Publications

Re-calculation of air kerma to dose-equivalent conversion coefficients for mono-energetic photons

Šolc, J., Avilés Lucas, P., Bakrač, L., Behrens, R., Ciccotelli, A., Cornejo Díaz, N., Fernandes, A., Ketelhut, S., Kržanović, N., Pinto, M., Siiskonen, T., Sochor, V., Tesař, J., Tikkanen, J., Topalović, D. B., Van Hoey, O., Zutz, H., & Živanović, M.
Journal of Radiological Protection, 2025
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6498/adda56

This work presents new calculations of conversion coefficients (CCs) from total air kerma to dose-equivalent quantities H’(0.07), H’(3), H*(10), Hp(0.07), Hp(3), and Hp(10) for area and personal dosimetry for mono-energetic photons in the energy range from 2 keV to 50 MeV, assuming secondary charged particle equilibrium. Calculations using the Monte Carlo N-Particle® (MCNP) code were performed for a large number of photon energies with the aim of preventing errors resulting from possible improper interpolation between currently available sparsely spaced CC values, when an average CC value over a photon fluence spectrum needs to be determined. The CC values were compared with the values published in the ISO 4037-3:2019 standard. A very close agreement was achieved for the majority of CCs. Larger discrepancies were found for some CCs, often for low photon energies or large angles of radiation incidence, which were taken from older publications or when CC values were interpolated or extrapolated. Furthermore, some differences were found in the MeV energy range, which are significant for dosimeter calibrations, e.g. the presented values of CC to H*(10) for the main photon energies of 137Cs and 60Co radionuclides are both lower by 2.8%. Finally, it was found that the values of CCs to Hp(0.07; E, α)slab given in ISO 4037-3:2019 were not taken correctly from the source publication. In conclusion, the CC values given in ISO 4037-3:2019 should be updated in view of the results obtained.

Towards metrological best practices in radiation protection

Ferreira, M., Siiskonen, T., & Zivanovich, M.
Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2024
DOI: 10.14488/ijcieom2024_full_0057_37886

This paper presents the state of the art and expected impact on metrology, health, standards, and society of the new joint research project 22NRM07 GuideRadPROS, started in June 2023 and is running for 36 months. The main objective is to provide technical guidance to metrology institutes, standardization bodies, regulators, and manufacturers for a harmonized approach to calibration, testing, and measurements using the radiation protection dosimeters for photon radiation. Moreover, manufacturers and standardization bodies will be helped to prepare for the forthcoming change in radiation protection quantities. The results of this research project will facilitate the take up of the technology and measurement infrastructure developed and consequently will ensure the improvement of the measurement supply chain from the manufactures to the end users. New guides and new protocols provided by this research will represent a contribution towards best metrological practices in radiation measurements in line with technological developments and requirements from standardization. This project was selected for funding through the European Partnership on Metrology program of the European Commission and the participating countries. It involves several participants from national metrology institutes and designated institutes and a private company.

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