REFLECT – Research flight of EURADOS and CRREAT: Intercomparison of various radiation dosimeters onboard aircraft

Aircraft crew are one of the groups of radiation workers which receive the highest annual exposure to ionizing radiation. Validation of computer codes used routinely for calculation of the exposure due to cosmic radiation and the observation of nonpredictable changes in the level of the exposure due to solar energetic particles, requires continuous measurements onboard aircraft. Appropriate calibration of suitable instruments is crucial, however, for the very complex atmospheric radiation field there is no single reference field covering all particles and energies involved. Further intercomparisons of measurements of different instruments under real flight conditions are therefore indispensable. In November 2017, the REFLECT (REsearch FLight of EURADOS and CRREAT) was carried out. With a payload comprising more than 20 different instruments, REFLECT represents the largest campaign of this type ever performed. The instruments flown included those already proven for routine dosimetry onboard aircraft such as the Liulin Si-diode spectrometer and tissue equivalent proportional counters, as well as newly developed detectors and instruments with the potential to be used for onboard aircraft measurements in the future. This flight enabled acquisition of dosimetric data under well-defined conditions onboard aircraft and comparison of new instruments with those routinely used. As expected, dosimeters routinely used for onboard aircraft dosimetry and for verification of calculated doses such as a tissue equivalent proportional counter or a silicon detector device like Liulin agreed reasonable with each other as well as with model calculations. Conventional neutron rem counters underestimated neutron ambient dose equivalent, while extended-range neutron rem counters provided results comparable to routinely used instruments. Although the responses of some instruments, not primarily intended for the use in a very complex mixed radiation field such as onboard aircraft, were as somehow expected to be different, the verification of their suitability was one of the objectives of the REFLECT. This campaign comprised a single short flight. For further testing of instruments, additional flights as well as comparison at appropriate reference fields are envisaged. The REFLECT provided valuable experience and feedback for validation of calculated aviation doses.Postprint (published version

REFLECT – Research flight of EURADOS and CRREAT: Intercomparison of various radiation dosimeters onboard aircraft

Aircraft crew are one of the groups of radiation workers which receive the highest annual exposure to ionizing radiation. Validation of computer codes used routinely for calculation of the exposure due to cosmic radiation and the observation of nonpredictable changes in the level of the exposure due to solar energetic particles, requires continuous measurements onboard aircraft. Appropriate calibration of suitable instruments is crucial, however, for the very complex atmospheric radiation field there is no single reference field covering all particles and energies involved. Further intercomparisons of measurements of different instruments under real flight conditions are therefore indispensable. In November 2017, the REFLECT (REsearch FLight of EURADOS and CRREAT) was carried out. With a payload comprising more than 20 different instruments, REFLECT represents the largest campaign of this type ever performed. The instruments flown included those already proven for routine dosimetry onboard aircraft such as the Liulin Si-diode spectrometer and tissue equivalent proportional counters, as well as newly developed detectors and instruments with the potential to be used for onboard aircraft measurements in the future. This flight enabled acquisition of dosimetric data under well-defined conditions onboard aircraft and comparison of new instruments with those routinely used. As expected, dosimeters routinely used for onboard aircraft dosimetry and for verification of calculated doses such as a tissue equivalent proportional counter or a silicon detector device like Liulin agreed reasonable with each other as well as with model calculations. Conventional neutron rem counters underestimated neutron ambient dose equivalent, while extended-range neutron rem counters provided results comparable to routinely used instruments. Although the responses of some instruments, not primarily intended for the use in a very complex mixed radiation field such as onboard aircraft, were as somehow expected to be different, the verification of their suitability was one of the objectives of the REFLECT. This campaign comprised a single short flight. For further testing of instruments, additional flights as well as comparison at appropriate reference fields are envisaged. The REFLECT provided valuable experience and feedback for validation of calculated aviation doses

A Platform at the Service of the Radiological Protection Culture: the OpenRadiation Citizen Science Project

International audienceAfter the Fukushima accident, initiatives emerged from the public to carry out themselves measurements of the radioactivity in the environment with various devices, among which smartphones, and to share data and experiences through collaborative tools and social networks. Such measurements have two major interests, on the one hand, to enable each individual of the public to assess his own risk regarding the radioactivity and, on the other hand, to provide “real time” data from the field at various locations, especially in the early phase of an emergency situation, which could be very useful for the emergency management. The objective of the OpenRadiation project is to offer the public the opportunity to perform measurements of the radioactivity using connected dosimeters on smartphones. The challenge is to operate such a system on a sustainable basis in normal situations and being useful in an emergency situation. In normal situations, this project is based on a collaborative approach with the aim to get complementary data to the existingones, to consolidate the radiation background, to generate alerts in case of problem and to provide education & training and enhanced pedagogical approaches for a clear understanding of measures for the public. In case of emergency situation, data will be available “spontaneously” from the field in “real time” providing an opportunity for the emergency management and the communication with the public. The practical objectives are to develop i) a website centralising measurements using various dosimeters, providing dose maps with raw and filtered data and offering dedicated areas for specific projects andexchanges around data and ii) a dosimetric app using a connected dosimeter. This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientific community and associations to create links with the public. This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientific community and associations to create links with the public. The website is available since October 2017 and more than 100 000 measurements were performed by about 8

