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The spectral distribution of the global radiation from 0.4 to 2.5 microns penetrating deciduous and coniferous canopies were measured during clear days between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. using a double-quartz monochromator. In the visible region (0.4 to 0.7 micron) the average relative spectral transmissions under both canopies are about one percent beginning at 0.4 micron and decreasing to about half a percent at 0.67 micron. There is only a small peak in the green (0.55 micron) transmission under deciduous stands while there is none under coniferous canopies. The slightly higher transmission in the blue (0.4 micron) is attributed to the direct sky radiation penetrating through the gaps in the canopies. There is a steep increase in the transmission at about 0.7 micron. The increase is relatively higher under deciduous stands compared to coniferous stands. In the infrared region from 0.8 to about 1.4 microns, the average relative spectral transmission under deciduous stands is about 10 percent which is double the transmission under coniferous canopies. The transmission under deciduous stands is about twice that of the coniferous stands throughout the near infrared with very low transmission in the water absorption band at 1.45 and practically no transmission at all in the 1.90 micron-band. The absolute spectral transmission exhibit a somewhat different distribution, especially in the visible region. Since the highest intensity of the solar spectrum in the open is located in the 0.5 micron-band, this is also reflected in the absolute values. The small peak in the green under deciduous stands is now indicated as a slight shift of the peak to the 0.55 micron-band. The water absorption bands at the 0.95 and 1.15 microns are also distinct, with hardly no transmission at all beyond 1.7 microns. The spectral transmittance of forest canopies differ from those reported for single leaves in the proportion of radiation transmitted in the visible and infrared regions. For example, the ratio of the transmission at 0.55 micron to that at 1.10 micron-band is about one to twelve compared to about one to five in single leaves. A deciduous canopy consisting of several layers of leaves wi ll only allow a very small amount of transmission, mostly in the green portion and somewhat more in the infrared region between 0.72 and 1.40 microns. Under natural conditions in the forest, there exists a very weak "green" shadow and a somewhat stronger "infrared" shadow. The altered spectral composition may influence the understory vegetation as regards photosynthesis, seed germination, and the photoperiodic responses in the forest floor.

<p>Radiation quality is described by the RBE (relative biological effectiveness) that varies with the ionizing ability of the radiation. Microdosimetric quantities describe distributions of energy imparted to small volumes and can be related to RBE. This has made microdosimetry a powerful tool for radiation quality determinations in both radiation protection and radiation therapy. The variance-covariance method determines the dose-average of the distributions and has traditionally been used with two detectors to correct for beam intensity variations. Methods to separate dose components in mixed radiation fields and to correct for beam variations using only one detector have been developed in this thesis. Quality factor relations have been optimized for different neutron energies, and a new algorithm that takes single energy deposition events from densely ionizing radiation into account has been formulated. The variance-covariance technique and the new methodology have been shown to work well in the cosmic radiation field onboard aircraft, in the mixed photon and neutron fields in the nuclear industry and in pulsed fields around accelerators.</p><p>The method has also been used for radiation quality characterization in therapy beams. The biological damage is related to track-structure and ionization clusters and requires descriptions of the energy depositions in nanometre sized volumes. It was shown that both measurements and Monte Carlo simulation (condensed history and track-structure) are needed for a reliable nanodosimetric beam characterization. The combined experimental and simulated results indicate that the dose-mean of the energy imparted to an object in the nanometre region is related to the clinical RBE in neutron, proton and photon beams. The results suggest that the variance-covariance technique and the dose-average of the microdosimetric quantities could be well suited for describing radiation quality also in therapy beams.</p>

Radiation quality is described by the RBE (relative biological effectiveness) that varies with the ionizing ability of the radiation. Microdosimetric quantities describe distributions of energy imparted to small volumes and can be related to RBE. This has made microdosimetry a powerful tool for radiation quality determinations in both radiation protection and radiation therapy. The variance-covariance method determines the dose-average of the distributions and has traditionally been used with two detectors to correct for beam intensity variations. Methods to separate dose components in mixed radiation fields and to correct for beam variations using only one detector have been developed in this thesis. Quality factor relations have been optimized for different neutron energies, and a new algorithm that takes single energy deposition events from densely ionizing radiation into account has been formulated. The variance-covariance technique and the new methodology have been shown to work well in the cosmic radiation field onboard aircraft, in the mixed photon and neutron fields in the nuclear industry and in pulsed fields around accelerators. The method has also been used for radiation quality characterization in therapy beams. The biological damage is related to track-structure and ionization clusters and requires descriptions of the energy depositions in nanometre sized volumes. It was shown that both measurements and Monte Carlo simulation (condensed history and track-structure) are needed for a reliable nanodosimetric beam characterization. The combined experimental and simulated results indicate that the dose-mean of the energy imparted to an object in the nanometre region is related to the clinical RBE in neutron, proton and photon beams. The results suggest that the variance-covariance technique and the dose-average of the microdosimetric quantities could be well suited for describing radiation quality also in therapy beams.

