Quantitative estimation of exposure inhomogeneity in terms of eye lens and extremity monitoring for radiation workers in the nuclear industry

原子力施設における放射線業務従事者の末端部及び水晶体モニタリングに関する不均等被ばくの定量的推定

吉富 寛   ; 古渡 意彦; 萩原 雅之*; 長畔 誠司*; 中村 一*

Yoshitomi, Hiroshi; Kowatari, Munehiko; Hagiwara, Masayuki*; Nagaguro, Seiji*; Nakamura, Hajime*

To manage the equivalent doses for radiation workers, exposure inhomogeneity is an important factor in the decision-making process related to protection measures and additional monitoring. Our previous study proposed the methodology to evaluate the inhomogeneity of exposure quantitatively. In this study, we applied proposed method to five different types of actual exposure situations in the nuclear industry. Two of them were conventionally characterized as homogeneous exposure, but the other three as inhomogeneous exposure. The evaluation of homogeneity exposure was conducted using Monte Carlo calculations with two simplified models, which were then verified with phantom experiments. Consequently, all of the evaluations reproduced the experimental results, implying that our proposed method would be applicable for actual work conditions in the nuclear industry. Furthermore, the two presumed homogeneous exposure situations were found to be rather inhomogeneous because of the contribution of positrons and the limited source region. The investigation also implies that obtaining the information on the most probable posture of the exposed worker, as well as the existence of the weekly penetrating radiation such as ray as a main source of exposure would be the key for more precise estimation.