×10^-3, 4.26×10^-3, 0.62×10^-3, and 25.61×10^-3 for radon, indoor, outdoor exposures, and total ELCR, respectively. The results indicated that the cover of shielding materials above the landfill area significantly decreased the gamma radiation from the ash and slag in the ascending order: Zeolite < PVC < Soil < Concrete. Total dose of all radionuclides in the landfill site reached its peak at 19.8 years. The obtained data are useful for evaluation of radiation safety when fly ash is used for building material as well as the radiation risk and the overload of the landfill area from operation of these plants for population and workers.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.8-20
• /
• 1988

The annual individual and collective doses to the thyroids of four age-dependent groups due to the in-take of I-131 released from the Younggwang nuclear power plant NU-1 & 2, Korea, are estimated using the model presented in ICRP 29. Sensitivity and robustness of the model are analyzed. In case of 0.12% fuel defect during normal operation, the collective dose is founded to be 3.05${\times}10^{-3}$man-thyroid-Sv, which is higher than the value calculated by the GASPAR code, 2.3${\times}10^{-3}$man-thyroid-Sv. The maximal individual annual doses resulting from an acute release are higher than those calculated under the assumption of continuous release by $1.4{\sim}1.7$ times. The most important pathway to the infant is milk and, in contrast, that to child, teen and adult is ingestion of crops. The model used is the calculation appears to be influenced by the variables such as roubstness-index. The weighted committed dose equivalent obtained by the ICRP 29 model is slightly higher than that calculated by the three-compartment model.

• Journal of Conservation Science
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.481-492
• /
• 2018

We conducted TL/OSL dating for the earthenware kilns in the Bongsan-ri archaeological site, Osong, which was occupied from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century. With the SAR-TL/OSL method, paleodose was determined from the equivalent dose during the burial period($ED_{burial}$), the background dose($ED_{BG}$), the fading correction factor(f), and the overestimation correction factor(C). The annual dose rates and their provenance were evaluated from the measurement of natural radionuclides $^{238}U$, $^{232}Th$, and $^{40}K$. Because the comprehensive absolute age was provided by combining the resulting TL/OSL and radiocarbon data, we concluded that, for the absolute chronology of a modern archaeological site, TL/OSL dating and radiocarbon dating must be carried out together and summed. The construction and occupation of earthenware kilns in the Bongsan-ri site had changed from stage I (No.5, 6 kilns), to stage II (No.1, 2, 3 kilns), to stage III (No.4) in chronological order. When Bayesian statistics were applied, we found that the absolute ages of occupation for stages I, II, and III correspond to AD $1910{\pm}23$, AD $1970{\pm}10$, and AD $1987{\pm}4$. These results were in good agreement with the archaeological context or chronology.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.10-17
• /
• 1989

A study for the assessment of dose given by outdoor radon to respiratory system has been carried out by making use of radon-cups containing CR-39 plastic track detectors. Detection efficiencies were determined by irradiation of the radon-cups in a standard radon chamber of known concentration. Thus determined detection factors of CR-39 plastic track detector in bare, open cup and filtered cup geometry are found to be 0.273, 0.0813 and 0.0371 $trmm^{-2}$/(37$Bqm^{-3}{\cdot}d$), respectively, which are chemically etched in 30% NaOH solution of $70^{\circ}C$ for 220 minutes. The outdoor radon concentrations measured at Taejeon(Chungnam National University) from May 1988 to March 1989 are in the range of 27.4 - 135.8 Bq/$m^3$(0.74 - 3.67pCi/l)by open cup and 16.7 - 143.9 Bq/$m^3$(0.45 - 3.89 pCi/l) by filtered cup, which yield overall annual average value of outdoor radon concentration of $70.8Bq/m^3$(1.91 pCi/l). Corresponding effective dose equivalent rate to respiratory system of ICRP standard man is assessed to be 520 nSv /h.