A Platform at the Service of the Radiological Protection Culture: the OpenRadiation Citizen Science Project

International audienceAfter the Fukushima accident, initiatives emerged from the public to carry out themselves measurements of the radioactivity in the environment with various devices, among which smartphones, and to share data and experiences through collaborative tools and social networks. Such measurements have two major interests, on the one hand, to enable each individual of the public to assess his own risk regarding the radioactivity and, on the other hand, to provide “real time” data from the field at various locations, especially in the early phase of an emergency situation, which could be very useful for the emergency management. The objective of the OpenRadiation project is to offer the public the opportunity to perform measurements of the radioactivity using connected dosimeters on smartphones. The challenge is to operate such a system on a sustainable basis in normal situations and being useful in an emergency situation. In normal situations, this project is based on a collaborative approach with the aim to get complementary data to the existingones, to consolidate the radiation background, to generate alerts in case of problem and to provide education & training and enhanced pedagogical approaches for a clear understanding of measures for the public. In case of emergency situation, data will be available “spontaneously” from the field in “real time” providing an opportunity for the emergency management and the communication with the public. The practical objectives are to develop i) a website centralising measurements using various dosimeters, providing dose maps with raw and filtered data and offering dedicated areas for specific projects andexchanges around data and ii) a dosimetric app using a connected dosimeter. This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientific community and associations to create links with the public. This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientific community and associations to create links with the public. The website is available since October 2017 and more than 100 000 measurements were performed by about 8

Relation between organ and whole body doses and local doses measured by ESR for standard and realistic neutron and photon external exposures

International audienceIn the case of a radiological accident due to external exposure, the assessment of the organ and whole body doses received by the victim is a fundamental information to determine the therapeutic strategy. Two complementary dosimetric techniques based on physical means are currently used in the laboratory: Monte Carlo calculations and ESR spectrometry performed on biological materials removed from the victim.The aim of the present study is to provide data to create a tool able to provide quickly an assessment of the dose distribution in case of accidental overexposure using ESR measurements performed on one or several points of the body. The study consists in determining by calculation the relation between the dose to the organs and whole body and the dose to specific points of the body (teeth and bones) for different external exposures corresponding to classical configurations. The chosen configurations were, on the one hand, standard homogeneous exposures (ICRP 74) and, on the other hand, exposures typical of accidental situations (source in a pocket and contaminated floor). The study was performed for monoenergetic photons and neutrons, several sources (60Co, 137Cs, 192Ir, 252Cf and AmBe) and fission spectra. The calculations were performed using the MCNP4C2 Monte Carlo code associated with a standard adult male mathematic model which head was modified in order to contain a jaw and teeth. The tables of data corresponding to studied configurations are presented and discussed

Characterization of MIRCOM, IRSN’s new ion microbeam dedicated to targeted irradiation of living biological samples

Ion microbeams have emerged as a powerful tool in several domains of radiation biology. They have been used, for example, in the evaluation of environmental and occupational risks of exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation, or the study of temporal evolution of DNA damage and repair after irradiation of targeted (sub)cellular components, in cells or multicellular organisms. This paper reports the development and commissioning of the IRSN’s MIRCOM facility, constituted by a microbeam line and irradiation station, designed for targeted irradiation of living biological samples with a focused ion microbeam extracted in air. This equipment is able to provide protons, alpha particles, and heavier ions such as B, C, O, with energies up to a few MeV. The performances of the microbeam have been assessed, in a first step, with 4 MeV protons. The beam spot size has been evaluated on CR39 track detectors and living cells at 2.2 ± 0.3 µm, and the targeting accuracy of the system has been measured using online time-lapse imaging at 2.1 ± 0.7 µm. The monitoring of the number of ions hitting the target can be carried out either by defining an appropriate beam opening time, thanks to a good beam stability and with regular beam monitoring between samples, or by placing thin ion detectors, currently under characterization, on the path of the beam for the lower numbers of ions. Future work will aim at improving the versatility of the MIRCOM facility, to be able to irradiate a wider variety of biological samples, from cellular to multicellular organisms

