Reconstruction of exposures to the public from a cobalt-60 irradiator facility
A study was performed for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to assess the radiation exposure received by the public from the operation of a cobalt-60 irradiator facility. Located south of Davis, California, at the former Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research, the facility was an indoor-outdoor gamma irradiator operated for the DOE by the University of California, Davis. From 1970 to 1985, outdoor radiation exposure experiments conducted at the facility resulted in environmental radiation doses of 80 to 120 mSv per year along the facility's perimeter fence. Comprehensive environmental monitoring was not performed in the adjacent, uncontrolled areas and personnel who occupied these areas were not routinely monitored for radiation exposure. Because of incomplete environmental monitoring data, computer modeling was required to reconstruct the environmental dose rates present when the facility was in operation. Personnel occupancy times for the adjacent areas were determined from population statistics, historical records, and personal interviews. The potential dose equivalents calculated for the individuals who lived or worked in neighboring areas ranged from 0.02 to 3.6 mSv per year. These exposures, some of which exceed the current DOE standard of 1 mSv/y, were less than the DOE regulatory limit of 5 mSv/y for exposure to the public that was in effect when the facility was in operation.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 5817378
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-SA-20031; CONF-920107-3; ON: DE92006724
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 25. midyear topical meeting of the Health Physics Society, Dearborn, MI (United States), 12-16 Jan 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
HUMAN POPULATIONS
RADIATION DOSES
BEAGLES
CALIFORNIA
COBALT 60
DOSE EQUIVALENTS
IRRADIATION PLANTS
MONITORING
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
COBALT ISOTOPES
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DOGS
DOSES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
POPULATIONS
RADIOISOTOPES
USA
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOT
560101* - Biomedical Sciences
Applied Studies- Radiation Effects- Dosimetry & Monitoring- (1992-)