Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation

All living things are constantly exposed to background radiation. The presence of radioactive materials in the earth's crust and cosmic radiation are largely responsible for this exposure. The present study aimed to develop a new methodology of easy applicability and low cost to carry out measu...

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Main Authors: Edson Luiz Pontes Perger, Rodrigo Sanchez Giarola, Izabella Santos Silva Lemes, Gabriel Augusto Arruda, Marco Antônio Rodrigues Fernandes, Alexandre Dal Pai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2022-02-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1688
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author Edson Luiz Pontes Perger
Rodrigo Sanchez Giarola
Izabella Santos Silva Lemes
Gabriel Augusto Arruda
Marco Antônio Rodrigues Fernandes
Alexandre Dal Pai
author_facet Edson Luiz Pontes Perger
Rodrigo Sanchez Giarola
Izabella Santos Silva Lemes
Gabriel Augusto Arruda
Marco Antônio Rodrigues Fernandes
Alexandre Dal Pai
author_sort Edson Luiz Pontes Perger
collection DOAJ
description All living things are constantly exposed to background radiation. The presence of radioactive materials in the earth's crust and cosmic radiation are largely responsible for this exposure. The present study aimed to develop a new methodology of easy applicability and low cost to carry out measurements of environmental background radiation and to be able to establish a map of environmental radiation for primary monitoring of these exposures. For that, ionizing radiation measurements, Meteorological and Radiometric measurements were performed. Geiger Mueller Counter (GM) was used, as it is widely used in services that use radioactive sources and research centers. Measurements obtained showed that there were no statistically significant changes in the 24 hours of measurements with the GM, in relation to the variations presented in the Meteorological and Radiometric measurements that changed according to the time of day. The average value of the background radiation readings was 0.0194 mR/h, with an average variance of 1.8E-06 and an average standard deviation of 1.35E-03. GM proved to be useful for primary measurement of background radiation. The map was developed using open source libraries for the Python programming language. The map may be hosted on an open access website, so that professionals, students and researchers may contribute, sending new data from different locations. It is essential that the levels of radiation exposure are demonstrated and understood. Easy access to this information may contribute to health organizations, agriculture and research centers to establish a baseline for future research.
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spelling doaj-art-2a6ab28ed6ca4e04baf74dd2cc2c5b752025-08-20T03:13:11ZengBrazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences2319-06122022-02-0110110.15392/bjrs.v10i1.16881315Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiationEdson Luiz Pontes Perger0Rodrigo Sanchez Giarola1Izabella Santos Silva Lemes2Gabriel Augusto Arruda3Marco Antônio Rodrigues Fernandes4Alexandre Dal Pai5Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)All living things are constantly exposed to background radiation. The presence of radioactive materials in the earth's crust and cosmic radiation are largely responsible for this exposure. The present study aimed to develop a new methodology of easy applicability and low cost to carry out measurements of environmental background radiation and to be able to establish a map of environmental radiation for primary monitoring of these exposures. For that, ionizing radiation measurements, Meteorological and Radiometric measurements were performed. Geiger Mueller Counter (GM) was used, as it is widely used in services that use radioactive sources and research centers. Measurements obtained showed that there were no statistically significant changes in the 24 hours of measurements with the GM, in relation to the variations presented in the Meteorological and Radiometric measurements that changed according to the time of day. The average value of the background radiation readings was 0.0194 mR/h, with an average variance of 1.8E-06 and an average standard deviation of 1.35E-03. GM proved to be useful for primary measurement of background radiation. The map was developed using open source libraries for the Python programming language. The map may be hosted on an open access website, so that professionals, students and researchers may contribute, sending new data from different locations. It is essential that the levels of radiation exposure are demonstrated and understood. Easy access to this information may contribute to health organizations, agriculture and research centers to establish a baseline for future research.https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1688background radiationgeiger mueller countersradiometrymeteorology.
spellingShingle Edson Luiz Pontes Perger
Rodrigo Sanchez Giarola
Izabella Santos Silva Lemes
Gabriel Augusto Arruda
Marco Antônio Rodrigues Fernandes
Alexandre Dal Pai
Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation
Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
background radiation
geiger mueller counters
radiometry
meteorology.
title Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation
title_full Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation
title_fullStr Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation
title_full_unstemmed Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation
title_short Development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation
title_sort development of a standard method for primary monitoring of exposure to environmental radiation
topic background radiation
geiger mueller counters
radiometry
meteorology.
url https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1688
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