Performance Testing of Eye Lens Dosemeter and Evaluation of Personal Radiological Exposition at Douera Orthopedic Interventional Service

The radiological monitoring of the eye in the workplace depends on the type of dosemeter used and its performance. The dosimetric performances of Nuclear Research Center of Algiers (CRNA) developed eye lens dosemeter (Larabi-Harfouche et al. Characterization and qualification of a CRNA eye dosimeter. Perspect Sci. 12, 100402 (2019)) are investigated in this work in order to assess its ability to measure the operational quantity Hp(3) in photon fields and to check its compliance with the International Commission on Radiological Protection recommendations for professionally exposed people (ICRP. ICRP statement on tissue reactions/early and late effects of radiation in normal tissues and organs – threshold doses for tissue reactions in a radiation protection context. ICRP Publication 118. Ann. ICRP 41(1/2) (2012)). Some key performance indicators including the relative response of the nonlinearity, coefficient of variation, and photon energy and angular dependence are assessed before the use of this dosemeter for eye lens monitoring of orthopedic staff in the operating room at Douera hospital. The monitoring results of this first pilot study are presented and discussed in view of supporting the recommendations of the International Organization for Standardization 15382: 2015 concerning the monitoring of the dose at lens.

A PERFORMANCE STUDY OF A NEW PERSONAL NEUTRON DOSIMETRY SYSTEM AT SNRC

This research reviews the performance of a commercial personal fast neutron dosimetry system that has recently been installed in the External Dosimetry Laboratory at Soreq Nuclear Research Center (SNRC). Different kinds of neutron sources like ${}{}^{\mathbf{241}}\boldsymbol{Am}$–Be, ${}{}^{\mathbf{252}}\boldsymbol{Cf}$ and some neutron generators are used in the industry as well as in some research institutes and reactors. The workers in these places need to be regularly monitored for neutron radiation. These workers’ individual neutron doses have been estimated at SNRC until recently by a 30-year-old in-house-made system based on the CR-39 ® solid state nuclear track (SSNT) detector technology. Last year, a new Landauer CR-39 ® neutron dosimetry system was adopted, the Neutrak system. This system employs a standard etching technique using NaOH solution, and measures the SSNT dosimeters automatically and in a repeatable manner. This paper reviews the performance of Landauer’s commercial personal neutron dosimetry system. The system performance shows excellent results in terms of linearity, repeatability, robustness, etch parameters sensitivity and detection threshold.

Measurement of Uranium Concentration in Some Soil Samples in Tuwaitha site in Baghdad using CR-39 Detector

The research aims to measure the uranium concentration of soil samples collected from different regions are located around the nuclear research center at Tuwaitha to a contamination ratio statement of these regions, which include agricultural residential regions as well as being the regions for livestock of all kinds. The nuclear track detector (CR39) was used as a method to detect uranium of through calculations depended on comparison with standard samples. Results indicate that the uranium concentration ranged between (0.4ppm) and (2.538 ppm), these results are within allowed limit that equals (11.7 ppm).

The CABRI fast neutron Hodoscope: Renovation, qualification program and first results following the experimental reactor restart

The CABRI experimental pulse reactor, located at the Cadarache nuclear research center, southern France, is devoted to the study of Reactivity Initiated Accidents (RIA). For the purpose of the CABRI International Program (CIP), managed and funded by IRSN, in the framework of an OECD/NEA agreement, a huge renovation of the facility has been conducted since 2003. The Cabri Water Loop was then installed to ensure prototypical Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) conditions for testing irradiated fuel rods. The hodoscope installed in the CABRI reactor is a unique online fuel motion monitoring system, operated by IRSN and dedicated to the measurement of the fast neutrons emitted by the tested rod during the power pulse. It is one of the distinctive features of the CABRI reactor facility, which is operated by CEA. The system is able to determine the fuel motion, if any, with a time resolution of 1 ms and a spatial resolution of 3 mm. The hodoscope equipment has been upgraded as well during the CABRI facility renovation. This paper presents the main outcomes achieved with the hodoscope since October 2015, date of the first criticality of the CABRI reactor in its new Cabri Water Loop configuration. Results obtained during reactor commissioning phase functioning, either in steady-state mode (at low and high power, up to 23 MW) or in transient mode (start-up, possibly beyond 20 GW), are discussed.

Evaluation of Hydrogel Technologies for the Decontamination of 137Cs From Building Material Surfaces

One of the preparation steps for a possible radiological attack is the capability of fast and effective decontamination of critical infrastructure. This study describes the implementation of a test plan at an intermediate scale (between bench scale and large scale or wide area) to evaluate decontamination procedures, materials, technologies, and techniques for removal of radioactive material from various surfaces. Two radioisotopes were tested: cesium-137 (137Cs) and the short-lived simulant to 137Cs, rubidium-86 (86Rb). Two types of decontamination hydrogel products were evaluated: DeconGel™ and Argonne SuperGel. Tests were conducted at the assigned Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Israel Defense Forces (IDFs) Home Front Command facility, and at the Nuclear Research Center Negev (NRCN), Israel. Results from these tests indicated similar removal and operational parameters for 86Rb and 137Cs, as expected from the chemical similarity of both elements. These results proved that the short-lived radioisotope 86Rb can be used in future experiments to simulate 137Cs. Results and conclusions from these experiments are presented and compared to results from laboratory-scale experiments performed on small coupons. In general, both hydrogel decontamination products may be used as a viable option to decontaminate large surfaces in a real-world event, removing between 30% to 90% of the contamination, depending on the surface type and porosity. However, both products may leave behind absorbed contamination that will need to be addressed at a later stage. Yet, the likelihood of resuspension through use of these products is reduced.

Learning from Incidents and Incident Reporting

This article examines how incidents are governed in a Belgian Nuclear Research Center by way of an incident reporting system (IRS) named Retour d’Experiences (REX). Drawing on a documentary analysis of incident reports, interviews, and focus groups with personnel, it illustrates how REX enacts a safety governmentality centered on identifying incident causes and culprits. As this governmentality mode obscures the epistemic and political character of incidents, it closes down important opportunities for collective learning about safety and safety governance. It is argued that joint reflection about incidents and resistances toward incident reporting serve as fruitful starting points for a more reflexive safety governance that makes explicit how decisions are made in high-risk contexts. Social scientists can enhance governance of this kind by pointing to different perceptions and evaluations of incidents and by insisting that contending interpretations are confronted and accounted for.