Effect of uncertainty in transfer rates for the ICPR publication 67 biokinetic model on dose estimation for 239Pu from results of individual monitoring. International Commission on Radiological Protection

The radiation dose due to internal exposures from 239Pu is mainly estimated by measuring actual urinary or faecal excretion of activity and comparing those values with the standard excretion rates calculated from the models of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Recently, on the other hand, uncertainties in the ICRP's models and parameters are under consideration because of the paucity of human data. In addition, there is a possibility of variation between individuals. A code has been developed to reproduce the ICRP's dose coefficients and excretion rates for 239Pu, which is one of the most important elements for occupational exposure. By using this code, the respective transfer rates for the ICRP Publication 67 biokinetic model were modified, and the effect owing to these changes on present hazard assessment was investigated. As a result, it was shown that dose estimates for workers exposed to 239Pu were not very sensitive to changes in these transfer rates.     

The impact of the draft 2005 recommendations of ICRP on secondary derived regulatory values being considered by the US Department of Energy

The US Department of Energy, Office of Environment, Safety and Health, Office of Health is responsible for maintaining the Department of Energy's occupational radiation protection rule, Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 835, Occupational Radiation Protection. The Department of Energy is evaluating amending its rule to include the dose assessment methodology recommended in International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publications 60 and 68. On 21 June 2004 the ICRP posted their draft, Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection 2005, which included revisions to the recommended dose assessment methodology. The Department of Energy compared the draft recommendations to determine their effect on the changes the Department of Energy is currently considering.     

Skeletal absorbed fractions for electrons in the adult male: considerations of a revised 50-microm definition of the bone endosteum

In 1995, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) issued ICRP Publication 70 which provided an extensive update to the physiological and anatomical reference data for the skeleton of adults and children originally issued in ICRP Publication 23. Although ICRP Publication 70 has been a valuable document in the development of reference voxel computational phantoms, additional guidance is needed for dose assessment in the skeletal tissues beyond that given in ICRP Publication 30. In this study, a computed tomography (CT) and micro-CT-based model of the skeletal tissues is presented, which considers (1) a 50-microm depth in marrow for the osteoprogenitor cells, (2) electron escape from trabecular spongiosa to the surrounding cortical bone, (3) cortical bone to trabecular spongiosa cross-fire for electrons and (4) variations in specific absorbed fraction with changes in bone marrow cellularity for electrons. A representative data set is given for electron dosimetry in the craniofacial bones of the adult male.     

Dosimetry of radioiodine for embryo and fetus

This paper discusses the biokinetic and dosimetric models adopted in ICRP Publication 88 for the evaluation of fetal doses resulting from maternal intakes of radioiodine. The biokinetic model is used to simulate the behaviour of iodine in both the mother and the fetus. Such simulations provide the basis for the estimation of the dose to the embryo and determine the distribution of maternal iodine at the beginning of the fetal period. The model considers iodine to accumulate in the fetal thyroid from the 11th week. The dose to the fetus delivered following birth is evaluated with the biokinetic and dosimetric models described in ICRP Publication 67. Although a substantial fraction of the emitted energy of electrons and photons is less than 10 keV, conventionally assumed to be non-penetrating radiation, these emissions can escape the small fetal thyroid. Absorbed fractions for both self-dose and crossfire were evaluated for the requirements of radioiodine dosimetry in ICRP Publication 88.     

A case study of the long-term retention of 137Cs after inhalation of high temperature reactor fuel element ash

In 1987, a worker was internally contaminated with 137Cs as a result of an accident during the handling of high temperature reactor fuel element ash. In the long-term follow-up monitoring an unusual retention behaviour was found. The observed time dependence of caesium retention does not agree with the standard models of ICRP Publication 30. The present case can be better explained by assuming an intake of a mixture of type F and type S compounds. However, experimental data can be best described by a four-exponential retention function with two long-lived components, which was used as an ad hoc model for dose calculation. The resulting dose is compared with doses calculated on the basis of ICRP Publication 66.     

Impact of the introduction of ICRP Publication 103 on neutron dosimetry

The impact of the introduction of ICRP Publication 103 on neutron dosimetry was analysed by calculating effective doses in various operational neutron fields, using dose conversion coefficients derived from the recommendations given in ICRP 103 and ICRP 60. It was found from the analysis that effective doses based on ICRP 103 are generally smaller than those based on ICRP 60, mainly owing to the revision of w(R) assigned to neutrons. The results also indicate that H*(10) can provide a conservative estimate for ICRP 103-based effective doses in most neutron fields. These tendencies suggest that the radiological protection system currently adopted in accelerators and nuclear facilities can be maintained after the introduction of ICRP 103, with respect to neutron dosimetry.     

