NE-5107:

Radiological and Environmental Impact of

Nuclear Facility

Chapter-1
Lecture-3

Dr. Syed Mohammod Hossain

Director Planning and Development Division
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission
Cell No.: 01829709921; 01733402907
E-mail: [email protected]

25 Feb 2024
 Course Content:
1. Radiation Hazards, Radiation Protection and Standards:
Quantitative effects of radiation on the human species, Calculation
of exposure, dose and radiation effects, Protection from Radiation
Hazards. Standards for occupationally exposed individuals and
general population.

2. Radiation Doses from Nuclear Plants: External dose from

Plume: gamma rays and Beta rays, Internal Dose from Inhalation
and Ingestion, Dose from Ground-deposited Radionuclides in
normal and abnormal condition, Leakage from Buildings, Direct
gamma-ray Dose, Population Doses.

3. Radiological Dispersion: Dispersion of Effluents from Nuclear

Facility: Meteorology of Dispersion, Plume formation, Diffusion of
Effluents (Gaussian Model), Deposition and Fallout, The wedge
Model, Release from Buildings. Dispersion calculations for single
fuel failure and multiple fuel failure.
 Course Content:
4. Radionuclide Transport Model: Primary contamination and the
source term; groundwater transport model; accumulation of
radionuclides at offsite locations and in food: accumulation in
offsite surface soil, accumulation of radionuclides in surface water,
accumulation in plants, fish and aquatic foods, meat and milk;
exposure pathways.

5. Impact of Thermal Discharge: Cooling requirements of NPP,

general effects of the condenser cooling system, aquatic
ecosystem, effects of temperature and entrainments on aquatic
ecosystem, aquatic ecological monitoring, and regulation of
thermal discharge.

6. Environmental impact assessment: Principles and objectives,

Requirements, Radiological risk assessment, Continuous dose
monitoring system for NPP: Onsite and Offsite, Feedback from
environmental monitoring.
 References:

▪ Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, John R. Lamarsh,

Anthony J. Baratta, Third Edition, ISBN 0-201-82498-1.
▪ Nuclear Reactor Engineering, Glasstone and Sesonske,
Third ed.
▪ Nuclear safety, Gianni Petrangeli, 2020, 2nd edition, ISBN:
978-0-12-818326-7
▪ User Manual, RESRAD OFFSITE, Version 2, Argonne
national laboratory.
 Chapter-1:
Radiation Hazards, Radiation Protection
and Standards

➢ Quantitative effects of radiation on the human species

➢ Calculation of exposure, dose and radiation effects

➢ Protection from Radiation Hazards

➢ Standards for occupationally exposed individuals and

general population

Ref: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, John R. Lamarsh,

Anthony J. Baratta, Third Edition, Chapter 9: Radiation Protection
Chapter 9: RADIATION PROTECTION Page 466
9.1 History of Radiation Effects 467

9.2 Radiation Units 468

9.4 The Biological Effects of Radiation 479

9.5 Quantitative Effects of Radiation on the Human Species 485

9.6 Calculations of Radiation Effects 495

9.7 Natural and Man-Made Radiation Sources 499

9.8 Standards of Radiation Protection 506

9.9 Computations of Exposure and Dose 511

9.10 Standards for Intake of Radionuclides 526

9.11 Exposure from y-Ray Sources 535

Problems 544
 UNITS OF RADIATION DOSE

In radiation dosimetry there are three different dose

units, namely,
• exposure
• absorbed dose, and
• Equivalent dose
 UNITS OF RADIATION DOSE
Exposure:
Exposure is a measure of the amount of ionization in air.
The ICRU has defined exposure, which is given the symbol
X, by the relation
Δ𝑞
𝑋=
Δm
Where Δq is the sum of the electrical charges on all the ions
produced in air when all the electrons ( + and -), liberated by
photons in a volume of air whose mass is Δm, are completely
stopped in air.
The unit of exposure in the conventional system is the roentgen (R)
The new SI unit of exposure is the coulomb per kilogram (X)

1 R = 2.58 x 10-4 C kg-1

1 X unit = 3876 R
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Absorbed dose
Absorbed dose is a measure of the energy absorbed from
ionizing radiations per unit mass of the absorbing material.
The unit of absorbed dose is the rad, which was originally
defined as the amount of ionizing radiation required to produce
100 ergs per gram in the absorbing medium:

