An Empirical Method for deriving RBE values associated with Electrons, Photons and Radionuclides

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Radiation Protection Dosimetry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncu358· OSTI ID:1185724

Bellamy, Michael B ^[1]; Puskin, J. ^[2]; Eckerman, Keith F. ^[1]; Hertel, Nolan ^[1]

---

1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Radiation Protection Knowledge
2. Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance (ORIA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, DC (United States). Center for Science and Technology, Radiation Protection Division

There is substantial evidence to justify using relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values greater than one for low-energy electrons and photons. But, in the field of radiation protection, radiation associated with low linear energy transfer (LET) has been assigned a radiation weighting factor w_R of one. This value may be suitable for radiation protection but, for risk considerations, it is important to evaluate the potential elevated biological effectiveness of radiation to improve the quality of risk estimates. RBE values between 2 and 3 for tritium are implied by several experimental measurements. Additionally, elevated RBE values have been found for other similar low-energy radiation sources. In this work, RBE values are derived for electrons based upon the fractional deposition of absorbed dose of energies less than a few keV. Using this empirical method, RBE values were also derived for monoenergetic photons and 1070 radionuclides from ICRP Publication 107 for which photons and electrons are the primary emissions.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USEPA
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1185724
• Journal Information: Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Vol. 167, Issue 4; ISSN 0144-8420
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY