A Manual of Radioactivity Procedures
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A MANUAL OF RADIOACTIVITY PROCEDURES Handbook 80 U.S. Department of Commerce National Bureau of Standards HANDBOOKS OF THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS The following Handbooks are available by purchase from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.G., at the prices indicated: No. Price 28 Screw-Thread Standards for Federal Services 1957, Part I (Amends in part H28 1944 and in parts its 1950 Supple¬ ment)_ $1. 25 28 Screw-Thread Standards for Federal Services 1957, Part II_ . 75 28 Screw-Thread Standards for Federal Services 1957, Part III_ . 60 30 National Electrical Safety Code_ 2. 25 42 Safe Handling of Radioactive Isotopes_ .20 44 Specifications, Tolerances, and Regulations for Commercial Weighing and Measuring Devices—2d Edition_ 2. 00 48 Control and Removal of Radioactive Contamination in Laboratories_ . 15 49 Recommendations for Waste Disposal of Phosphorus-32 and Iodine-131 for Medical Users_ . 15 50 X-ray Protection Design_ . 20 51 Radiological Monitoring Methods and Instruments_ . 20 53 Recommendations for the Disposal of Carbon-14 Wastes-- . 15 55 Protection Against Betatron-Synchrotron Radiations up to 100 Million Electron Volts. 1_ . 25 57 Photographic Dosimetry of X- and Gamma Rays_ . 15 58 Radioactive-Waste Disposal in the Ocean_ . 20 59 Permissible Dose From External Sources of Ionizing Radiation_ . 35 63 Protection Against Neutron Radiation up to 30 Million Electron Volts_ . 40 64 Design of Free-Air Ionization Chambers_ . 20 65 Safe Handling of Bodies Containing Radioactive Isotopes. 15 66 Safe Design and Use of Industrial Beta-Ray Sources_ . 20 67 Checking Prepackaged Commodities_ . 35 68 Tabulation of Data on Receiving Tubes_ 1. 00 69 Maximum Permissible Body Burdens and Maximum Per¬ missible Concentrations of Radionuclides in Air and in Water for Occupational Exposure_ . 35 72 Measurement of Neutron Flux and Spectra for Physical and Biological Applications_ . 35 73 Protection Against Radiations from Sealed Gamma Sources. 30 74 Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Masonry_ . 15 75 Measurement of Absorbed Dose of Neutrons and of Mix¬ tures of Neutrons and Gamma Rays_ . 35 76 Medical X-Ray Protection up to Three Million Volts_ . 25 77 Precision Measurement and Calibration Vol. I. Electricity and Electronics_ 6. 00 Vol. II. Heat and Mechanics_ 6. 75 Vol. III. Optics, Metrology, and Radiation_ 7. 00 78 Report of the International Commission on Radiological Units and Measurements, 1959_ .65 79 Stopping Powers for Use with Cavity Chambers_ .35 80 A Manual of Radioactivity Procedures_ .50 U.S. Department Of Commerce, Luther H. Hodges, Secretary National Bureau of Standards, A. v. Astin, Director A Manual of Radioactivity Procedures Recommendations of the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurements NCRP Report No. 28 National Bureau of Standards Handbook 80 Issued November 20, 1961 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C. - Price 50 cents Foreword As a result of obvious needs in the field of radiological measurements, the National Committee on Radiation Pro¬ tection and Measurements in 1956 established three new subcommittees to deal with such problems. The present report has been prepared by the Subcommittee on Standards and Measurements of Radioactivity for Radiological Use. Upon direction by the Main Committee, this report presents a survey of the practice of radioactivity measurement with special reference to clinical and biological applications. It also includes some guidance as to procedures to be followed in radioactivity assays which would be of help to those who are embarking upon careers as hospital physicists or who may be confronted with the task of establishing a radiation physics department in a hospital or medical institution. The substance of this report is not designed to meet some of the large-scale problems encountered in the heavy nuclear industry. A. V. Astin, Director. m Preface Because of the nature of the problems encountered in clinical radiology, it appeared desirable to divide the prepara¬ tion of this manual into three parts, the first part dealing with basic standardization procedures which was prepared under the chairmanship of Dr. K. W. Geiger. The second and third parts, dealing with specialized clinical and biological applications, were prepared under the chairmanship of Dr. W. K. Sinclair. There has been a substantial inter¬ mingling of responsibility between the two groups and it is hoped that the overall manual is presented in a sufficiently uniform style. In view of the similarity of the problems and the procedures that exist in the two countries, the membership of this subcommittee and its task groups was comprised of representatives from laboratories in both Canada and the United States. In addition to the recommendations contained in this manual, the members of the Subcommittee would like to draw to the attention of its readers a number of texts that will be found to be of particular value in many areas in