D =  ; ΔE is energy absorbed of mass Δm

m

1 rad = 0.01 J kg-1

The new SI unit of absorbed dose is the gray (Gy), which is the
amount of ionizing radiation required to produce one joule per
kilogram in the absorbing medium:
1 Gy = 1 J kg-1 = 100 rad
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Kerma vs Absorbed Dose
Kerma is related to, but not the same as absorbed dose.
Absorbed dose is defined as the amount of energy deposited by
ionizing radiation in a substance.
Kerma is defined as the sum of the initial kinetic energies of all
the charged particles liberated by uncharged ionizing radiation in
a substance.
At low energies, kerma approximately equals to absorbed dose,
since most of initial kinetic energies of all the charged particles
deposit their energy in the sample. At higher energies kerma is
larger than absorbed dose because some highly energetic
secondary electrons and X-rays escape the region of interest
before depositing their energy. The escaping energy is counted
in kerma, but not in absorbed dose.
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Kerma vs Absorbed Dose The kerma decreases
continuously with increasing
depth in absorbing medium
because of continuous
decrease in the flux of
indirectly ionizing radiation.

The absorbed dose, however,

increases with increasing
depth as the density of the
primary ionizing particles and
the secondary particles that
they produce increases, until
a maximum is reached, after
which the absorbed dose
decreases with continuing
increase in depth. The
maximum dose occurs at a
dose approximately equal to
the maximum range of the
primary ionizing particles.
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
However, each type of radiation deposits its energy in different way
Linear energy transfer (LET)
It is measure of energy transferred by ionizing particle to traversed
material. This measure is typically used to quantify effects of ionizing
radiation on biological specimens and is usually expressed in units of
keV/µm

Low-LET High-LET
•X and -rays are lightly •-, -particles and neutrons
ionizing radiations; are densely ionizing;

•Energy is distributed •The energy is distributed

homogeneously inhomogeneously
Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE)

Radiations of different types or energies, in general, give different

biological effects for the same absorbed dose is described in terms of
a factor known as the relative biological effectiveness (RBE).
This quantity is determined in the following type of experiment. A tissue
or organ is first irradiated with 200-KeV Ɣ-rays, whose RBE is
arbitrarily taken to be unity, and the resulting effect is observed for a
given absorbed dose. The experiment is now repeated with another
form of radiation. If, in this case, it is found that the same biological
effect, whatever that may be, occurs with only one-tenth the previous
absorbed dose, then the second type of radiation is evidently 10 times
more effective than the Ɣ-rays per absorbed dose, and its RBE is taken
to be 10.

To normalize the Relative Biological Effectiveness is used

UNITS OF RADIATION…
Linear energy transfer (LET)
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Equivalent Dose
In biological systems the same degree of damage is not
necessarily produced by the same absorbed dose of different
types of ionizing radiation.
equivalent dose = absorbed dose x quality factor (QF)
The unit of equivalent dose is the rem (roentgen equivalent
man), and the new SI unit is the sievert ‘Sv’:
1 rem = 1 rad x QF
1 Sv = 1 Gy x QF = 100 rem
Equivalent dose (symbol HT) is a dose quantity calculated for individual
organs (index T – tissue). The equivalent dose is based on the
absorbed dose to an organ, adjusted to account for the effectiveness
of the type of radiation. An equivalent dose is given the symbol HT.
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Population Dose or collective dose
It is useful to specify the total dose-equivalent to a given group of
people. This is called the population dose denoted as Hpop.
Units: man-rems, or person-rems, and in SI units: person-sieverts.
If in some nuclear incident a town of 2,000 people is exposed to
radiation in such a way that one-half receives 2 rems, while the other
half receives 1 rem, the population dose is
Hpop = 1,000 x 2 + 1 ,000 x 1 = 3000 man-rem = 30 person-sievert.
To generalize this procedure, let N(H)dH be the number of persons
in a total population N who receive doses between H and dH. Then,
∝
N=‫׬‬0 𝑁 𝐻 𝑑𝐻
The population dose is the integral over the number of people who
receive a given dose multiplied by that dose; that is,
∝
𝐻𝑝𝑜𝑝 =‫׬‬0 𝑁 𝐻 𝐻𝑑𝐻
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Quality Factor and Weighting Factor of Radiation
The quality factor of a radiation type is defined as the ratio of
the biological damage produced by the absorption of 1 Gy of that
radiation to the biological damage produced by 1 Gy of X-rays or
gamma rays. The Q of a certain type of radiation is related to the
density of the ion tracks it leaves behind in tissue. The quality
factors for the various types of radiation are listed in the table.