Voxel-based models representing the male and female ICRP reference adult--the skeleton

For the forthcoming update of organ dose conversion coefficients, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) will use voxel-based computational phantoms due to their improved anatomical realism compared with the class of mathematical or stylized phantoms used previously. According to the ICRP philosophy, these phantoms should be representative of the male and female reference adults with respect to their external dimensions, their organ topology and their organ masses. To meet these requirements, reference models of an adult male and adult female have been constructed at the GSF, based on existing voxel models segmented from tomographic images of two individuals whose body height and weight closely resemble the ICRP Publication 89 reference values. The skeleton is a highly complex structure of the body, composed of cortical bone, trabecular bone, red and yellow bone marrow and endosteum ('bone surfaces' in their older terminology). The skeleton of the reference phantoms consists of 19 individually segmented bones and bone groups. Sub-division of these bones into the above-mentioned constituents would be necessary in order to allow a direct calculation of dose to red bone marrow and endosteum. However, the dimensions of the trabeculae, the cavities containing bone marrow and the endosteum layer lining these cavities are clearly smaller than the resolution of a normal CT scan and, thus, these volumes could not be segmented in the tomographic images. As an attempt to represent the gross spatial distribution of these regions as realistically as possible at the given voxel resolution, 48 individual organ identification numbers were assigned to various parts of the skeleton: every segmented bone was subdivided into an outer shell of cortical bone and a spongious core; in the shafts of the long bones, a medullary cavity was additionally segmented. Using the data from ICRP Publication 89 on elemental tissue composition, from ICRU Report 46 on material mass densities, and from ICRP Publication 70 on the distribution of the red bone marrow among and marrow cellularity in individual bones, individual elemental compositions for these segmented bone regions were derived. Thus, most of the relevant source and target regions of the skeleton were provided. Dose calculations using these regions will be based on fluence-to-dose response functions that are multiplied with the particle fluence inside specific bone regions to give the dose quantities of interest to the target tissues.     

Review of methods and computer codes for interpretation of bioassay data

Internal dose determination is an essential component of individual monitoring programmes for workers or members of the public exposed to radionuclides, and methods and computer programs are required for dose assessment. A recent international European Radiation Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) intercomparison has shown unacceptably large ranges in the results assessment. An ICRP working party has been initiated to consider what guidance ICRP can give on the use of models and interpret bioassay data in terms of intake/dose. In this field, six codes for bioassay data interpretation, which implement the current ICRP publication 78 biokinetic models, have been reviewed against several criteria with different levels of importance: minor criteria such as the practical use of the code and the graphical capabilities, and major criteria such as the choice of available parameters, peculiarities of data fitting and interpretation, the choice of biokinetic models and the use of uncertainties. All these criteria were assessed using one artificial set of data and two examples extracted from the previous international EURADOS intercomparison.     

Reliability of the ICRP'S dose coefficients for members of the public: IV. basis of the human alimentary tract model and uncertainties in model predictions

The biokinetic and dosimetric model of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract applied in current documents of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) was developed in the mid-1960s. The model was based on features of a reference adult male and was first used by the ICRP in Publication 30, Limits for Intakes of Radionuclides by Workers (Part 1, 1979). In the late 1990s an ICRP task group was appointed to develop a biokinetic and dosimetric model of the alimentary tract that reflects updated information and addresses current needs in radiation protection. The new age-specific and gender-specific model, called the Human Alimentary Tract Model (HATM), has been completed and will replace the GI model of Publication 30 in upcoming ICRP documents. This paper discusses the basis for the structure and parameter values of the HATM, summarises the uncertainties associated with selected features and types of predictions of the HATM and examines the sensitivity of dose estimates to these uncertainties for selected radionuclides. Emphasis is on generic biokinetic features of the HATM, particularly transit times through the lumen of the alimentary tract, but key dosimetric features of the model are outlined, and the sensitivity of tissue dose estimates to uncertainties in dosimetric as well as biokinetic features of the HATM are examined for selected radionuclides.     

基于ICRP新肺模型的吸入核素内照射剂量计算

研究了吸入气溶胶在呼吸道内的沉积与廓清规律,评估吸入放射性物质在呼吸道内所致内照射剂量.采取ICRP第66号出版物提出的呼吸系统模型与相关参数,建立吸入放射性气溶胶在呼吸道内输运与剂量计算的数学模型,并用C++语言编程实现模型的计算.该模型可得到各种条件下吸入粒子在呼吸道内的沉积分布与廓清规律,以及吸人放射性物质在呼吸道各靶区内任意待积时间内造成的当量剂量.仿真结果表明:建立的数学模型与计算程序可用于意外吸人情况下的内照射剂量估算或职业人员常规个人内照射剂量估算.     

