Naslov
Neutron radiation measurements on several international flights

Autori
Poje, Marina ; Vuković, Branko ; Radolić, Vanja ; Miklavčić, Igor ; Planinić, Josip

Izvornik
Health physics (0017-9078) 108 (2015), 3; 344-350

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Cosmic radiation ; Aircrew ; Flight level ; Neutron track etch detector ; Dose rate

Sažetak
The Earth is continually exposed to cosmic radiation of both solar and galactic origin. High energy particles interact with the constituents in the atmosphere producing secondary particles that create radiation fields at the aircraft altitudes. These secondary particles mainly consist of photons, protons, neutrons, charged and uncharged pions and muons. The neutron component dominates the hadron cascade at lower altitudes as a result of their longer mean free path. Since air transportation became more available to a greater number of people, this has led to the increase in the number of persons exposed to ionizing radiation of cosmic origin. This concerns pilots and cabin crews, but also for frequent flyers. A neutron component of cosmic radiation was measured using LR 115/CR-39 track detector associated with the 10B converter foil. The measurement of the neutron dose is a good approximation of the total dose since neutrons carry about 50% of the total ambient dose equivalent at aircraft altitudes. Also, the results of the measurements were compared with the data obtained by EPCARD software simulation. The measured neutron dose rate had a span from 0.36 to 7.63 μSv/h (dose enhancement due to high solar activity in the flight period).

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Fizika

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