Development of the occupational exposure during the production and application of radiopharmaceuticals in Germany.

An increasing number of radiopharmaceuticals and proteins are available for diagnosing and treating various diseases. The demand for existing and newly developed pharmaceutical radionuclides and proteins is steadily increasing. The radiation exposure levels of workers in the radiopharmaceutical industry and nuclear medicine field are closely monitored, specifically their effective dose and equivalent dose, leading to the question, of whether the dawn of radiopharmaceuticals affects the occupational exposure level.

Should the ISO slab phantom be used for calibrations in terms of the new ICRU 95 operational quantity personal dose?

The applicability of the ISO slab phantom as calibration phantom for the new ICRU report 95 quantity personal dose should be legitimated by simulations and measurements of backscatter factors on the ISO slab phantom and, comparatively, on a human-like Alderson Rando phantom. An ionization chamber was used to determine backscatter factors for standardized X-ray spectra in the energy range of 16-250 keV and for gamma radiation of 137Cs (662 keV) and 60Co (1250 keV). For the validation of measurement results on the ISO slab, the results were compared with those obtained by means of Monte Carlo simulations using MCNP 6.

Radionuclide metrology methods and analysis of the Joint Danube Survey 4 sediment samples.

This low-level radionuclide metrology research work was carried out within the Joint Danube Survey 4 (JDS4), coordinated in 2018-2020 by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). The gamma-emitting radionuclides of the sediment samples were analysed by low-level gamma-ray spectrometry. The activity concentration of Sr was determined by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) after isolating the radio-strontium using a new radiochemical separation method.

Research summary of the EMPIR MetroRADON project.

In this paper, a comprehensive overview on the achievements and generated research results beyond the state-of-the-art is given based on the working structure of the joint metrology research project MetroRADON. The results of the project have been targeted at the implementation of the European Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM on radiation protection (EU BSS) and benefit European and international standards on radon monitoring, radon measurement and calibration, geographical radon mapping, and guidelines on radiological protection, construction products, radiation instrumentation and nuclear data.

Examination of applicability of the ISO slab phantom as calibration phantom for the new ICRU 95 operational quantity personal dose.

In this article, the proposal of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements/International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRU/ICRP), that the ISO slab phantom should continue to be used as a calibration phantom for the new ICRU Report 95 operational quantity personal dose should be legitimised by simulation and performance of experiments to determine backscatter factors on the ISO slab phantom and, in comparison, on an anthropomorphic Alderson Rando phantom. The scope of this work was restricted to the photon energy range of radiation qualities commonly used in x-ray diagnostics. For this purpose, a shadow-free diagnostic (SFD) ionisation chamber was used to measure backscatter factors for X radiation in the energy range of 24 keV to 118 keV.