Management of cosmic radiation exposure for aircraft crew in Japan

The International Commission on Radiological Protection has recommended that cosmic radiation exposure of crew in commercial jet aircraft be considered as occupational exposure. In Japan, the Radiation Council of the government has established a guideline that requests domestic airlines to voluntarily keep the effective dose of cosmic radiation for aircraft crew below 5 mSv y(-1). The guideline also gives some advice and policies regarding the method of cosmic radiation dosimetry, the necessity of explanation and education about this issue, a way to view and record dose data, and the necessity of medical examination for crew. The National Institute of Radiological Sciences helps the airlines to follow the guideline, particularly for the determination of aviation route doses by numerical simulation. The calculation is performed using an original, easy-to-use program package called 'JISCARD EX' coupled with a PHITS-based analytical model and a GEANT4-based particle tracing code. The new radiation weighting factors recommended in 2007 are employed for effective dose determination. The annual individual doses of aircraft crew were estimated using this program.     

Measuring cosmic-ray exposure in aircraft using real-time personal dosemeters

Aircrew exposure to radiation was measured on several long-haul flights using two small commercial electronic personal dosemeters: one was a photon dosemeter, the NRF20; the other was a neutron dosemeter, the NRY21-both manufactured by Fuji Electric Systems Co. Ltd. for radiation protection at nuclear facilities. Non-neutron doses were measured using the photon dosemeter, and neutron doses were measured using the neutron dosemeter. The measured non-neutron doses at commercial aviation altitudes agree with the EPCARD (European Program Package for the Calculation of Aviation Route Doses) dose calculation within a difference of 8 %. However, the recorded neutron doses were 5-15 times larger than the EPCARD calculation. These over-measurements are dependent on cut-off rigidities.     

The Italian national survey of aircrew exposure: II. On-board measurements and results

The Italian survey of aircrew exposure has been carried out with different advanced dosimetric systems, as described in part I of this paper. The key strategy of the survey was to obtain on-board comparison of measurements for both passive and real-time detectors flown together with passengers. The survey has been carried out in the period of solar minimum (1995-1997), in which the exposure to galactic cosmic rays reaches its maximum value. Even though carrying out the survey in the period of solar minimum was entirely coincidental, this circumstance has been used to good advantage to obtain a comprehensive set of data of the galactic cosmic radiation with little or no disturbance by the solar activity modulation. This comprehensive set of data covers flight routes between -20 degrees and 75 degrees geographic latitude at different civil aviation altitudes. The survey obtained with different advanced dosimetric systems has been supplemented by a large variety of data gathered with passive stacks on different short-range and long-range flights at supersonic and subsonic altitudes. Some of the most important conclusions which can be drawn from the survey are: (i) aircrew of civil aviation receive annual doses within the range of 1 mSv to 6 mSv; (ii) data from different periods of solar minimum agree well, since the discrepancies encountered seem mainly due to the different dosimetric systems used; (iii) repeated measurements on the same route are highly consistent.     

External doses in the environment from the Tokai-mura criticality accident

On 30 September 1999, a criticality accident occurred at a uranium processing plant operated by JCO in Tokai-mura, Japan and the criticality remained for about 20 h. Almost all doses to the neighbouring residents were brought by neutrons and gamma rays emitted from the facility rather than fission products released to the environment. External doses in the environment were evaluated using radiation monitoring data and radiation transport calculation. A pattern of the dose rate evolution was modelled based on the records of gamma ray monitors in the JCO facilities. Relations between the ambient dose equivalent rates of neutrons/gamma rays and the distance from the facility were determined from the monitoring data obtained around the accident site. Conversion from the ambient dose equivalent to the effective dose equivalent was made assuming the energy spectra calculated by the radiation transport code, ANISN. It was estimated that the people who stayed outside the 350 m zone would receive doses of less than 1 mSv.     

Assessment of aircrew radiation exposure by further measurements and model development

A methodology is presented for collecting and analysing exposure measurements from galactic cosmic radiation using a portable equipment suite and encapsulating these data into a semi-empirical model/Predictive Code for Aircrew Radiation Exposure (PCAIRE) for the assessment of aircrew radiation exposure on any flight over the solar cycle. The PCAIRE code has been validated against integral route dose measurements at commercial aircraft altitudes during experimental flights made by various research groups over the past 5 y with code predictions typically within +/-20% of the measured data. An empirical correlation, based on ground-level neutron monitoring data, is detailed further for estimation of aircrew exposure from solar particle events. The semi-empirical models have been applied to predict the annual and career exposure of a flight crew member using actual flight roster data, accounting for contributions from galactic radiation and several solar energetic-particle events over the period 1973-2002.     