Types of radiation Quality factor These QF are restricted to the

dose range of interest to
Beta 1
radiation protection, i.e., to the
Alpha 20 general magnitude of the
X-ray 1 dose limits. With higher doses
Gamma 1 that can cause deterministic
effects, the relevant RBE
Thermal neutron 5
values are applied to obtain a
Fast neutron 10 weighted dose.
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Quality Factor and Weighting Factor of Radiation
for radiation protection purposes, the absorbed dose is averaged over
an organ or tissue, T. This absorbed dose average is weighted for the
radiation quality in terms of the radiation weighting factor, wR, for the
type and energy of radiation incident on the body. The radiation
weighting factor is a dimensionless factor used to determine the
equivalent dose from the absorbed dose averaged over a tissue or
organ based on the type of radiation absorbed. The resulting weighted
dose was designated as the organ- or tissue equivalent dose:
 UNITS OF RADIATION…
Quality Factor and Weighting Factor of Radiation
Before 1990, dose-equivalent quantities were defined in terms of a
quality factor, Q(L), that was applied to the absorbed dose at a point to
take into account the differences in the effects of different types of
radiation. In its 1990 recommendations, the ICRP introduced a modified
concept. For radiological protection purposes, the absorbed dose is
averaged over an organ or tissue, T. This absorbed dose average is
weighted for the radiation quality in terms of the radiation weighting
factor, wR, for the type and energy of radiation incident on the body.

Noteworthy, these two factors, the radiation weighting factor and

the quality factor, are restricted to the dose range of interest to
radiation protection, i.e., to the general magnitude of the dose limits. In
special circumstances where one deals with higher doses that can
cause deterministic effects, the relevant RBE values are applied to
obtain a weighted dose.
Radiation
Survey meters are either for inspecting body surface contamination or for
measuring ambient dose rates. GM tube type survey meters are highly
sensitive to beta particles and are thus suitable for inspecting body surface
contamination. They are relatively affordable and useful in locating
contamination and confirming the effects of decontamination.

Ionization chambers are most suited for measuring high-level ambient dose
rate but cannot measure very low dose rates. Therefore, a scintillation type is
most suited for measuring ambient dose rates in the general environment.

NaI(Tl) scintillation survey meters can also measure the radioactivity intensity,
but measurement results vary depending on the level of radiation at the
measuring location and the way of measurement. Since calibration at a facility
with a radioactive source that serves as a reference is required before
converting the measurement results into becquerels, expert assistance is
required to implement the measurements.

Personal dosimeters provide cumulative exposure readings. An electronic

direct reading type allows a person to confirm the degree of exposure at
certain time intervals or after every operation.
Radiation is known to interact with substances when passing
through them. The amount of radiation can be measured
utilizing the interaction between radiation and substances. GM
counter survey meters and ionization chambers utilize the
ionizations between radiation and gas atoms. Ionization effect
refers to the process in which radiation ejects electrons from
nuclei in a substance. Detectors of GM Counter survey meter
and ionization chambers are filled with gases. When radiation
passes in a detector, it causes ionization of gas atoms,
separating atoms into positive ions and electrons. Separated
electrons and positron ions are attracted to the electrodes,
causing a current to flow. This is converted into electric signals,
which are then measured as the amount of radiation.
NaI(Tl) scintillation survey meters utilize excitation with
substances. Radiation gives energy to electrons of nuclei, and
when an electron jumps to an outer orbit, this phenomenon is
called excitation. An atom in that state is unstable (excited), and
when it returns to a stable state (ground state), it gives off
energy in the form of light. This is called the excitation effect. A
scintillator is a substance that emits light in response to incident
radiation. Weak light emitted from a scintillator is amplified with
a photomultiplier and is converted into an electric signal to
measure radiation. Aside from NaI(Tl) scintillation survey
meters, germanium semiconductor detectors also utilize the
excitation effect for radiation measurement.
The ambient dose rate is obtained by measuring gamma ray doses in
the air, and is indicated in micro sieverts per hour. Gamma rays from
radioactive materials fallen on the ground are both detected. The
measured value is not limited to the amount of radiation derived from
accidents. Major natural radiation is that from the ground and cosmic
rays.

