Similarities among the radiation fields at different types of high energy accelerators

Comparisons are made between electron and proton shielding problems. The health physicist, charged with shielding either type of accelerator, must ask himself, ''Am I faced with a thick or thin shield problem.'' For the electron accelerator, he may be able to remove the photon component with medium or high Z materials close to the source, leaving a thick shield problem to solve. On the other hand, the health physicist at a proton accelerator always shields for hadrons; i.e., the proton component is always small. At both types of accelerators, muons may be a problem in the forward direction. If the shields are thick, then similar spectra should be observed to the degree that shield compositions are the same. Thus it is possible for health physicists at various accelerators around the world to use similar shielding codes and methods, and to compare measurements regardless of type of accelerator