The measurement of photoneutron dose in the vicinity of clinical linear accelerators

In Brazil, the replacement of rather old cobalt and cesium teletherapy machines with high-energy (E > 10 MV) medical linear accelerators (linacs) started in the year 2000, as part of an effort by the Ministry of Health to update radiotherapy installations. Since then, the contamination of undesirable neutrons in the therapeutic beam generated by these high-energy photons has become an issue of concern when considering patient and occupational doses. The walls of the treatment room are shielded to attenuate the primary and secondary X-ray fluence, and this shielding is generally considered adequate also to attenuate neutrons. However, these neutrons are scattered through the treatment room maze and might result in a radiological problem at the door entrance, an area of high occupancy by the workers of a radiotherapy facility. This paper presents and discusses the results of ambient dose equivalent measurements of neutron using bubble detectors. The measurements were made at different points inside the treatment rooms, including the isocentre and the maze. Several radiation oncology centres, which are users of Varian Clinac or Siemens machines, have agreed to allow measurements to be taken at their facilities. The measured values were compared with the results obtained through the semi-empirical Kersey method of neutron dose equivalent calculation at maze entrances, with reported values provided by the manufacturers as well as values published in the literature. It was found that the measured values were below the dose limits adopted by the Brazilian Regulatory Agency (CNEN), requiring no additional shielding in any of the points measured.     

The Program Research on Security Programs Before Flight Based on Single Code Network Plan

The civil aviation industry has made rapid development with the continuous growth of China＇s economy. At the same time ,the airline companies buy more and more civil aircrafts.This phenomenon will lead to a big flying density ,which will make airport management become more complex.This paper first introduces the characteristic of security programs before flight and the single code network plan, and then put the security programs before flight into the single code network plan to find out the key route and calculate the guarantee period. Finally, we analyse the programs according to the guarantee period and critical route.It not only provides a support for administrator, but also we present a reasonable methods to reduce the guarantee period.     

Radiation protection concepts and quantities for the occupational exposure to cosmic radiation.

For the purposes of dose limitation and dose control, the harm, or detriment, of exposure to radiation is assessed by the quantity effective dose. Effective dose is evaluated by the application of factors to the averaged absorbed dose in the organs and tissues of the body. Radiation monitoring instruments are generally calibrated in terms of the quantity ambient dose equivalent which is defined in a simple spherical phantom. The relationship of these quantities is described. Requirements for the radiation protection of aircraft crew are given in the European Union Council Directive 96/29/EURATOM. There are requirements to assess the exposure of aircraft crew, to inform them of health risks, to reduce higher doses, and to control the dose to the fetus. There are no explicit dose limits, other than a dose objective to be applied to the exposure of the fetus, and no requirements for designation of areas or classification of workers. There are significant differences between the exposure condition of aircraft crew and workers in most other industries where there is occupational exposure to radiation. There are greater ranges of radiation types and energy, and there are different dose distributions and characteristics of the working populations. However, the field intensity is predictable and, with the exception of rare solar events, there is no risk of significant unexpected exposures. Dose assessment is anticipated to be by folding staff roster information with estimates of route doses, since there is little variability of dose rate within an aircraft. Route doses, which may be either an agreed average value for a given airport pairing and aircraft type, or be flight specific, will be closely linked to measured values. Requirements as to the accuracy of dose assessment should be applied which are broadly similar to those used in individual monitoring generally.     

Analysis of the neutron component at high altitude mountains using active and passive measurement devices

The European Council directive 96/29/Euratom requires dosimetric precautions if the effective dose exceeds 1 mSv/a. On an average, this value is exceeded by aircrew members. Roughly half of the radiation exposure at flight altitudes is caused by cosmic ray-induced neutrons. Active (6LiI(Eu)-scintillator) and passive (TLDs) Bonner sphere spectrometers were used to determine the neutron energy spectra atop Mt. Sonnblick (3105 m) and Mt. Kitzsteinhorn (3029 m). Further measurements in a mixed radiation field at CERN as well as in a proton beam of 62 MeV at Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland, confirmed that not only neutrons but also charged particles contribute to the readings of active detectors, whereas TLD-600 and TLD-700 in pair allow the determination of the thermal neutron flux. Unfolding of the detector data obtained atop both mountains shows two relative maxima around 1 MeV and 85 MeV, which have to be considered for the assessment of the biologically relevant dose equivalent. By convoluting the spectra with appropriate conversion functions the neutron dose equivalent rate was determined to be 150 +/- 15 nSv/h. The total dose equivalent rate determined by the HTR-method was 210 +/- 15 nSv/h. The results are in good agreement with LET-spectrometer and Sievert counter measurements carried out simultaneously.     

