engleski

Investigation on Coastal Sand as a Fortuitous Dosimeter by Optically Stimulated Luminescence

In a mass-casualty radiological or nuclear (R/N) event the fast triage of individuals into those who are unaffected and those requiring medical help is a high priority. Oftentimes, people who were present during such accident do not own a professional dosimeter and therefore the assessment of their exposure to ionizing radiation depends on fortuitous dosimeters [1, 2]. This study focuses on the dose response of coastal sand for doses up to 5 Gy and its possible application as a fortuitous dosimeter in a R/N emergency. Although a noteworthy number of articles regarding the dating of sediments with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) has been published [3], none investigate the possibility of using them as fortuitous dosimeters. Moreover, the dose response of coastal sand was studied for three different light stimulations (infrared, blue and both combined) and measured right after irradiation and 24 hours after irradiation in order to determine the signal stability. The obtained data suggests the possibility of using coastal sand as a fortuitous dosimeter since it gave a significant response for all the light stimulations and remained relatively strong even 24 hours after irradiation for several doses and stimulations. Our results, coupled with the rapidity of the measurements, the undemanding sample preparation and user friendliness of the OSL instrument, show that the proposed material could be convenient for a fast categorization of civilians in a R/N accident.

Optically stimulated luminescence ; OSL ; retrospective dosimetry ; sand

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