Publicly available database of measurements with the silicon spectrometer Liulin onboard aircraft

Aircrew members are exposed to ionizing radiation due to their work onboard aircraft. ICRP recommended the monitoring of their effective doses because they regularly exceed the limit of 1 mSv per year for the public exposure. The effective doses are routinely calculated by computer codes that take into account flight parameters like altitude, geographic position, and solar activity. This approach was preferred against personal dosimeters method because the effective dose cannot be evaluated experimentally. However, it is generally accepted, that these calculations should be periodically verified by measurements of H*(10) which is frequently used as a surrogate for effective dose. This report refers about the database (available online http://hroch.ujf.cas.cz/ similar to aircraft/) of long-term measurements with the silicon spectrometer Liulin onboard aircraft. The measurements have been performed since March 2001; so up to date, the database covers a period of 11-years (with a few interruptions) which is usually the duration of the whole solar cycle. The database comprises more than 10(5) individual records of energy deposition spectra, absorbed dose rates, and ambient dose equivalent rates. Each record contains also the information on all flight parameters needed for calculation of dosimetric quantities by the computer codes, and thus the database represent an useful tool for verification of the routine dosimetry of aircraft crews. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Measurement of target fragments produced by 160 MeV proton beam in aluminum and polyethylene with CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors

Production of target fragments from reactions of 160 MeV proton beams in aluminum and polyethylene was measured with CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTD). Due to the detection limit of PNTD, primary protons cannot be detected; only low-energy short-range target fragments are registered. As a feasibility study, a so called "two step etching method" was employed to get the linear energy transfer (LET) spectra, absorbed dose, and dose equivalent. This method is discussed in this paper, together with the measured results. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Measurement of target fragments produced by 160 MeV proton beam in aluminum and polyethylene with CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors

Production of target fragments from reactions of 160 MeV proton beams in aluminum and polyethylene sas measured with CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTD). Due to the detection limit of PNTD, primary protons cannot be detected; only low-energy short-range target fragments are registered. As afeasibility study, a so called “two step etching method” was employed to get the linear energy transfer (LET) spectra, absorbed dose, and dose equivalent. This method is discussed in this paper, together with the measured results

Uncertainties in linear energy transfer spectra measured with track-etched detectors in space

Polyallyldiglycol carbonate-based track-etched detectors can measure linear energy transfer (LET) spectra of charged particles. Accuracy of the spectra is affected by many factors whose effects are difficult to quantify. Typically, only uncertainty arising from the randomness of particle detection is reported in scientific literature. The aim of this paper is to classify the sources of uncertainties of an LET spectrum measurement and provide a simple model for the calculation of the combined uncertainty. The model was used for a spectrum measured with the track-etched detector (Harzlas TD-1) on board of the International Space Station from May-October 2009. For some spectrum bins the largest contribution to the combined uncertainty came from the uncertainty arising from the randomness of particle detection. For other bins it came from the uncertainty of the calibration curve. Contribution from the cross talk between bins was small for most of the bins as the width of the bins was relatively large compared to the intrinsic resolution of the track-etched detector. The analysis showed that sources of uncertainties other than the randomness of particle detection should not, in general, be neglected