Assessment of environmental radon hazard using human respiratory tract models

Radon is a natural radioactive gas derived from geological materials. It has been estimated that about half of the total effective dose received by human beings from all sources of ionizing radiation is attributed to 222Rn and its short-lived progeny. In this paper, the use of human respiratory tract models to assess the health hazard from environmental radon is reviewed. A short history of dosimetric models for the human respiratory tract from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is first presented. The most important features of the newest model published by ICRP in 1994 (as ICRP Publication 66) are then described, including the morphometric model, physiological parameters, radiation biology, deposition of aerosols, clearance model and dose weighting. Comparison between different morphometric models and comparison between different deposition models are then given. Finally, the significance of various parameters in the lung model is discussed, including aerosol parameters, subject related parameters, target and cell related parameters, and parameters that define the absorption of radon from the lungs to blood. Dosimetric calculations gave a dose conversion coefficient of 15 mSv/WLM, which is higher than the value 5 mSv/WLM derived from epidemiological studies. ICRP stated that dosimetric models should only be used for comparison of doses in the human lungs resulted from different exposure conditions.     

UK laboratory intercomparison on internal dosimetry

A laboratory intercomparison for internal dose assessment from a variety of intake scenarios is described. This is the first UK intercomparison using the revised ICRP Human Respiratory Tract and biokinetic models. Four United Kingdom laboratories participated and six cases were assessed. Overall, the agreement in internal dose assessments between laboratories was considered satisfactory with 79% of the assessed committed effective doses, e(50), for cases within a band of +/- 40% of the median value. The range (highest/lowest) in e(50) estimated by the laboratories was smallest (1.2) for a case involving inhalation of 137Cs. The range was greatest (6.0) for a case involving a wound with, and possible inhalation of, 238Pu, 239Pu and 241Am; the variation between laboratories in assessment of intakes could not be considered to be satisfactory in this case. Judgements on the most appropriate data to use in estimating intakes, choice of parameter values for use with the ICRP models and allowing for the effects of treatment with DTPA were important sources of variability between laboratories.     

The ICRP protection quantities, equivalent and effective dose: their basis and application

Equivalent and effective dose are protection quantities defined by the The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). They are frequently referred to simply as dose and may be misused. They provide a method for the summation of doses received from external sources and from intakes of radionuclides for comparison with dose limits and constraints, set to limit the risk of cancer and hereditary effects. For the assessment of internal doses, ICRP provides dose coefficients (Sv Bq(-1)) for the ingestion or inhalation of radionuclides by workers and members of the public, including children. Dose coefficients have also been calculated for in utero exposures following maternal intakes and for the transfer of radionuclides in breast milk. In each case, values are given of committed equivalent doses to organs and tissues and committed effective dose. Their calculation involves the use of defined biokinetic and dosimetric models, including the use of reference phantoms representing the human body. Radiation weighting factors are used as a simple representation of the different effectiveness of different radiations in causing stochastic effects at low doses. A single set of tissue weighting factors is used to take account of the contribution of individual organs and tissues to overall detriment from cancer and hereditary effects, despite age- and gender-related differences in estimates of risk and contributions to risk. The results are quantities that are not individual specific but are reference values for protection purposes, relating to doses to phantoms. The ICRP protection quantities are not intended for detailed assessments of dose and risk to individuals. They should not be used in epidemiological analyses or the assessment of the possibility of occurrence and severity of tissue reactions (deterministic effects) at higher doses. Dose coefficients are published as reference values and as such have no associated uncertainty. Assessments of uncertainties may be appropriate in specific analyses of doses and risks and in epidemiological studies.     

Effective quality factors for neutrons based on the revised ICRP/ICRU recommendations

The quality factor (Q) is intended to relate the biological effectiveness of a radiation to the absorbed dose delivered in tissue. Quality factors are defined as a function of the unrestricted linear energy transfer (L) relationship in water and are used with operational quantities. Radiation weighting factors (wR) are used in protection quantities to take into account total radiation detriment. While the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) defines the Q(L) relationship, the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) recommends the charged particle stopping power and range data. If either of these data recommendations change, the quality factors must be recomputed. The latest guidance from both organisations applicable to neutron quality factors are the ICRP Publication 60 (Q(L) relationship) and the ICRU Report 49 (stopping power and range data). In the present study, absorbed dose conversion coefficients (pGy cm2) were calculated for two operational quantities defined by the ICRU--the ambient absorbed dose and the personal absorbed dose. Dose-equivalent (pSv cm2) conversion coefficients were also computed using mean quality factors based on ICRP 60 and ICRU 49 recommendations. Effective quality factors were then calculated from the ratio of the dose-equivalent to the absorbed dose conversion coefficients for both the personal dose-equivalent and ambient dose-equivalent and compared to values reported in the literature.     