the clinical application of radioactive materials. These texts are listed in the General References at the end of this manual. In some cases references in the text may appear only under General References (e.g., an NCRP-NBS Handbook). It is therefore suggested that an abortive search in the References section should be followed by a perusal of the short General References section. The following are members of either the subcommittee or one of its task groups: W. B. Mann, Chairman* J. Hale P. J. Campion R. W. Hayward L. M. Cavallo W. F. Marlow C. L. Comar E. H. Quimby T. P. Eberhard*f S. A. Reynolds E. W. Emery R. Rugh* S. Feitelberg H. H. Seliger S. B. Garfinkel W. K. Sinclair* K. W. Geiger* H. O. Wyckoff W. Gross* W. J. Youden ♦Members of Subcommittee M-l. tDeceased IV The following parent organizations and individuals com¬ prise the main committee: Barnes, E. C., Am. Indust. Hygiene Assoc. Barnes, C. M., Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. Braestrup, C. B., Radiol. Soc. of North America and Subcommittee Chairman. Brennan, J. T., Col., U.S. Army. Bruce, F. R., Am. Nuclear Soc. Bugher, J. C., Representative-at-large. Chamberlain, R. H., Am. College of Radiology. Claus, W. D., USAEC. Crow, J. F., Representative-at-large. Doan, R. L., Am. Nuclear Society. Dunham, C. L., USAEC. Evans, T. C., Am. Roentgen Ray Soc. Failla, G., Representative-at-large. Focht, E. T., Am. Radium Soc. Gorson, R. T., Subcommittee Chairman. Healy, J. W., Health Physics Soc. and Subcommittee Chairman. Hodges, P. C., Am. Medical Assoc. Keene, A. R., Subcommitte Chairman. King, E. R., Capt. U.S. Army. Kleinfeld, M., Intern. Assoc, of Govt. Labor Officials. Koch, H. W., Subcommittee Chairman. Livermore, D. I., Lt. Col. ,U.S. Air Force. LeRoy, G. V., Subcommittee Chairman. Mann, W. B., Subcommittee Chairman. McAdams, W. A., Atomic Indust. Forum and Subcommittee Chairman. Morgan, G. W., Subcommittee Chairman. Morgan, K. Z., Health Phsyics Soc. and Subcommittee Chairman. Muller, H. J., Genetics Soc. of America. Nelsen, R. J., Am. Dental Assoc. Newell, R. R., Am. Roentgen Ray Soc. Norwood, W. D., Indus. Medical Assoc. Parker, H. M., Subcommittee Chairman. Powell, C., USPHS. Reeves. J. D., Am. College of Radiology. Reynolds, J. A., Natl. Elec. Mfgr. Assoc. Rossi, H. H., Subcommittee Chairman. Robbins, R., Am. Radium Soc. Shipman, T. L., Indust. Med. Assoc. Skaggs, L. S., Subcommittee Chairman. Stern, Curt, Genetics Society of America. Sterner, J. H., Am. Indus. Hygiene Assoc. Stone, R. S., Radiological Society of North America. Taylor, L. S., National Bureau of Standards. Trout, E. D., Nat. Elec. Mfgr. Assoc. Trum, B. F., Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. Warren, Shields, Representative-at-large. Weatherwax, J. L., Representative-at-large. Williams, E. G., Representative-at-large. Wyckoff, H. O., Subcommittee Chairman. v The following are the subcommittees and their chairmen: Subcommittee 1. Permissible Dose From External Sources, H. M. Parker. Subcommittee 2. Permissible Internal Dose, K. Z. Morgan. Subcommittee 3. X-rays up to Three Million Volts, R. G. Gorson. Subcommittee 4. Heavy Particles (Neutrons, Protons, and Heavier), H. H. Rossi. Subcommittee 5. Electrons, Gamma Rays, and X-rays Above Two Million Volts, H. W. Koch. Subcommittee 6. Handling of Radioactive Isotopes and Fission Products, J. W. Healv. Subcommittee 7. Monitoring Methods and Instruments, A. R. Keene. Subcommittee 8. Waste Disposal and Decontamination. (This subcommittee has been inactivated.) Subcommittee 9. Protection Against Radiations From Radium, Cobalt-60, and Cesium-137 Encapsulated Sources, C. B. Braestrup. Subcommittee 10. Regulation of Radiation Exposure Dose, W. A. McAdams. Subcommittee 11. Incineration of Radioactive Waste, G. W. Morgan. Subcommittee 12. Electron Protection, L. S. Skaggs. Subcommittee 13. Safe Handling of Bodies Containing Radioactive Isotopes, E. H. Quimby. Subcommittee 14. Permissible Exposure Doses Under Emergency Conditions, G. V. LeRoy. Subcommittee M-l. Standards and Measurement of Radioactivity for Radiological Use, W. B. Mann. Subcommittee M-2. Standards and Measurement of Radiological Exposure Dose, H. O. Wyckoff. Subcommittee M-3. Standards and Measurement of Absorbed Radi¬ ation Dose, H. O. Wyckoff. Subcommittee M-4. Relative Biological Effectiveness, V. P. Bond. Lauriston S. Taylor, Chairman. VI Contents Page Foreword_ hi Preface_ iv Part I. Radioactivity standardization procedures_ 1 1. Introduction_ 1 1.1. Units and definitions_ 1 1.2. General procedures for absolute standardization, _ 3 1.3. Supply of radioactive materials_ 4 1.4. Chemical considerations in preparation, storage, and distribution of radioactive solutions_ 5 2. Physics of some radiation detectors_ 5 2.1. Ionization chambers_ 5 2.2. Proportional counters_ 8 2.3. Geiger-Mtiller counters_ 13 2.4. Scintillation counters___ 14 2.5. Statistics and precision of measurements_ 25 3. Principal methods for absolute standardization_ 29 3.1. Standardization by r counting_ 29 3.2. Coincidence counting_ 36 3.3. Standardization by internal gas counting_ 42 3.4.