A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2013. / In this study a dose assessment is used to demonstrate conformance to national and international dose limits for workers and meets the Necsa ALARA goals for a radiological repair task. The dose assessment methodology is based on international standards, principles and criteria and involves the process of determining radiological dose, through the use of exposure scenarios, bioassay results, monitoring data, source term information, and pathway analysis. The radiological task is the replacement of the leaking steam coil on the radioactive effluent evaporator facility at Necsa. The effluent treatment facility, its operation, the origin of the radioactive effluent and hazards associated with the leaking coil are discussed. The dose assessment is supported by measurement of actual radiological conditions in the area where the task will be performed using suitable and calibrated instrumentation. The assumptions were limited to the physical phenomena associated with the behaviour of materials and available from national and international studies. The importance of proper planning of all the tasks associated with the replacement task as well as sources of inaccuracy and uncertainty associated with the calculated doses are discussed. The results of the assessment are evaluated in terms of ALARA, namely the safety fundamental principles of justification, optimisation and limitation of facilities and activities. Other dose reduction options, such as personal protective clothing and equipment, were considered to show that the doses conform to the ALARA objectives of Necsa and other operation optimisation measures.

Not available / text

published_or_final_version / Radioisotope / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Thesis (Masters Diploma (Technology))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 1995 / The development of a 200 MeV clinical proton therapy facility at the National Accelerator Centre required an interlock and control system to supervise the delivery of radiation to a patient. The interlock and control system is responsible for ensunng that nobody enters the treatment vault during an irradiation, the extraction of the beamstop devices 'from the beam-line to allow the irradiation of the patient and the insertion of those beam-stop devices when an error condition is detected. Because of its nature, the interlock and control system should be designed so that in the event of an error condition being detected, it should fail to a safe state. This is achieved by modelling the interlock and control system with an appropriate modeling method. This thesis describes a graphical modelling method called Petri-nets, which was used to model the system, and the software developed from the model.

No description available.

Thesis (M.Med. (Diagnostic Radiology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / BACKGROUND: Ionizing radiation is detrimental to growing cells. The potential risk of any dose of radiation in growing cells can lead to permanent damage of basic cellular structure resulting in a high risk of developing cancer in children. Therefore, paediatric doctors need sufficient knowledge to protect their patients from late effects of radiation resulting from medical use. Most studies report poor knowledge of radiation safety measures among doctors. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge of radiation safety and radiation doses among paediatric doctors in Pietersburg and Mankweng Hospitals, Limpopo province, South Africa. OBJECTIVE: To assess the paediatric doctors’ knowledge of radiation doses used in radiological diagnostic imaging examinations, as well as their knowledge of radiation safety measures. METHODOLOGY: This is a survey of paediatric doctors in the paediatrics general ward, paediatric oncology, intensive care and neonatal units, and paediatric surgery department, at Pietersburg and Mankweng Hospitals. A self-administered questionnaire with 23 items on knowledge of radiation safety and radiation doses emitted during normal radiological examinations is used to collect the data in May 2021. Data are analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SSPS) version 26.0 software. Chi-squared test is used to analyse the relationship between variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to analyse the differences between variables. A p value of <0.05 is considered statistically significant. A total score of 50% in each section is used to denote adequate knowledge. The result are presented in charts and tables. RESULTS: Out of 52 paediatric doctors, 47 completed the questionnaire achieving a 90.4% response rate. Majority of participants were females (n = 31; 66%). Overall, only 10 (21.2%) of the participants scored 50% and above, including three consultants, two registrars, two medical officers and one medical officer intern. Twenty-five (53.1%) participants scored 50% and above on knowledge of radiation safety. Nearly half (44.7%) of the doctors were familiar with the concept of ALARA principle in radiation dose optimisation. Three participants scored more than 50% in the knowledge of radiation doses section. Only five (10.6%) and 17 (36%) participants correctly identified MRI and ultrasound, respectively, as the radiological diagnostic modalities that do not utilize ionizing radiation. CONCUSION: The level of knowledge of radiation safety and radiation doses among the paediatric doctors are poor. A very small number of the paediatric doctors were able to identify non-ionizing radiation modalities that can be used as an alternative to reduce radiation exposure to paediatrics during radiological investigations. Paediatric doctors will benefit from courses on radiation safety and radiation doses to improve their knowledge and/or eliminate unwarranted exposure of their patients to ionizing radiation.

The effects of radiation on an operational amplifier were investigated through simulation. The μA 741 was simulated using Spice. Under normal conditions the 741 had the following properties: offset Voltage (Vos) of 0.8 mV, bias current (IB) of 27 nA, offset current (Ios) of 1 nA, and an open loop gain (A0.1.) of 112 dB. When exposed to neutron fluence of 5 x 10¹³ n/cm², these parameters changed to offset voltage of 45 mV, bias current of 1500 nA, offset current of 500 nA, and an open loop gain of 66 dB. A new circuit is proposed that provides improvements in the above parameters. The modified circuit gives a Vos of 3 mV, IB of 200 nA, Ios of 34 nA and A0.1. of 93 dB following exposure to a neutron fluence of 5 x 10¹³n/cm².

The National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements Report No. 49, originally issued on September 15, 1976, has been the primary design guide for diagnostic x-ray structural shielding in the United States. To further protect the public from various areas of medical radiation exposure, NCRP issued Report 116 in 1987 to decrease the public exposure limits. These new limits used in conjunction with NCRP 49 to determine shielding requirements for diagnostic radiological rooms can be shown to over-shield based on current technologies and protocols. This paper explores the NCRP conservative assumptions that physicists specifying barrier requirements for diagnostic x-ray facilities normally utilize. These evaluated assumptions, which are incorporated in the methodology and attenuation data presented in NCRP Report 49 formulas, include relatively high single kVp's, a "one size fits all" workload default, and the lack of attenuation factors by the patient, the wall, and the film. In essence, an analysis of the conservative nature of NCRP 49 is demonstrated. An example of Primary and Secondary Shielding Methodology utilizing NCRP 49 and NCRP 116 dose limits is provided as well as the cost factors associated with the results. These examples are further evaluated using a Monte Carlo software program. In addition, an analysis of actual current radiographic conditions in an imaging room is performed. This is done to determine first, the actual mA utilized for specific exams; secondly, the actual mA-min weekly workload; and thirdly, the tangible exams performed per week in small and large medical facilities. Based on the information and analysis presented, this paper concludes that the formulas for NCRP 49 and NCRP 116 need to be reexamined. Furthermore, this paper also demonstrates once again that NCRP 49, utilizing NCRP 116 dose limits is extremely conservative. / Graduation date: 2004

Rapid emergency response decisions from a radiation release are necessary in order to prevent the general public from being exposed to a potential radiation hazard. A one meter exposure rate measurement is all that is necessary to establish relocation and food control areas when the ground is contaminated at the Protective Action Guide minimum response levels. With the results of these calculations, a known one meter exposure rate is all that is necessary to establish relocation and food control areas for a release from the WNP-2 commercial nuclear power plant or a release from a waste tank at the Hanford site. The calculated one meter exposure rate for WNP-2 is 1.32 ��R/hr at twenty-four hours. The calculated one meter exposure rate for the Hanford tanks is 14.97 ��R/hr. / Graduation date: 1995