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Book review |
This is the fourth edition of a well established radiation protection textbook. The book purports to provide a text for all those with an interest in radiation protection, but although there are useful sections which provide a general background to the subject, it would be primarily the radiation protection physicist who would find the content of interest. The book is aimed squarely at the American market, so the European reader may find that the mixture of units (roentgen, rad, rem and curie together with the gray, sievert and becquerel) tends to obscure the relationships described. Nevertheless, the book does contain a number of chapters which radiation protection physicists involved in applications of radionuclides will find useful.
The book starts off with a short chapter introducing the physics of the atom and radiation. Chapter 2 gives a comprehensive coverage of the interactions of particles and photons with matter with links into practical requirements in terms of US legislation. It contains some useful rules of thumb which can be used to derive dose rates and assess levels of hazard for various radionuclides, together with general reviews and examples of dose levels for patients and staff from different parts of a variety of procedures. Chapter 2 also covers X-ray equipment and patient dose issues. The dose rate levels allowed in the past on fluoroscopy equipment under "high level control" which have led to skin damage in some patients are noteworthy. Since this is an American text the quantities used for evaluating patient dose are different from those in the UK and the rest of Europe. For example for CT, the "multiple scan average dose", which is the average dose along a central slice in a series of scans, is used, while for fluoroscopy, the patients entrance dose rate is not assessed at the surface of a phantom, but with a detector at some distance above the surface to exclude as much backscatter as possible.
The book not only deals with medical applications, but covers radiation protection matters for a wide range of applications relevant to radiation workers in other fields. This includes applications such as particle accelerators, X-ray diffraction facilities, general radionuclide laboratories and information relevant to those who have to advise in radiation emergencies. Chapter 3 contains a comprehensive range of dose calculations for many different exposure scenarios, while Chapter 4 provides a useful text on radiation measurement techniques. In Chapter 3 detailed treatments are given for derivation of tissue doses from different radionuclides including both alpha and beta emitters for a range of exposure scenarios through radionuclide intakes, surface contamination, and exposures from hot particles. Example calculations are included for many exposure situations, which the physicist involved in assessing such doses will find useful, although European readers may have some difficulties coming to terms with the range of units.
Chapter 5 deals with practical radiation protection issues. There include registration and licensing requirements for radioactive materials, radioactive waste storage and disposal and decontamination as well as other practical aspects, but most of this chapter is geared to US regulatory requirements, so is of less relevance to the European reader. Chapter 6 deals with the biological effects hazards from radiation and includes summaries of results from major epidemiological studies. The chapter also contains information on levels of public exposure from a wide range of sources and tries to give a balanced view of the current state of knowledge on biological effects. The last part of the chapter includes analyses of a selection of major radiation incidents and a description of the potential impact of the detonation of a nuclear weapon, together with data on the worldwide stockpile of strategic nuclear weapons.
Unlike previous editions of this book, some non-ionizing radiations are included in terms of electromagnetic fields and this might provide a useful background text for those who have to deal occasionally with these areas. The book covers the basic physics and interactions of electromagnetic fields with the body, sources of electromagnetic fields, exposures standards and a discussion of biological effects. However, the book does not include protection for optical radiations, such as ultraviolet or lasers. The final chapter provides a series of statements and views from different persons and organizations with roles in radiation physics, radiation protection and nuclear power on a number of nuclear issues. These are given without comment for the reader to ponder about the uncertainties, ambiguities and matters still to be resolved in radiation protection.
Overall, the book provides a text which some physicists working in the field and involved in dose assessments will find useful. Parts of the book dealing with diagnostic radiology, although of interest, are of less practical value to the European medical physicist because of the different methodologies used. In addition, the link to the older radiation units makes the text more difficult to penetrate and the link to US regulatory requirements limits the relevance of some of the practical parts for the European reader. However, there is much in the book to provide general interest for the radiation protection physicist, particularly in areas of dose calculation, radiation measurement and the wider issues of hazards and exposure.
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