Recovering a lost seismic disaster. The destruction of El Castillejo and the discovery of the earliest historic earthquake affecting the Granada region (Spain).

This paper discusses recent archaeological fieldwork conducted at El Castillejo, a medieval Islamic settlement in Los Guájares, Granada, southern Spain. Results from combined archaeological excavation and archaeoseismological assessment of standing structures suggest that the site was affected by a destructive earthquake during its occupation. Radiocarbon samples and OSL analysis point to a seismic event in the period CE 1224-1266.

Workshop Report on Atomic Bomb Dosimetry--Review of Dose Related Factors for the Evaluation of Exposures to Residual Radiation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Groups of Japanese and American scientists, supported by international collaborators, have worked for many years to ensure the accuracy of the radiation dosimetry used in studies of health effects in the Japanese atomic bomb survivors. Reliable dosimetric models and systems are especially critical to epidemiologic studies of this population because of their importance in the development of worldwide radiation protection standards. While dosimetry systems, such as Dosimetry System 1986 (DS86) and Dosimetry System 2002 (DS02), have improved, the research groups that developed them were unable to propose or confirm an additional contribution by residual radiation to the survivor's total body dose.

Luminescence dosimetry using building materials and personal objects.

There is a growing public awareness of the risk of accidental radiation exposure due to ageing nuclear power installations, illegal dumping of nuclear waste and terrorist activities, and of the consequential health risks to populations in addition to social and economic disturbance extending beyond national boundaries. In the event of catastrophic incidents where no direct radiation monitoring data are available, the application of retrospective dosimetry techniques such as luminescence may be employed with materials from the immediate environment to confirm values of cumulative gamma dose to compare with or augment computational modeling calculations. Application of the method to post-Chernobyl studies has resulted in the development of new procedures using fired building materials with the capability to measure cumulative doses owing to artificial sources of gamma radiation as low as 20 mGy.

Intercomparison of luminescence measurements of bricks from Dolon' village: experimental methodology and results of European Study Group.

Thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques were applied to quartz grains extracted from various depths in bricks taken from buildings in the village of Dolon', Kazakhstan, to determine the cumulative absorbed dose, DT. The measurements were performed in four laboratories (EU supported Measurement Group). The results obtained using TL and OSL are compared and discussed with reference to known sources of experimental uncertainty and relevant luminescence characteristics that may affect the evaluation of the absorbed dose.

A gradient of radioactive contamination in Dolon village near the SNTS and comparison of computed dose values with instrumental estimates for the 29 August, 1949 nuclear test.

Spatial distributions of soil contamination by 137Cs (89 sampling points) and 239+240Pu (76 points) near and within Dolon village were analyzed. An essential exponential decrease of contamination was found in Dolon village: the distance of a half reduction in contamination is about 0.87-1.

Around Semipalatinsk nuclear test site: progress of dose estimations relevant to the consequences of nuclear tests (a summary of 3rd Dosimetry Workshop on the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site area, RIRBM, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, 9-11 of March, 2005).

The paper is an analytical overview of the main results presented at the 3rd Dosimetry Workshop in Hiroshima(9-11 of March 2005), where different aspects of the dose reconstruction around the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site(SNTS) were discussed and summarized. The results of the international intercomparison of the retrospective luminescence dosimetry(RLD) method for Dolon' village(Kazakhstan) were presented at the Workshop and good concurrence between dose estimations by different laboratories from 6 countries (Japan, Russia, USA, Germany, Finland and UK) was pointed out. The accumulated dose values in brick for a common depth of 10mm depth obtained independently by all participating laboratories were in good agreement for all four brick samples from Dolon' village, Kazakhstan, with the average value of the local gamma dose due to fallout (near the sampling locations) being about 220 mGy(background dose has been subtracted).

Retrospective luminescence dosimetry: development of approaches to application in populated areas downwind of the Chernobyl NPP.

The cumulative absorbed dose in fired-clay bricks collected from ten buildings in the populated contaminated settlement (137Cs, 1,470 kBq m(-2)) of Stary Vishkov, located 175 km downwind of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in the Bryansk administrative region of Russia, was determined using luminescence techniques by five laboratories. At each location, the cumulative dose, after subtraction of the natural background dose, was translated to absorbed dose in air using conversion factors derived from Monte Carlo simulations. The simulations employed source distributions inferred from contemporary soil contamination data and also took into account heterogeneity of fallout deposition.

The application of retrospective luminescence dosimetry in areas affected by fallout from the semipalatinsk nuclear test site: an evaluation of potential.

Luminescence retrospective dosimetry techniques have been applied with ceramic bricks to determine the cumulative external gamma dose due to fallout, primarily from the 1949 test, in populated regions lying NE of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in Altai, Russia, and the Semipalatinsk region, Kazakhstan. As part of a pilot study, nine settlements were examined, three within the regions of highest predicted dose (Dolon in Kazakshstan; Laptev Log and Leshoz Topolinskiy in Russia) and the remainder of lower predicted dose (Akkol, Bolshaya Vladimrovka, Kanonerka, and Izvestka in Kazakshstan; Rubtsovsk and Kuria in Russia) within the lateral regions of the fallout trace due to the 1949 test. The settlement of Kainar, mainly affected by the 24 September 1951 nuclear test, was also examined.

Comparison of retrospective luminescence dosimetry with computational modeling in two highly contaminated settlements downwind of the Chernobyl NPP.

The cumulative absorbed dose in bricks collected from six buildings in two heavily contaminated settlements (137Cs > 2,000 kBq m(-2)) located downwind of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was determined using luminescence techniques by six laboratories. The settlements, Vesnianoje in Ukraine and Zaborie in Russia, are located in, respectively, proximal and distal locations relative to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The luminescence determinations of cumulative dose in brick, after subtraction of the natural background dose, were translated to absorbed dose in air at a Reference Location using conversion factors derived from Monte Carlo simulations of photon transport.

Luminescence characteristics of dental ceramics for retrospective dosimetry: a preliminary study.

Ceramic materials that are widely employed in dental prosthetics and repairs exhibit luminescent properties. Because of their use in the body, these materials are potentially of interest in situations where retrospective dosimetry for individuals is required but where monitoring was not planned. The luminescent properties of dental ceramics obtained from Germany, Spain and the UK were examined.

First international intercomparison of luminescence techniques using samples from the Techa River Valley.

Bricks collected from a contaminated village (Muslyumovo) of the lower Techa river valley, Southern Urals, Russia, were measured using thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence by four European laboratories and a U.S. laboratory to establish and compare the applied dose reconstruction methodologies.

The first international intercomparison of EPR-dosimetry with teeth: first results.

Intercomparison of EPR-dosimetric techniques using tooth enamel had been performed in order to check whether the results produced by different laboratories are consistent and accurate. Participants were supposed to evaluate doses applied to pulverized enamel samples, using routine techniques from their laboratories. The intercomparison has demonstrated a great variety of methods used for dose reconstruction.

Thermoluminescence measurements of gamma-ray doses attributable to fallout from the Nevada test site using building bricks as natural dosimeters.

During the 1950's, the U.S. Government conducted an intensive atmospheric nuclear testing program in Nevada.