Estimation of radiation doses for three exposed patients in the Tokai-mura accident based on 24Na in their biological materials.

Abstract

Concentrations of radionuclides in blood, urine, vomit and hair samples from three heavily exposed patients were determined by gamma-spectrometry. Activation products such as 24Na, 42K and 82Br were identified in these materials. The radionuclide of the highest activity observed in biological material was 24Na, e. g. the concentrations of this nuclide in the blood samples from the three patients at the accident time were 169, 92 and 23 Bq ml^-1^. Concentrations of the stable Na in the same samples were determined by ICP-AES to obtain specific activities (concentration ratio between the produced 24Na and stable 23Na). The specific activities of 24Na obtained for the three patients through the blood analysis were 8.24*10^4^, 4.34*10^4^ and 1.23*10^4^Bq24Na/g23Na, respectively. Based on these values, neutron fluences for the three patients were estimated to be 5.7*10^11^, 3.0*10^11^ and 0.85 *10^11^ cm^-2^, respectively. Absorbed doses for three patients due to neutrons were estimated to be 5.4, 2.9 and 0.81Gy, those due to gamma-rays 8.5-13, 4.5-6.9 and 1.3-2.0Gy, respectively

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