• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.172-175
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• 2012

We present a method for detecting very weak radiation by analyzing the inner structure of irradiated tris (lyoluminescence) materials using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) at low temperature. Organic materials have been looked into for use in emergency dosimetry of inhabitants around radiation accidents. However, this technology has never been applied to imperceptible radiation doses (< 0.5 Gy) because there is no proper method for detecting the change of inner structure of the subject bombed by very weak radiation at room temperature. Our results show that tris materials can be applied as a radiation detectors of very small radiation doses below 0.05 Gray, if EPR is used at low temperature (130 K ${\leq}$ T ${\leq}$ 270 K). The EPR signal intensity from the irradiated-tris sample had barely faded at all after 1 year.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.507-513
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• 2022

When X-ray energy above 8 MV is used, photoneutrons are generated by the photonuclear reaction, which activates the components of linear accelerator (linac). Safely managing the radioactive material, when disposing linac or replacing components, is difficult, as the standards for the radioactive material management are not clear in Korea. We surveyed the management status of radioactive components occurred from medical linacs in Korea. And we also measured the activation of each part of the discarded Elekta linac using a survey meter and portable High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. We found that most medical institutions did not perform radiation measurements when disposing of radioactive components. The radioactive material was either stored within the institution or collected by the manufacturer. The surface dose rate measurements showed that the parts with high surface dose rates were target, primary collimator, and multileaf collimator (MLC). ⁶⁰Co nuclide was detected in most parts, whereas for the target, ⁶⁰Co and ¹⁸⁴Re nuclides were detected. Results suggest that most institutions in Korea did not have the regulations for disposing radioactive waste from linac or the management procedures and standards were unclear. Further studies are underway to evaluate short-lived radionuclides and to lay the foundation for radioactive waste management from medical linacs.