Study of the Sensitivity Limit of Detection of α-Particles by Polymer Film Detectors LR-115 Type 2 Using X-ray Diffraction and UV-Vis Spectroscopic Methods.

This work is devoted to the applicability assessment of optical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods to establish the lower detection limit for the density of latent tracks from α-particles in polymer nuclear-track detectors, in the case of simulation of the formation of radon decay daughter products using Am-241 sources. During the studies, the detection limit for the density of latent tracks-traces of the interaction of α-particles with the molecular structure of film detectors-was established using optical UV spectroscopy (10 track/cm) and X-ray diffraction (10 track/cm). At the same time, analysis of the connection between structural and optical changes in polymer films indicates that a growth in the density of latent tracks above 10-10 results into the formation of an anisotropic change in the electron density associated with distortions in the molecular structure of the polymer.

Estimation of 'dose-depth' profile in the surface layers of a quartz-containing tile from the former Hiroshima University building indicates the possible presence of beta-irradiation from residual radioactivity after A-bombing.

The problem of differentiating between primary irradiation and exposure due to residual radioactivity following A-bombing (including beta-exposure), is the subject of special attention and discussions in order to understand the health effects following the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bombings, especially among newcomers to cities soon after the detonations. In this work, the method of single quartz grain luminescence retrospective dosimetry was applied for a retrospective estimation of the 'dose-depth' profile in a quartz-containing tile extracted from the building of former Hiroshima University (HU), which was a 'witness' of the Hiroshima atomic bombing on the 6 August 1945. It has been shown that results of retrospective estimates of the 'dose-depth' profile using the method of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from inclusions of quartz grains in very thin layers of the sample, in combination with the calculations of the 'dose-depth' profile using the Monte Carlo method, indicates the possible presence of beta irradiation of thin layers of the sample located near the surface of the tile facing the air, where there is no electronic equilibrium from gamma radiation.

Application of UV-Vis Optical Spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction Methods to Describe the Effect of Alpha-Emitting Radionuclides (Radon) When They Are Detected by Solid-State Film Detectors.

This work aims to evaluate the application of optical and X-ray spectroscopy methods to determine the effect of alpha-emitting radionuclides on the properties of solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD) based on nitrocellulose during their detection. The proposed estimation methods are alternative methods to standard technologies, making it possible to determine the concentration of radon and its decay products without the chemical etching of film detectors and subsequent direct counting of the formed latent tracks from interacting particles. During the research, it was found that the use of optical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods makes it possible to qualitatively determine the irradiation effect on changes in the properties of film detectors when α-particles with different energies pass through them.