History and development of whole body counting in Brazil

Journal Article · Fri Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Environment International

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-4120(93)90278-P· OSTI ID:35688

Paschoa, A S; Nogueira de Oliveira, C A; Lourenco, M C; Lipsztein, J L; Guidicini, O Y.M. ^[1]; Antunes, I M ^[2]

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1. Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
2. Industrias Nucleares Brasileiras, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

The first whole body counter (WBC) built in Brazil used sugar as shielding material, and for this reason became internationally known as the {open_quotes}Sugar Bowl.{close_quotes} The main purpose of building that first WBC was to detect natural gamma emitters other than {sup 40}K in the inhabitants of Guarapari, then a small fishing village with a population not greater than 6,000 people, suspected of having long-lived contamination with natural radionuclides of the {sup 232}Th and {sup 238}U series. However, the Sugar Bowl was also used to whole body count the workers of a gas mantle factory. This paper reviews the history behind the construction and uses of the Sugar Bowl, as well as presents a brief view of the basic characteristics of the subsequent WBCs built in Brazil. A total of 12 WBCs have been in existence in this country until today.

• OSTI ID: 35688
• Journal Information: Environment International, Vol. 19, Issue 5; Other Information: PBD: 1993
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
WHOLE-BODY COUNTING
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
BRAZIL