Commercial window glass tested as possible high dose dosimeter. Electron and gamma irradiation

The use of commercial window glass as possible high dose routine dosimeter has been investigated. Glass samples have been irradiated with doses in the range of 1-50 kGy using 60Co γ source, 4 MeV and 12 MeV electron accelerators. The samples were given a post irradiation thermal treatment (150 oC for 20 min) in order to improve the post irradiation stability of the measured specific optical absorbance, since a rapid fading of the optical absorbance has been observed at room temperature immediately after irradiation. The optical absorbance measurements of the irradiated samples, kept in the dark and at room temperature, were carried on for several weeks. The samples submitted to heat treatment showed a decrease of about 10-15% of the specific optical absorbance that became much less pronounced after 10 days from the irradiation. The response of the window glass plates is energy and dose rate dependent. This study shows the feasibility of using commercial window glass as a routine dosimeter in a certain dose range after proper calibration in the irradiation plant where they are going to be used

Energy device for monitoring 4-10 MeV industrial electron accelerators

The electron beam energy is one of the critical parameters of electron accelerators since it can affect the dose distribution inside the body or in products to be irradiated with a beam of energetic electrons. A device has been developed for monitoring small variations in the electron beam energy that is easy-to-use during an irradiation run. It involves measurement of currents (or charges) collected by two identical aluminium plates, except for their thickness, and electrically insulated from each other, located in the beam. The ratio of these two currents (or collected charges) is quite sensitive to the beam energy; optimization of sensitivity is obtained by selecting the appropriate thickness of the front plate depending on the beam energy. In the present paper, we have investigated the feasibility of using this energy device at energies, from 4 to 10 MeV

Post-socialist Urban Ecosystems in Flux: The Socio-spatial Differentiation of Three Budapest Districts

This paper investigates the changing post-socialist patterns of social and environmental segregation in Budapest, through a case study of three of its inner-city districts. These quarters represent a north-south cross-section of the city, because they contain the northern edge of the mixed-use residential and commercial urban core of Budapest, in addition to a wider range of historical residential and industrial areas in the inner city, and former industrial suburbs. The paper also includes a review of the spatial structure of the human, built and natural components of the urban ecosystem at the onset of the transformation, with the aim of clarifying how socialist-era trends have influenced urban residential inequalities. This has been supplemented with an outline of the qualitative features and temporal trends of urban spatial ecological differentiation in the post-socialism. The concluding section of the paper outlines the policy issues related to the social and environmental problems observed in the given context