基于平均飞行航迹的CCO减噪效用研究

近年来，通过优化飞行程序降低机场飞机噪声影响成为机场环境保护的重要研究方向。文章首先建立了基于飞机“噪声-功率-距离”数据的噪声计算模型，介绍了平均飞行航迹以及连续爬升运行(Continuous Climb Opera-tion, CCO)离场程序的相关理论，最后以大型国际机场为实例，使用飞机平均飞行航迹进行噪声预测，运用综合噪声模型计算出噪声影响面积并绘制噪声影响等值线图，比较了CCO离场相对常规的标准仪表离场(Standard Instru-ment Departure, SID)的降噪效果。结果表明，CCO离场程序可有效降低机场噪声影响，在高噪声级影响区域的降噪效果更佳。     

A phoswich detector for high-energy neutrons

A phoswich detector was developed to measure neutron energy spectra from a few MeV to a few hundreds MeV in aircrafts and space crafts. Radiation fields, which both crafts are exposured, consist of neutrons, gamma rays, protons, etc. The phoswich detector can measure neutrons separately from gamma rays and protons. The capability of particle discrimination was tested at HIMAC and was found to be excellent. Detector response functions to neutrons were simulated with the MCNPX code using the measured light outputs of charged particles and were measured with quasi-mono-energetic neutrons produced by the p-Li reaction at the NIRS cyclotron. Test flight measurements at high altitudes, 6.5 and 8.5 km, were performed above the middle part of Japan (cut-off rigidity, 12 GV).     

Bayesian estimation of dose thresholds

An example is described of Bayesian estimation of radiation absorbed dose thresholds (subsequently simply referred to as dose thresholds) using a specific parametric model applied to a data set on mice exposed to 60Co gamma rays and fission neutrons. A Weibull based relative risk model with a dose threshold parameter was used to analyse, as an example, lung cancer mortality and determine the posterior density for the threshold dose after single exposures to 60Co gamma rays or fission neutrons from the JANUS reactor at Argonne National Laboratory. The data consisted of survival, censoring times and cause of death information for male B6CF1 unexposed and exposed mice. The 60Co gamma whole-body doses for the two exposed groups were 0.86 and 1.37 Gy. The neutron whole-body doses were 0.19 and 0.38 Gy. Marginal posterior densities for the dose thresholds for neutron and gamma radiation were calculated with numerical integration and found to have quite different shapes. The density of the threshold for 60Co is unimodal with a mode at about 0.50 Gy. The threshold density for fission neutrons declines monotonically from a maximum value at zero with increasing doses. The posterior densities for all other parameters were similar for the two radiation types.     

Time-of-flight neutron spectrometer for DT-plasma diagnostics

A novel technique for energy measurements of fusion neutrons from DT-plasmas has been investigated. The method is based on double interaction of neutrons in two scintillators and uses time-of-flight measurement. By using a deuterium based first detector and recording the backscattered neutrons the resolution is found to be 3.5% for 14 MeV neutrons with a flight path equal to 2 m.     

The field of scattered radiation in the tunnel of the proton storage ring HERA: measurements and calculations

The field of scattered radiation produced by a stored 820 GeV proton beam in the HERA tunnel is studied. Neutron spectra and doses as well as fluences of charged particles were measured by means of conventional detectors. Secondary particles emitted at both small and large angles with respect to the beam are investigated. They were produced by interactions of the primary beam with a collimator and by interactions in the beam pipe with the rest gas, respectively. The results are compared with simulations performed by the Monte Carlo code FLUKA. Simplified geometries of the accelerator structure and its surroundings were used for the calculation. Measured and calculated doses agree within a factor of 2. On the basis of this agreement an analysis of the scattered radiation was performed by FLUKA to obtain fluences and doses due to scattered neutrons, protons, pions, electrons, positrons, and photons.     