Normally, a measuring instrument is placed at a height of about 1 m

from the ground, because most important internal organs are located
at this height in the case of an adult.

There are cases where a measurement instrument is placed at a

height of 50 cm from the ground in places where mainly children
spend time, such as schools and kindergartens.

The amount of radioactivity in fallout is expressed as the amount of

radioactive materials fallen per unit area. Generally such amount is
expressed as a numerical value per day or per month for each kind of
radioactive material.
Radioactive materials remain in the body for a certain period of time
after being taken into the body. In the meantime, the body will be
continuously exposed to radiation. Thus, the total amount of radiation
that a person will be exposed to into the future is calculated as dose
due to internal exposure based on a single intake of radioactive
materials. This is called a committed dose (in sieverts). Any radioactive
materials taken into the body will decrease over time. One contributing
factor is the decay of the radioactive materials. Another is excretion as urine
and feces. The rate of excretion from the body varies according to the types
of elements, their chemical forms, and the age of the person. With these
differences taken into account, the cumulative amount of radiation that the
human body will receive in a lifetime from radioactive materials is assumed
as the amount received in the year of the intake, and a committed dose is
calculated. In particular, the lifetime cumulative dose based on
effective dose is called “committed effective dose”. The life time for
adult is 50 years and for children up to 70 years.
Dose coefficients

Dose coefficients are committed equivalent doses or

committed effective doses for an intake of 1 Bq and a
specific value has been given for each nuclide,
chemical form, intake route, and for each age group
by the ICRP.
Types of Effects
When considering health effects of radiation on human body, one
method is to separately consider:
stochastic effects – probabilistic
non-stochastic effect- deterministic effects.
Deterministic effects (tissue reactions) do not appear unless having
been exposed to radiation exceeding a certain level. Most of the
deterministic effects are categorized into acute disorders whose
symptoms appear within several weeks after exposure.
Stochastic effects are effects whose incidence cannot be completely
denied even with low dose exposure. Exposure doses are managed on
the safe side in general under the assumption that there is no
threshold value.
However, it has not been confirmed that hereditary disorders due to
radiation exposure appear among human beings at the same
frequencies as estimated from the results of tests on laboratory
animals.
Types of Effects

Fig. Dose–response curves. Curve A is the characteristic shape for a biological effect
that exhibits a threshold dose—point a. The spread of the curve from the threshold
at point a until the 100% response is thought to be due to “biological variability”
around the mean dose, point c, which is called the 50% dose. Curve B represents a
zero-threshold, linear response. Point b represents the 50% dose for the zero-
threshold biological effect being studied.
One of the characteristics of the deterministic effects (tissue reactions) is the existence of the
threshold dose, which means that exposure to radiation under this level causes no effects but
exposure to radiation above this level causes effects. Radiation exposure above the threshold
dose causes deaths or degeneration of a large number of cells at one time and the incidence
rate increases sharply.

On the other hand, in radiological protection, it is assumed that there is no threshold dose for
stochastic effects. Under this assumption, the possibility that radiation exposure even at
extremely low doses may exert some effects can never be eliminated. It is very difficult to
epidemiologically detect stochastic effects due to radiation exposure at the low doses below
the range of 100 to 200 mSv, but the ICRD specifies the standards for radiological protection
for low-dose exposure, assuming that effects would appear depends on dose levels (linear
dose response).

When assessing cancer risks due to low-dose exposures, results of the epidemiological studies
on atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have mainly been used. It is known that
cancer risks increase almost linearly as exposure dose increases above ~150mSv. However it is
not clear whether risks also increase linearly in the case of radiation exposure at doses below
150 mSv.