Radiation environment onboard spacecraft at LEO and in deep space

It is well known that outside the Earth's protective atmosphere and magnetosphere, the environment is very harsh and unfriendly for any living organism, due to the micro gravity, lack of oxygen and protection from high energetic ionizing cosmic radiation, as well as from powerful solar energetic particles (SEPs). The space radiation exposure leads to increased health risks, including tumor lethality, circulatory diseases and damages on the central nervous systems. In case of SEP events, exposures of spacecraft crews may be lethal. Space radiation hazards are therefore recognized as a key concern for human space flight. For long-term interplanetary missions, they constitute a limiting factor since current protection limits might be approached or even exceeded. Better risk assessment requires knowledge of the radiation quality, as well as equivalent doses in critical radiosensitive organs, and different risk coefficient for different radiation caused illnesses and diseases must be developed. The use of human phantoms, simulating an astronaut's body, provides detailed information of the depth-dose distributions, and radiation quality, inside the human body. In this paper we will therefore review the major phantom experiments performed at Low Earth Orbits (LEO) [1]. However, the radiation environment in deep space is different from LEO. Based on fundamental physics principles, it is clear that hydrogen rich, light and neutron deficient materials have the best shielding properties against Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) [2,3]. It has also been shown [4,5] that water shielding material can reduce the dose from Trapped Particles (TP), the low energetic part of GCR, and from low energetic SEP events. However, the total dose from GCR, for moderate shielding thicknesses, is actually increasing when increasing the shielding thickness due to the buildup of secondary fragments, protons and neutrons [5]. Examples of promising shielding materials are polyethylene and hydrogen rich carbon composite materials. Nevertheless, not even these shielding materials have been proven to significantly reduce the radiation health risks compared to e.g. aluminum shielding due to the high energetic GCR particles, the created fragments, and the large radiobiological uncertainties in the GCR risk projection [6,7]. A better understanding of the radiobiological effects of GCR are therefore needed, as well as better cancer risk models, and models for estimating the risks for circulatory diseases and damages on the central nervous systems. To reduce the health risks, a combination of passive and active shielding might be a realistic option for long term interplanetary missions, in combination with means to minimizing the time in deep space and to perform the missions during solar maximum to minimize the flux of GCR. Suitable radioprotectors, e.g. agents that act directly to protect cellular component and oppose the action of radiation induced free radicals, and reactive oxygen species, as well as radiomitigators, e.g. agents that accelerate post-radiation recovery and prevent complications, could also be developed. There might also be a need to accept an increased risk for carcinogenesis than what is stated by current dose limits

Simulations of absorbed dose on the phantom surface of MATROSHKA-R experiment at the ISS

The health risks associated with exposure to various components of space radiation are of great concern when planning manned long-term interplanetary missions, such as future missions to Mars. Since it is not possible to measure the radiation environment inside of human organs in deep space, simulations based on radiation transport/interaction codes coupled to phantoms of tissue equivalent materials are used. However, the calculated results depend on the models used in the codes, and it is therefore necessary to verify their validity by comparison with measured data. The goal of this paper is to compare absorbed doses obtained in the MATROSHKA-R experiment performed at the International Space Station (ISS) with simulations performed with the three-dimensional Monte Carlo Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System (PHITS). The absorbed dose was measured using passive detectors (packages of thermoluminescent and plastic nuclear track detectors) placed on the surface of the spherical tissue equivalent phantom MATROSHKA-R, which was exposed aboard the ISS in the Service Zvezda Module from December 2005 to September 2006. The data calculated by PHITS assuming an ISS shielding of 3 g/cm(2) and 5 g/cm(2) aluminum mass thickness were in good agreement with the measurements. Using a simplified geometrical model of the ISS, the influence of variations in altitude and wall mass thickness of the ISS on the calculated absorbed dose was estimated. The uncertainties of the calculated data are also discussed; the relative expanded uncertainty of absorbed dose in phantom was estimated to be 44% at a 95% confidence level

Calibration of modified Liulin detector for cosmic radiation measurements on-board aircraft

The annual effective doses of aircrew members often exceed the limit of 1 mSv for the public due to the increased level of cosmic radiation at the flight altitudes, and thus, it is recommended to monitor them. Aircrew dosimetry is usually performed using special computer programs mostly based on results of Monte Carlo simulations. Contemporary, detectors are used mostly for validation of these computer codes, verification of effective dose calculations and for research purposes. One of such detectors is active silicon semiconductor deposited energy spectrometer Liulin. Output quantities of measurement with the Liulin detector are the absorbed dose in silicon D and the ambient dose equivalent H*(10); to determine it, two calibrations are necessary. The purpose of this work was to develop a calibration methodology that can be used to convert signal from the detector to D independently on calibration performed at Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator facility in Chiba, Japan

Dose Distribution Outside the Target Volume for 170-Mev Proton Beam

Dose delivered outside the proton field during radiotherapy can potentially lead to secondary cancer development. Measurements with a 170-MeV proton beam were performed with passive detectors (track etched detectors and thermoluminescence dose-meters) in three different depths along the Bragg curve. The measurement showed an uneven decrease of the dose outside of the beam field with local enhancements. The major contribution to the delivered dose is due to high-energy protons with linear energy transfer (LET) up to 10 keV mu m(-1). However, both measurement and preliminary Monte Carlo calculation also confirmed the presence of particles with higher LET