NPRE 441: Principles of Radiation Protection
Spring, 2008
Course Description
This course covers the
following topics: sources of nuclear radiation; ionization and energy
deposition in matter; basic tools for radiation detection and measurements;
principles of dosimetry; determination of exposure
and limits for internal and external emitters; basic shielding calculations.
The course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive background in
the basic physical and biological factors governing radiation effects and with
practical means for assessing and controlling the radiation doses expected from
various radiation fields.
Teaching Staff and Office
Hours
Instructor:
Ling-Jian Meng, Assistant Professor in
Nuclear Plasma and Radiological Engineering.
E-mail: ljmeng@uiuc.edu; Office: 111E Talbot; Tel:
217-3337710.
Teaching
Assistants:
Patrick Sloan
E-mail: psloan@uiuc.edu; Office: 107 NEL; Tel: 217-2443516.
E-mail: nanli2@uiuc.edu; Office: 122 Talbot
Lab; Tel: 217-3333407.
Office Hours:
Monday 11-12am and Thursday 11-12am, NEL 107.
Lecture Time and Place
MWF 1:00pm-1:50pm; Room 200H
Talbot.
Prerequisites
Officially: NPRE 446
Unofficially: basic principles of
radiation interaction and radiation detection techniques.
Textbook
Required textbook
H. Cember - "Introduction to Health Physics", Third
Edition, McGraw-Hill (1996)
References:
[1] J. Turner,
"Atoms, Radiation, and Radiation Protection," John Wiley & Sons,
Inc. (1995)
[2] J. K. Shultis and R. E. Faw,
"Radiation Shielding," American Nuclear Society (2000)
[3] R. E. Faw and J. K. Shultis,
"Radiological Assessment: Sources and Doses, American Nuclear Society
(1999)
[4] E. L. Alpen, "Radiation Biophysics," Academic Press
(1998)
[5] Radiation
Detection and Measurements, Third Edition, G. F. Knoll, John Wiley & Sons,
1999.
Recourses
General
Information
Course Website:
Lecture Notes
Chapter 2: Review of
Physical Principles
§ Units, dimensions and energy and
energy transferring, 01-14-08.
§ Basics of electromagnetic wave,
01-16-08.
§ Introduction to quantum physics,
01-18-08.
Chapter 3:
Atomic and Nuclear Structures
§ Atomic structures.
§ The nucleus.
Chapter 4:
Radioactivity
§ Radioactivity and transformation
mechanisms. 01-23-08 &
01-25-08, 01-28-08
§ Transformation kinetics, serial
transformation and naturally occurring radioactivity, 01-30-08.
Suggested reading material:
Attix, F. H., Introduction to Radiological
Physics and Radiation Dosimetry, Chapter 6 on
radioactive and serial decay.
Faw, R. E., and Shultis,
J. K., Radiological Assessment, Chapter 4 on exposure to natural sources of
radiation.
James
E. Turner, Atoms, Radiation, and Radiation Protection, Chapter 4 on radon and
radon daughters.
Chapter 5:
Interaction of Radiation with Matters
§ Interaction of beta particles and
heavy charged particles, 02-01-08,
02-04-08, 02-06-08 & 02-08-08.
§ Interactions of photons I –
interaction of photons in absorbing media, 02-11-08.
§ Interactions of photons II –
attenuation coefficients and energy absorption, 02-13-08&02-15-08.
§ Interactions of neutrons, 02-18-08, 02-20-08 & 02-22-08.
Additional
reading material for Chapter 5:
James E. Turner, Atoms,
Radiation, and Radiation Protection, Chapter 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.
Chapter 6:
Methods for Radiation Detection
§ Gas-filled detectors, ionization
process, charge migration, ionization counters and proportional counters, 02-25-08, 02-27-08, 02-29-08.
§ Scintillation detectors (03-10-08, 03-24-08), semiconductor detectors 03-26-08.
§ Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductor
detectors, 03-28-08.
§ Applications of semiconductor
detectors for radiation dosimetry and protection
applications, 03-31-08.
§ Neutron detection techniques, 03-31-08.
§ A brief summary for Chapter 6.
Additional
reading material for Chapter 6:
James E. Turner, Atoms,
Radiation, and Radiation Protection, Chapter
9-12.
K. F. Knoll, Radiation Detection and
Measurements, Chapter
6-8,11.
Note:
(a) These copies are strictly for teaching
purposes and for students attending NPRE441.
(b). Due to the large number of pages
to be scanned, odd numbered pages are inversed. You may consider printing the
pages double-sided and chose the “flip page up” option to get a readable copy.
Chapter 7:
Counting Statistics
§ Statistical models for radiation
decay processes, Binomial and Poisson models, 04-02-08.
Reading: James E. Turner, Atoms, Radiation,
and Radiation Protection, Chapter 11, Section 1-4, pp. 289 – 300 (see here Chapter
11).
§ Binomial and Poisson and Gaussian
models, error propagation, 04-04-08.
§ Delectability limits, false positive
and false negative.
Chapter 8:
Radiation Dosimetry
§ Units, dose, exposure, dose-exposure relationship, 04-07-08.
§ Specific gamma ray emission, beta
radiation, 04-14-08.
§ Internal deposited radioisotopes,
MIRD method and neutron dose, 04-16-08.
§ A brief summary for Chapter 8.
Chapter 9:
Biological Effect of Radiation
§ Physical and chemical characteristics
of the biological effect of ionizing radiation, 04-18-08.
§ Biological effect of ionizing
radiation.
§ Reading: James E. Turner, Atoms, Radiation,
and Radiation Protection, Chapter
9-12 and Chapter
13-16.
Chapter 10:
External Radiation Protection
§ Basic principles, gamma ray dose. 04-23-08, Reading: Cember,
p. 418-431.
§ Gamma ray shielding considerations, 04-25-08, Reading: Cember,
p. 418-431.
§ X-ray and beta ray shielding
considerations, 04-28-08.
Chapter 11:
Radiation Protection Criteria and Exposure Limits (04-30-08)
§ Introduction, philosophy of radiation
protection, Reading: Cember,
p. 283-299.
§ ICRP basic radiation safety criteria.
Reading:
Cember, p. 299-321.
Homework (will be posted
on Monday before 5:00pm)
Homework should be turned in on the following
Wednesday before 5:00pm to Patrick Sloan’s mailbox in Rm. 216, Talbot Lab. The
score will be lowered by 50% if turned in before 5:00pm on Thursday.
Homework #1, 01-23-08. Solution.
Homework #2, 01-30-08. Solution.
Homework #3, 02-06-08. Solution
Homework #4, 02-20-08. Solution
Homework #5, 02-27-08. Solution
Homework #6, 03-12-08. Solution
Homework #7, 03-26-08. Solution
Homework #8, 04-18-08. Solution
Mid-term Exam Information
The in-class mid-term exam will be held on Wednesday,
March 5th 2008.
Here are some review
slides.
Solution for the Mid-term Exam.
In-class Quiz
There will be two in-class quizzes.
Quiz #1: Feb. 15
Quiz #2: April. 11, Solution.
Final Information
The final exam will be a TAKE HOME exam.
The final exam is here. Please turn in your exam
before 5pm on Wednesday, May 7, 2008.
Grading
Homework 50%
Mid-term exam: 15%
Quiz #1 10%
Quiz #2 10%
Final:
Exam 15% (date TBA, towards end)
Scores may be standardized before computing the final score if the
means and standard deviations vary substantially.