Open AccessAn application of Brookhaven National Laboratory`s hot particle methodology for determining the most effective beta particle energy in causing skin ulcers
Author(s) -
C. E. Schaefer
Publication year - 1994
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/672125
Subject(s) - beta (programming language) , scandium , beta particle , national laboratory , nuclear physics , particle (ecology) , radiochemistry , beta decay , alpha particle , physics , energy (signal processing) , materials science , nuclear engineering , chemistry , engineering , metallurgy , engineering physics , computer science , oceanography , programming language , geology , quantum mechanics
The purpose of this project was to compare the effectiveness of hot particles with different energy betas in producing ulcers on skin. The sources were man-made hot particles similar in size and activity to those found in the commercial nuclear power industry. Four different particle types were used. These were thulium (Tm-170) with a 0.97 MeV maximum energy beta, ytterbium (Yb-175) with a maximum beta energy of 0.47 MeV, scandium (Sc-46) with a 0.36 MeV beta, which was used as a surrogate for cobalt-60 (0.31 MeV beta) and uranium (in the carbide form) with an average maximum beta energy of about 2.5 MeV. Since higher energy beta particles penetrate further in skin, they will affect a higher number and different populations of target cells. The experiments were designed as threshold studies such that the dose needed to produce ulcers ten percent of the time (ED 10%) for each particle type could be compared against each other