O Museu de Ciências Nucleares como um espaço interativo para desmistificação das ciências nucleares

This paper presents the educational potential of the Nuclear Science Museum (NSM) located at the Federal University of Pernambuco, the first museum about Nuclear Sciences in Latin America and the only one in Brazil fully dedicated to radioactivity and its beneficial applications. Its also presents a study about the your role as a facilitating space for new knowledge construction as well as the development of integrated competences and skills for students in Elementary. In this sense, the NSM provides an interactive and meaningful learning of nuclear science, articulating scientific information to social reality, playing an important role in the knowledge reconstruction process, demystifying unfounded prejudices and fears, and promoting a critical thinking about radioactivity. In addition, the visit to the NSM provides the reconstructive questioning about risks and benefits of radioactivity, which allows the students to make ethical and citizen decisions, with a wider perception founded on scientifically based information.O presente artigo discute o potencial educacional do Museu de Ciências Nucleares (MCN) localizado na Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, primeiro museu de Ciências Nucleares da América Latina e o único no Brasil inteiramente dedicado ao tema da radioatividade e suas aplicações benéficas. Também apresenta apontamentos sobre o museu enquanto espaço facilitador para a produção de novos saberes e desenvolvimento de competências e habilidades para a educação básica. Nesta direção, o MCN proporciona uma aprendizagem interativa e significativa da Ciência Nuclear, articulando a informação científica à realidade social, possuindo um grande papel no processo de reconstrução do conhecimento, desmistificando mitos e medos infundados, promovendo um senso crítico e reflexivo acerca da radioatividade. Além disso, a visita ao MCN proporciona o questionamento reconstrutivo sobre riscos e benefícios da radioatividade que oportuniza aos envolvidos a tomarem decisões éticas e cidadãs a respeito do tema com uma visão mais ampliada e cientificamente embasada

Determination of Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs) in General Radiographyin Latin America

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) through the International Action Plan on Radiation Protection of Patients and the International Commission on Radiological Protection have for some time carried out important efforts to assure that in the medical applications of the ionising radiations, the optimisation of radiological protection of patients is fundamental, to such a point that the IAEA includes it directly as a requirement for these practices (in its International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionising Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS)-GSR Part 1, 2011). For this reason, among the objectives of Regional Project RLA/9/057 and Regional Project RLA/9/067, the intention was to establish the dose references in conventional radiology for Latin America, for the purposes of determining whether these doses comply with the requirements of the BSS and to tend to improve practices, in order to minimise the dose received by the patients.Fil: Blanco, Susana Alicia Ana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Belgrano. Facultad de Ingenieria; ArgentinaFil: Mora, Patricia. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Atómicas, Nucleares y Moleculares; Costa RicaFil: Almonte, Narkiss. Comisión Nacional de Energía. Dirección Nuclear; República DominicanaFil: Benavente, Tony. Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear; PerúFil: Benson, Nadja. Ministerio de Salud. Dirección General de Salud; Reino UnidoFil: Blanco, Daniel. Universidad de la República. Centro de Investigaciones Nucleares; UruguayFil: Cárdenas, Juan. Centro de Protección e Higiene de las Radiaciones; CubaFil: Defaz Gómez, Yolanda. Hospital Oncológico SOLCA Nucleo de Quito; EcuadorFil: Edding, Oscar. Instituto de Salud Pública; ChileFil: Escobar, Carolina. Ministerio de Salud Pública y Acción Social. Unidad Reguladora de Radiaciones Ionizantes; El SalvadorFil: Fonseca, María. Hospital Nacional Roosevelt; GuatemalaFil: Gamarra, Mirta. Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social; ParaguayFil: García Aguilar, Juan. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares; MéxicoFil: Khoury, Helen Jamil. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Quintero, Ana Rosa. Hospital Oncológico "Dr Luis Razetti"; VenezuelaFil: Roas Zuniga, Norma. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua; NicaraguaFil: Zaire, Edgar. Instituto Boliviano de Ciencia y Tecnología Nuclear; BoliviaFil: Nader, Alejandro. International Atomic Energy Agency; Austri

Protección Radiológica en Radiología Dental

El uso de rayos X juega un papel esencial en el diagnóstico y planificación de tratamientos dentales. Los avances tecnológicos de los equipos de rayos X han contribuido al mayor uso de este tipo de radiación en la práctica odontológica. Aunque la exposición a la radiación es baja en estos procedimientos, todavía existe un riesgo que debe reducirse al mínimo necesario a fin de obtener una imagen adecuada para el diagnóstico y a la vez evitar efectos nocivos para el paciente y el personal involucrado. Debido al alto y creciente número de radiografías dentales, el hecho de que niños y adolescentes sean el foco de la mayoría de estas, la subestimación de la cantidad de exámenes radiológicos reportados y la supuesta baja conciencia de estudiantes y profesionales de la odontología sobre los peligros del uso indiscriminado de los rayos X, es necesario adoptar medidas de protección radiológica para mitigar los efectos biológicos radioinducidos. Este artículo tiene como objetivo revisar los principios básicos de la radioprotección que deben considerarse en la práctica dental, con el fin de garantizar el menor daño posible a trabajadores ocupacionalmente expuestos, pacientes y miembros del público

Manufacturing polycrystalline pellets of natural quartz for applications in thermoluminescence dosimetry

This paper describes the manufacturing process of quartz-pellets and shows their potential use as thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD) for those applications where low-levels of ionising radiation are present. Two batches of cold-pressed pellets were produced and their resistance were evaluated by vibration tests and weight-loss measurements. The batch manufactured with 75 × 150 µm particles showed enough resistance to be employed as TLD. The dosimetric properties of the 310 °C peak appearing in the glow curves of these pellets were characterized together with commercial TLD-100 units using γ- and X-ray beams with different energies. The uncertainties related to reproducibility and stability of the TL signal were better than 10%. The sensitivity and the linearity of the TL response of quartz-pellets were better than that measured for TLD-100 for doses ranging from 0.5 to 200 mGy. The energy dependence of the quartz-pellets was higher than that of TLD-100 but it cannot be considered a restriction to their use in clinical procedures and industrial applications