ISO/TC 85/SC 2 standards for staff radiation protection in medicine

International audienceThe international standardization organization ISO develops standards in the field of radiological protection for more than thirty years.Within ISO/TC 85 Nuclear energy, nuclear technologies and radiological protection, subcommittee SC 2 develops standards to improve radiation protection for individuals (workers, patients, members of the public) and in the environment in various exposure situations to ionizing radiations, planned, existing or emergency situations, linked to medical, nuclear, industrial or research activities and natural radiation sources (radon, cosmic radiation).In the medical field, the development of new standards meets the increasing need for guidelines and protocols. It includes standards for external and internal individual monitoring of the staff, for patient dosimetry and related protocols in clinical applications and for shielding systems

OpenRadiation : a collaborative project for radioactivity measurements in the environment by the public

International audienceAfter the Fukushima accident, initiatives emerged from the public to carry out themselves measurementsof the radioactivity in the environment with various devices, among which smartphones, and to share dataand experiences through collaborative tools and social networks. Such measurements have two majorinterests, on the one hand, to enable each individual of the public to assess his own risk regarding theradioactivity and, on the other hand, to provide “real time” data from the field at various locations, especiallyin the early phase of an emergency situation, which could be very useful for the emergency management.The objective of the OpenRadiation project is to offer the public the opportunity to perform measurementsof the radioactivity using connected dosimeters on smartphones. The challenge is to operate such a systemon a sustainable basis in normal situations and being useful in an emergency situation. In normal situations,this project is based on a collaborative approach with the aim to get complementary data to the existingones, to consolidate the radiation background, to generate alerts in case of problem and to provideeducation & training and enhanced pedagogical approaches for a clear understanding of measures for thepublic. In case of emergency situation, data will be available “spontaneously” from the field in “real time”providing an opportunity for the emergency management and the communication with the public.The practical objectives are to develop i) a website centralising measurements using various dosimeters,providing dose maps with raw and filtered data and offering dedicated areas for specific projects andexchanges around data and ii) a dosimetric app using a connected dosimeter. This project is conductedwithin a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientific community and associations tocreate links with the public.This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientificcommunity and associations to create links with the public. The website is available since October 2017 andmore than 100 000 measurements were performed by about 80 users

OpenRadiation : a collaborative project for radioactivity measurements in the environment by the public

International audienceAfter the Fukushima accident, initiatives emerged from the public to carry out themselves measurementsof the radioactivity in the environment with various devices, among which smartphones, and to share dataand experiences through collaborative tools and social networks. Such measurements have two majorinterests, on the one hand, to enable each individual of the public to assess his own risk regarding theradioactivity and, on the other hand, to provide “real time” data from the field at various locations, especiallyin the early phase of an emergency situation, which could be very useful for the emergency management.The objective of the OpenRadiation project is to offer the public the opportunity to perform measurementsof the radioactivity using connected dosimeters on smartphones. The challenge is to operate such a systemon a sustainable basis in normal situations and being useful in an emergency situation. In normal situations,this project is based on a collaborative approach with the aim to get complementary data to the existingones, to consolidate the radiation background, to generate alerts in case of problem and to provideeducation & training and enhanced pedagogical approaches for a clear understanding of measures for thepublic. In case of emergency situation, data will be available “spontaneously” from the field in “real time”providing an opportunity for the emergency management and the communication with the public.The practical objectives are to develop i) a website centralising measurements using various dosimeters,providing dose maps with raw and filtered data and offering dedicated areas for specific projects andexchanges around data and ii) a dosimetric app using a connected dosimeter. This project is conductedwithin a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientific community and associations tocreate links with the public.This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientificcommunity and associations to create links with the public. The website is available since October 2017 andmore than 100 000 measurements were performed by about 80 users

EURADOS strategic research agenda: vision for dosimetry of ionising radiation

Since autumn 2012, the European Radiation Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) has been developing its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), which is intended to contribute to the identification of future research needs in radiation dosimetry in Europe. The present article summarises—based on input from EURADOS Working Groups (WGs) and Voting Members—five visions in dosimetry and defines key issues in dosimetry research that are considered important for the next decades. The five visions include scientific developments required towards (a) updated fundamental dose concepts and quantities, (b) improved radiation risk estimates deduced from epidemiological cohorts, (c) efficient dose assessment for radiological emergencies, (d) integrated personalised dosimetry in medical applications and (e) improved radiation protection of workers and the public. The SRA of EURADOS will be used as a guideline for future activities of the EURADOS WGs. A detailed version of the SRA can be downloaded as a EURADOS report from the EURADOS website (www.eurados.org)