基于STAMP的民航进餐推车人因设计

目的 为解决空乘人员因工作负荷大、工作环境颠簸易发生碰撞事故等导致患肌肉骨骼病概率逐年上涨的问题,对民航进餐推车造型设计过程进行研究。方法 确定民航进餐推车系统中的安全约束,构建基于层级模式的民航进餐推车事故风险控制—人因模型;识别控制模型中潜在的不安全控制行为,采用层次分析法对这些行为的综合权重值进行计算并排序;运用虚拟仿真软件进行人因分析与设计优化,得到最优方案。结果 通过民航进餐推车设计实践,验证该方法的可行性与有效性。结论 在民航进餐推车设计过程的前期,引入STAMP模型和人因工程理论,可提升空乘人员在进餐推车服务过程中的安全性与舒适性,为研制符合空乘人员行为方式的新型民航进餐推车提供新的思路。     

Low dose hypersensitivity and induced resistance of V79 cells after charged particle irradiation using 100 MeV/u carbon ions

This work aimed to study the effects of low dose irradiation in order to detect possible deviations from the linear-quadratic dose dependence of survival after charged particle irradiation. Survival of V79 cells at low doses was studied using a semi-automated cell detection system similar to the DMIPS system. With such a technique, the precision of survival measurements is improved by avoiding the stochastic uncertainties of the conventional dilution assay. A significant hypersensitivity at low doses (0.1 Gy) has been detected for 100 MeV/u carbon ions, whereas for higher doses (up to 0.5 Gy) a transition to a plateau-like region is observed, which is consistent with the assumption of induced resistance. These results are apparently in contrast to earlier studies using high-LET radiation like, e.g. neutrons or negative pions, where the effect of induced resistance has been reported to be at least significantly reduced for single exposure experiments.     

Estimating individual thyroid doses for a case-control study of childhood thyroid cancer in Bryansk Oblast, Russia

Following the Chernobyl accident, radioactive fission products, including (131)I and (137)Cs, were deposited in Bryansk Oblast in Russia. Intakes of radioiodines, mainly (131)I in milk, were the principal sources of radiation doses to thyroids of residents of the contaminated areas, but those radionuclides decayed before detailed contamination surveys could be performed. As a result, (137)Cs deposition density is the primary measure of the contamination due to the accident and there are relatively few measurements of the ratio of (131)I to (137)Cs in vegetation or soil samples from this area. Although many measurements of radiation emitted from the necks of residents were performed and used to estimate thyroidal (131)I activities and thyroid doses, such data are not available for all subjects. The semi-empirical model was selected to provide a dose calculation method to be applied uniformly to cases and controls in the study. The model was developed using dose estimates from direct measurements of (131)I in adult thyroids, and relates settlement average thyroid doses to (137)Cs contamination levels and ratios of (131)I to (137)Cs. This model is useful for areas where thyroid monitoring was not performed and can be used to estimate doses to exposed individuals. For application to children in this study, adjustment factors are used to address differences in age-dependent intake rates and thyroid dosimetry. Other individual dietary factors and sources (private/public) of milk consumed are reflected in the dose estimates. Countermeasures that reduced thyroid dose, such as cessation of milk consumption and intake of stable iodine, are also considered for each subject. The necessary personal information of subjects was obtained by interview, most frequently of their mothers, using a questionnaire developed for the study. Uncertainties in thyroid dose, estimated using Monte Carlo techniques, are presented for reference conditions. Thyroid dose estimates for individual children made using the semi-empirical model and questionnaire data compare reasonably well with dose estimates made for 19 children whose thyroid burdens of (131)I were measured from May to June 1986.     

Exposure of aircraft crew to cosmic radiation: on-board intercomparison of various dosemeters

Owing to their professional activity, flight crews may receive a dose of some millisieverts within a year; airline passengers may also be concerned. The effective dose is to be estimated using various experimental and calculation tools. The European project DOSMAX (Dosimetry of Aircrew Exposure during Solar Maximum) was initiated in 2000 extending to 2004 to complete studies over the current solar cycle during the solar maximum phase. To compare various dosemeters in real conditions simultaneously in the same radiation field, an intercomparison was organised aboard a Paris-Tokyo round-trip flight. Both passive and active detectors were used. Good agreement was observed for instruments determining the different components of the radiation field; the mean ambient dose equivalent for the round trip was 129 +/- 10 microSv. The agreement of values obtained for the total dose obtained by measurements and by calculations is very satisfying.     

An operational approach for aircraft crew dosimetry: the SIEVERT system

The study of naturally occurring radiation and its associated risk is one of the preoccupations of bodies responsible for radiation protection. Cosmic particle flux is significantly higher on-board the aircraft that at ground level. Furthermore, its intensity depends on solar activity and eruptions. Due to their professional activity, flight crews and frequent flyers may receive an annual dose of some millisieverts. This is why the European directive adopted in 1996 requires the aircraft operators to assess the dose and to inform their flight crews about the risk. The effective dose is to be estimated using various experimental and calculation means. In France, the computerised system for flight assessment of exposure to cosmic radiation in air transport (SIEVERT) is delivered to airlines for assisting them in the application of the European directive. This professional service is available on an Internet server accessible to companies with a public section. The system provides doses that consider the routes flown by aircraft. Various results obtained are presented.