Estimate of the absorbed dose received by individuals irradiated with neutrons

A simple method is proposed to estimate the neutron absorbed dose received by a person, even when not wearing a neutron dosemeter. This is specially important in case of accidents. The method described uses the measurement of 24Na and 32P produced by activation in the human body for the neutron absorbed dose estimation. The calculation methodology has been developed using data taken from both the literature and experimental measurements. Other irradiation results with different neutron energy spectra confirm the validity of the methodology proposed. Using a whole-body counter to measure 24Na activity, it is possible to evaluate neutron absorbed dose of the order of 140 μGy of very soft (thermal) neutron spectra. For fast neutron fields, the lower limit for neutron absorbed dose detection increases but the method continues to be useful in case of accidents. (Author)