Prediction of the variation in risks from exposure to radon at home or at work

On the basis of a review of recent epidemiology, the ICRP recently issued a statement outlining a new approach to radon. The ICRP indicates that the Publication 65 dose conversion convention will be replaced using the dosimetric approach currently used for other radionuclides. Moreover, the ICRP indicates that the dose conversion factor is expected to increase by about a factor of 2. This paper independently examines the risks associated with exposure to radon and decay products through estimation of lifetime excess absolute risks per WLM for a variety of epidemiological risk projection models and baseline cancer and mortality rates. This paper suggests that current ICRP dosimetric models do not reflect the effect of smoking and suggest that basic risk estimates and dose conversion factors be based on risks to non-smoking populations with recognition that lifestyle choices, especially smoking, have a large effect on the risk from exposure to radon.     

Determination of the solubility and size distribution of radioactive aerosols in the uranium processing plant at NRCN

Inhalation is the main route of internal exposure to radioactive aerosols in the nuclear industry. To assess the radiation dose from the intake of these aerosols, it is necessary to know their physical (aerodynamic diameter distribution) and chemical (dissolution rate in extracellular lung fluid) characteristics. Air samples were taken from the uranium processing plant at the Nuclear Research Center, Negev. Measurements of aerodynamic diameter distribution using a cascade impactor indicated an average activity median aerodynamic diameter value close to 5 microm, in accordance with the recent recommended values of International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) model. Solubility profiles of these aerosols were determined by performing in vitro solubility tests over 100 d in a simultant solution of the extracellular fluid. The tests indicated that the uranium aerosols should be assigned to an absorption between Types M and S (as defined by the ICRP Publication 66 model).     

Surface-seeking radionuclides in the skeleton: current approach and recent developments in biokinetic modelling for humans and beagles

In the last decade, the biokinetics of surface-seeking radionuclides in the skeleton has been the object of several studies. Investigations were carried out to determine the kinetics of plutonium and americium in the skeleton of humans and beagles. As a result of these investigations, in recent years the models presented by ICRP in Publication 67 for humans were partially revised, particularly the skeletal part. The aim of the present work is to present recent developments in the biokinetic modelling of surface-seeking radionuclides (plutonium and americium) in beagles and humans. Various assumptions and physiological interpretations of the different approaches to the biokinetic modelling of the skeleton are discussed. Current ICRP concepts and skeleton modelling of plutonium and americium in humans are compared to the latest developments in biokinetic modelling in beagles.     

Worker inhalation dose coefficients for radionuclides not previously identified in ICRP publication 68

While inhalation dose coefficients are provided for about 800 radionuclides in International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 68, many radionuclides of practical dosimetric interest for facilities such as high-energy proton accelerators are not specifically addressed, nor are organ-specific dose coefficients tabulated. The ICRP Publication 68 dosimetry concepts are used, along with updated radiological decay data and metabolic data, to calculate committed equivalent dose coefficients [h(T)(50)] and committed effective dose coefficients [e(50)] for radionuclides produced at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Spallation Neutron Source.     

Electronic look-up tables on retention and excretion of radionuclides as a PC based support system for internal dosimetry

For the implementation of internal dosimetry in workplaces based on individual monitoring, information that relates the measurement results with the intake of radionuclides is required. The present work provides electronic look-up tables as a PC based support system for internal dosimetry. The tables contain the computed values for retention and excretion of 42 selected radionuclides following a single intake by inhalation and by ingestion, where the new ICRP respiratory tract model and the latest ICRP biokinetic models were used. These look-up tables contain the day-by-day data up to 1000 days and the data at every 10 days up to 10,000 days for the monitoring quantities. Users can readily evaluate intake of radionuclides by dividing the measured results with the values in these electronic look-up tables.     

Structure of a physiologically based biokinetic model for use in 14C and organically bound tritium dosimetry

Physiologically based biokinetic (PBBK) dosimetry models for beta emitters such as 3H and 14C must include rapid turnover compartments which, while they may be minor in terms of dose commitment, can dominate bioassay measurements at early times after intake. In this paper, a consistent PBBK model structure will be described for use in dose assessments for organic 14C and organically bound tritium (OBT), and also for 14CO2, based on the literature of human carbon metabolism, and on direct measurements of human excretion. CO3/HCO3- is a central compartment in carbon metabolism. The 14CO2 biokinetic model described in ICRP Publication 80 for the calculation of dose coefficients was found to omit early components of excretion necessary for the accurate interpretation of bioassay results. Recommendations on the requirements on dosimetry models for intakes of 14C and OBT are made.