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.