Dose estimation for astronauts using dose conversion coefficients calculated with the PHITS code and the ICRP/ICRU adult reference computational phantoms. 2011

Tatsuhiko Sato, and Akira Endo, and Lembit Sihver, and Koji Niita
Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4, Shirakata-Shirane, Tokai, Ibaraki, 319-1195, Japan. sato.tatsuhiko@jaea.go.jp

Absorbed-dose and dose-equivalent rates for astronauts were estimated by multiplying fluence-to-dose conversion coefficients in the units of Gy.cm(2) and Sv.cm(2), respectively, and cosmic-ray fluxes around spacecrafts in the unit of cm(-2) s(-1). The dose conversion coefficients employed in the calculation were evaluated using the general-purpose particle and heavy ion transport code system PHITS coupled to the male and female adult reference computational phantoms, which were released as a common ICRP/ICRU publication. The cosmic-ray fluxes inside and near to spacecrafts were also calculated by PHITS, using simplified geometries. The accuracy of the obtained absorbed-dose and dose-equivalent rates was verified by various experimental data measured both inside and outside spacecrafts. The calculations quantitatively show that the effective doses for astronauts are significantly greater than their corresponding effective dose equivalents, because of the numerical incompatibility between the radiation quality factors and the radiation weighting factors. These results demonstrate the usefulness of dose conversion coefficients in space dosimetry.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D011829 Radiation Dosage The amount of radiation energy that is deposited in a unit mass of material, such as tissues of plants or animal. In RADIOTHERAPY, radiation dosage is expressed in gray units (Gy). In RADIOLOGIC HEALTH, the dosage is expressed by the product of absorbed dose (Gy) and quality factor (a function of linear energy transfer), and is called radiation dose equivalent in sievert units (Sv). Sievert Units,Dosage, Radiation,Gray Units,Gy Radiation,Sv Radiation Dose Equivalent,Dosages, Radiation,Radiation Dosages,Units, Gray,Units, Sievert
D011835 Radiation Protection Methods and practices adopted to protect against RADIATION. Protection, Radiation
D003359 Cosmic Radiation High-energy radiation or particles from extraterrestrial space that strike the earth, its atmosphere, or spacecraft and may create secondary radiation as a result of collisions with the atmosphere or spacecraft. HZE Particles,Radiation, Cosmic,Cosmic Radiations,HZE Particle,Particle, HZE,Particles, HZE,Radiations, Cosmic
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D055608 Galaxies Large aggregates of CELESTIAL STARS; COSMIC DUST; and gas. (From McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Galaxy
D018480 Astronauts Members of spacecraft crew including those who travel in space, and those in training for space flight. Cosmonauts,Astronaut,Cosmonaut
D018499 Linear Energy Transfer Rate of energy dissipation along the path of charged particles. In radiobiology and health physics, exposure is measured in kiloelectron volts per micrometer of tissue (keV/micrometer T). Energy Transfer, Linear,LET,Transfer, Linear Energy

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