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:52:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:58:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Neste trabalho foram avaliados aventais de proteção e blindagens de ovário de cinco fabricantes segundo as normas NBR / IEC 61331-1 e NBR / IEC 61331-3 de 2004. Para a determinação da espessura equivalente de atenuação foram aplicadas três metodologias diferentes (interpolação linear, modelo de Archer e somatório de exponenciais), uma vez que a norma não indica como este valor deve ser obtido. Além disso, foram estimadas as incertezas associadas a cada método e a influência do número de medições na incerteza combinada. As características de confecção avaliadas foram: documento acompanhante, projeto, materiais, dimensões e marcação da etiqueta. Para esta avaliação foi elaborado um formulário que contemplava todas as exigências da NBR / IEC 61331-3. Os resultados mostraram uma grande diferença entre os valores de espessura equivalente de atenuação declarados e medidos. A comparação dos resultados das três metodologias aplicadas mostrou que há pouca variação entre os valores obtidos e entre as incertezas associadas nas diferentes metodologias. Foi possível observar também que o número de medições não contribui significativamente para o aumento da incerteza nas três metodologias. A metodologia que melhor se adequou à rotina do laboratório foi a metodologia da interpolação linear com cinco medições da taxa de kerma no ar. A discrepância entre os resultados apresentados neste trabalho e as exigências das normas estudadas mostra a necessidade de tornar compulsória a certificação dos dispositivos de proteção, contribuindo assim para o aumento da proteção radiológica do usuário. / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Neste trabalho foram avaliados aventais de proteção e blindagens de ovário de cinco fabricantes segundo as normas NBR / IEC 61331-1 e NBR / IEC 61331-3 de 2004. Para a determinação da espessura equivalente de atenuação foram aplicadas três metodologias diferentes (interpolação linear, modelo de Archer e somatório de exponenciais), uma vez que a norma não indica como este valor deve ser obtido. Além disso, foram estimadas as incertezas associadas a cada método e a influência do número de medições na incerteza combinada. As características de confecção avaliadas foram: documento acompanhante, projeto, materiais, dimensões e marcação da etiqueta. Para esta avaliação foi elaborado um formulário que contemplava todas as exigências da NBR / IEC 61331-3. Os resultados mostraram uma grande diferença entre os valores de espessura equivalente de atenuação declarados e medidos. A comparação dos resultados das três metodologias aplicadas mostrou que há pouca variação entre os valores obtidos e entre as incertezas associadas nas diferentes metodologias. Foi possível observar também que o número de medições não contribui significativamente para o aumento da incerteza nas três metodologias. A metodologia que melhor se adequou à rotina do laboratório foi a metodologia da interpolação linear com cinco medições da taxa de kerma no ar. A discrepância entre os resultados apresentados neste trabalho e as exigências das normas estudadas mostra a necessidade de tornar compulsória a certificação dos dispositivos de proteção, contribuindo assim para o aumento da proteção radiológica do usuário. / In this work protective devices of five manufacturers were evaluated according to the NBR/IEC 61331-1 and NBR/IEC 61331-3 standards. Three different methodologies (linear interpolation, Archer model and sum of exponentials) were applied for the determination of the attenuation equivalent, since the standard does not indicate how it must be determined. Moreover, the uncertainties associated to each method, and the influence of the number of measurements in the combined uncertainty were estimated. The evaluated manufacture characteristics were: accompanying document, design, materials, dimensions and label marking. For this evaluation a check list about