Effective dose equivalent due to gamma-ray emissions from hot particles

The effective dose equivalent and effective dose for hot particles on the skin

Whole body exposure from photon-emitting hot particles is a relatively new problem. Until recently, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission required the use of deep dose equivalent (DDE) to estimate and report whole body exposures from hot particles. In this study, effective dose equivalent (EDE) and effective dose (ED) were calculated for point sources with photon energies between 0.1 MeV to 2.0 MeV for 74 locations covering the entire body surface, using the MCNP code and the MIRD-type stylized phantoms. Tabulated data show that the sources located near the upper chest and the lower waist have the highest EDE and ED, while sources near the top of head and feet yielded the smallest. The calculated DDE values are much higher than the EDE values. For an exposure of 75 microCi h(-1) to a 60Co source located at the center upper chest area, the EDE is 36.5 microSv (3.65 mrem), which is a factor of 240 smaller than the corresponding DDE. EDE and ED data are tabulated for quick reference by users in nuclear power plants.