Reassessment of shielding calculations for a room housing a Cesium-137 irradiator

This aim of this work is to reassess the shielding calculations for a room that houses an irradiator with cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) source with activity of 444GBq (12Ci). Shielding or barriers have the function of reducing the intensity of the radiation emitted by a radioactive source, are constituted by materials of high atomic number and guarantee the radiological protection in areas occupied by occupationally exposed individuals or by individuals of the public. The barriers located in the direction of the direct beam of radiation are called primary barriers and are thicker. Already the barriers that attenuate the radiation scattered by the radiated surface are called secondary barriers. In the new calculations, the thickness of the primary barrier was determined by model of the point nucleus model and for the secondary barriers, the differential albedo dose model was used. The results obtained show that all secondary barriers were constructed with overestimated thicknesses and that the radiological protection of individuals from the public and occupationally exposed individuals in the areas outside these barriers is guaranteed. The primary barrier was constructed with a thickness 8% smaller than the thickness obtained in the new calculations. In addition to shielding calculations, classification and signaling of adjacent areas were performed, including necessary emergency procedures. The necessary instrumentation for monitoring these areas was also determined. (author)