Shielding and radiation protection at the SSRL 3 GeV injector

The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) Injector is comprised of a linear accelerator (linac) capable of energies {le} 150 MeV, a 3 GeV booster synchrotron, and a beam line to transport the electrons into the storage ring SPEAR. The injector is shielded so that under normal operating conditions, the annual dose equivalent at the shield surface does not exceed 10 mSv. This paper describes the shielding and radiation protection at the injector

The response of survey meters to pulsed radiation fields

The response of most survey meters to steady radiation fields is fairly well known and documented. However, hardly any data is available in the literature regarding the response of these instruments to pulsed radiation. Pulsed radiation fields are encountered, e.g., in the vicinity of linear electron accelerators or klystrons. An instrument that ordinarily responds well to the average dose rate spread out evenly in time may not be able to cope with such a high dose rate. Instruments which have long dead times such as Geiger Mueller and proportional counters tend to become saturated in such fields and only count repetition rate. Ionization chambers are less influenced, however, they must be operated with adequate voltage to overcome recombination losses. Scintillation survey meters may become non-linear at higher dose rates for pulsed radiation because the photomultiplier cannot handle the instantaneous currents that are required. Because of the need to test the response of different radiation detection instruments to pulsed fields, a pulsed x-ray facility has been built (I/sub p/87). A brief description of this facility is given along with tests of several different instruments. 5 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Low-energy x-ray dosimetry studies (7 to 17.5 keV) with synchroton radiation

Unique properties of synchrotron radiation (SR), such as its high intensity, brightness, polarization, and broad spectral distribution (extending from x-ray to infra-red wavelengths) make it an attractive light source for numerous experiments. As SR facilities are rapidly being built all over the world, they introduce the need for low-energy x-ray dosemeters because of the potential radiation exposure to experimenters. However, they also provide a unique opportunity for low-energy x-ray dosimetry studies because of the availability of monochromatic x-ray beams. Results of such studies performed at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory are described. Lithium fluoride TLDs (TLD-100) of varying thicknesses (0.015 to 0.08 cm) were exposed free in air to monochromatic x-rays (7 to 17.5 keV). These exposures were monitored with ionization chambers. The response (nC/Gy) was found to increase with increasing TLD thickness and with increasing beam energy. A steeper increase in response with increasing energy was observed with the thicker TLDs. The responses at 7 and 17.5 keV were within a factor of 2.3 and 5.2 for the 0.015 and 0.08 cm-thick TLDs, respectively. The effects of narrow (beam size smaller than the dosemeter) and broad (beam size larger than the dosemeter) beams on the response of the TLDs are also reported

Synchrotron radiation shielding for SLC alcove electronics

The question has been raised concerning where to put lead shielding to reduce the synchrotron radiation dose to the electronics in the alcoves. Assuming that the alcoves are not near a collimator, the dominant radiation source is synchrotron radiation. Previous calculations indicate that a one-centimeter-thick lead door on the alcove would provide sufficient shielding. It was proposed that a one-half-inch-thick lead door be used (the next available thickness). The door would be roughly 36 square ft and weigh 1150 lbs. The alternative would be to shield the transport line, i.e., the open side of the magnets and the gaps between the magnets. We have done some further calculations concerning the possibilities of shielding the transport lines instead of the alcove. The point of contention in previous discussions is whether synchrotron radiation propagates as a gas down the tunnel or whether it is attenuated rapidly

SLAC pulsed x-ray facility

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) operates a high energy (up to 33 GeV) linear accelerator delivering pulses up to a few microseconds wide. The pulsed nature of the electron beam creates problems in the detection and measurement of radiation both from the accelerator beam and the klystrons that provide the rf power for the accelerator. Hence, a pulsed x-ray facility has been built at SLAC mainly for the purpose of testing the response of different radiation detection instruments to pulsed radiation fields. The x-ray tube consists of an electron gun with a control grid. This provides a stream of pulsed electrons that can be accelerated towards a confined target-window. The window is made up of aluminium 0.051 cm (20 mils) thick, plated on the vacuum side with a layer of gold 0.0006 cm (1/4 mil) thick. The frequency of electron pulses can be varied by an internal pulser from 60 to 360 pulses per second with pulse widths of 360 ns to 5 ..mu..s. The pulse amplitude can be varied over a wide range of currents. An external pulser can be used to obtain other frequencies or special pulse shapes. The voltage across the gun can be varied from 0 to 100 kV. The major part of the x-ray tube is enclosed in a large walk-in-cabinet made of 1.9 cm (3/4 in) plywood and lined with 0.32 cm (1/8 in) lead to make a very versatile facility. 3 refs., 5 figs

Field characterization and personal dosimetry at a high energy ion accelerator

The response of a variety of dosimeters was evaluated in the radiation field outside the shielding of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Bevalac Biomedical Facility. The primary beam was 580 MeV/center dot/A neon ions, incident upon a 30.5-cm polyethylene cube. The field was characterized by a neutron spectrometer consisting of Bonner spheres and other detectors and by estimates of charged particle fluences in NTA film and in the Berklet spectrometer. The responses of American Acrylics CR-39 track-etch plastic detectors and AECL (Canada) type BD-100 Bubble Detectors were compared to those of NTA film, Andersson-Braun remmeter and recombination-chamber results as well as to reference dose equivalents based upon the unfolded neutron spectrum. Evaluations of these dosimeters are discussed. 7 refs., 4 figs

A comparison of the neutron response of CR-39 made by different manufacturers

CR-39 was obtained from American Acrylics and Plastics, Inc. (A.A), N. E. Technology, Ltd. (N.E), and Tech/Ops Landauer, Inc. (LT). The dosemeters were exposed to radioisotopic neutron sources at SLAC, and moderated {sup 252}Cf at ORNL. The A.A. and N.E. dosemeters were electrochemically etched (pre-etch in 6.5 N KOH at 60{degrees}C for 1 hour and 45 minutes, a 5 hour etch at 3000 V and 60 Hz, a 23 minute blow-up step at 2 kHz and a post-etch for 15 minutes). Track densities were determined with the Homann Track Size Image Analyzer. The LT dosemeters were chemically etched in 5.5 N NaOH at 70{degrees}C for 15.5 hours. Some A.A., N.E., and LT dosemeters were etched in 6.25 N NaOH at 70{degrees}C for 6 hours. A pre-etch step in 60% methanol and 40% NaOH at 70{degrees}C for 1 hour was added for some N.E. dosemeters. The results of these studies are reported in this paper. 3 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs