A new dosimetry for A-bomb survivors

Considerable progress has been achieved in the development of revised dose estimates for the Japanese A-bomb survivors. New calculations have been made of the initial radiation escaping from the bombs, and, for Hiroshima, validated by experiments with a replica weapon. Air-over-ground transport of the initial radiations and decay radiation from debris in the fireball has been calculated and results are being compared with measurements at weapon tests and with samples irradiated at the time of the bombings. A new system based on adjoint Monte Carlo calculations is being used to calculate the differential fluence, in energy and angle, at locations within Japanese houses and then the organ doses of each survivor. Preliminary estimates of the tissue kerma in the open and inside the houses of proximally exposed survivors are compared with estimates made with the older T65 dosimetry. (author)