Space radiation biology is an emerging field of research with a focus on improving the
health and safety of astronauts in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and deep-space missions. Eye
health is especially important to astronaut functionality. Recent studies have found an
increased risk of cataract formation in astronauts with higher lens...
This study focuses on iodine-131 detected in milk samples from the Dairy Science Unit at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California following events at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in March of 2011. The samples were collected as part of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (DCPP) Radiological Environmental...
To quantify the relative activity contributions of beta emitters in mixed emission source spectra, the triple-layer phoswich detector was modeled to generate beta energy absorption spectra from mixed beta sources. These mixed sources include four pure beta emitters (C-14, Tc-99, Sr-90, and Y-90). Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) computer code was...
Radiation protection has historically been from a human protection approach, therefore many studies have neglected the potential dose contribution from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) in animal studies. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) utilized simplified geometric shapes with Dose Conversion Factors (DCF) based on homogenized models for the trout...
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011 made it apparent that releases of fission products to marine environments is a very real possibility. Additional data on the movement of material through marine environments can be used by radioecology personnel to assist with both ecosystem protection as well as environmental cleanup...
Radioxenon detection is a technique used to monitor nuclear explosion and verify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Because of an ultra-low concentration of radioxenon at radioxenon monitoring stations, radioxenon detection systems must have high sensitivity. This sensitivity is measured in terms of detector's minimum detectable concentration (MDC). It is required...
There is a significant role in emergency response and personal radiation safety that can be played by a compact radiation detector that is capable of identifying radionuclides. Herein is described the design, construction, and characterization of a small, low-cost, low-power gamma ray spectrometer prototype intended to fill this role, conducted...
Uranium dioxide has been used in industry both as a fuel for power reactors and as a target for the production of radioisotopes. One of the most important radioisotopes produced using these targets is molybdenum-99 (Mo-99, 65.94hr half-life), which is the parent isotope to technetium-99m (Tc-99m, 6.01hr half-life), a radioisotope...
The Code of Federal Regulations (10CFR20.1201) mandates occupational dose limits to the shallow, lens and deep tissue layers. The NRC-accepted procedure of estimating dose to these layers from contamination events is laborious. The current work aims to further the development of a portable phoswich-style skin dosimeter that will operate in...
The objective of this work was to determine and optimize the resolution of a neutron sensitive Multi-Channel Plate (MCP) detector in order to determine its capabilities in radiography and tomography. The Oregon State University, Neutron Radiography Facility added an MCP Detector in 2012 in order to analyze these capabilities. The...