the requirements of the NBR/IEC 61331-3 standard was elaborated. The results showed a great difference between nominal and measured attenuation equivalent values. The comparison of the results using the three methodologies showed small variations among the obtained values and among the associated uncertainties in the different methodologies. It was possible to observe that the number of measurements does not contribute significantly for the increase of the uncertainty in all three methodologies. The best methodology for the laboratory routine is the linear interpolation methodology, with five measurements for each air kerma rate value. The discrepancy between the results obtained in this work and the requirements of the applied standards show the need to adopt a compulsory certification process for protective devices, thus contributing for the increase of the radiation protection of the users.

Neste trabalho foram avaliados aventais de proteção e blindagens de ovário de cinco fabricantes segundo as normas NBR / IEC 61331-1 e NBR / IEC 61331-3 de 2004. Para a determinação da espessura equivalente de atenuação foram aplicadas três metodologias diferentes (interpolação linear, modelo de Archer e somatório de exponenciais), uma vez que a norma não indica como este valor deve ser obtido. Além disso, foram estimadas as incertezas associadas a cada método e a influência do número de medições na incerteza combinada. As características de confecção avaliadas foram: documento acompanhante, projeto, materiais, dimensões e marcação da etiqueta. Para esta avaliação foi elaborado um formulário que contemplava todas as exigências da NBR / IEC 61331-3. Os resultados mostraram uma grande diferença entre os valores de espessura equivalente de atenuação declarados e medidos. A comparação dos resultados das três metodologias aplicadas mostrou que há pouca variação entre os valores obtidos e entre as incertezas associadas nas diferentes metodologias. Foi possível observar também que o número de medições não contribui significativamente para o aumento da incerteza nas três metodologias. A metodologia que melhor se adequou à rotina do laboratório foi a metodologia da interpolação linear com cinco medições da taxa de kerma no ar. A discrepância entre os resultados apresentados neste trabalho e as exigências das normas estudadas mostra a necessidade de tornar compulsória a certificação dos dispositivos de proteção, contribuindo assim para o aumento da proteção radiológica do usuário. / In this work protective devices of five manufacturers were evaluated according to the NBR/IEC 61331-1 and NBR/IEC 61331-3 standards. Three different methodologies (linear interpolation, Archer model and sum of exponentials) were applied for the determination of the attenuation equivalent, since the standard does not indicate how it must be determined. Moreover, the uncertainties associated to each method, and the influence of the number of measurements in the combined uncertainty were estimated. The evaluated manufacture characteristics were: accompanying document, design, materials, dimensions and label marking. For this evaluation a check list about the requirements of the NBR/IEC 61331-3 standard was elaborated. The results showed a great difference between nominal and measured attenuation equivalent values. The comparison of the results using the three methodologies showed small variations among the obtained values and among the associated uncertainties in the different methodologies. It was possible to observe that the number of measurements does not contribute significantly for the increase of the uncertainty in all three methodologies. The best methodology for the laboratory routine is the linear interpolation methodology, with five measurements for each air kerma rate value. The discrepancy between the results obtained in this work and the requirements of the applied standards show the need to adopt a compulsory certification process for protective devices, thus contributing for the increase of the radiation protection of the users.