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Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting
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Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Physics General".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 24206

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vittoria D'Avino

E-Mail
Guest Editor
1. Department of Physics "E. Pancini", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia ed. 6, 80126 Naples, Italy
2. National Institute for Nuclear Physics, (INFN), Naples, Italy, Via Cinthia ed. 6, 80126 Naples, Italy
Interests: thermoluminescent dosimetry; radiation dosimetry; radiation therapy physics; medical physics; detectors; regression methods; logistic regression; medical statistics; radiation protection; ionizing radiation; photon therapy; proton therapy; radiotherapy; radiation effect; radiobiology; environmental radioactivity; fiber optics; radon
Prof. Dr. Mariagabriella Pugliese

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Physics "E. Pancini", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia ed. 6, 80126 Naples, Italy
2. National Institute for Nuclear Physics, (INFN), Via Cinthia ed. 6, 80126 Naples, Italy
Interests: radiation dosimetry; radiation detection; thermoluminescent dosimetry; radiation therapy physics; detectors; radiation protection; ionizing radiation; radiation effect; radiotherapy physics; radon; radon daughters; health physics; radiation biology; physics education; gamma rays; space sciences; silicon detectors; accelerators; gamma spectrometry; environmental radioactivity; radiobiology; DNA damage; experimental nuclear physics; proton
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Radiation exposure influences life quality because of the potential acute or late induced effects on human health. Today, an increasing amount of interest in radioprotection issues has led many researchers to focus their attention on the safe use of both artificial and natural source radiation in medical settings and on the monitoring of passive exposure to environmental radiation.

 

In the medical field, recent advances in clinical radiation therapy technologies using ionizing radiation such as brachytherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT), intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT), proton and hadron therapy, require investigating innovative dosimetric tools and methodologies to implement the routine use of a quality assurance protocol for the safety of the treatment. On the other hand, in interventional radiology (IR), the application of X-ray-image-guided procedures has rapidly increased in a wide range of clinical areas (i.e., neurosurgery, cardiology, urology, gastroenterology, orthopedics), exposing operators to a more intensive and protracted exposure to ionizing radiation. Occupational exposure of medical workers is a topical problem, and thus, research in this field is welcome in this Special Issue of Applied Sciences.

 

Finally, in addition to patients and workers involved in the use of ionizing radiation for diagnostic and therapy activities, the general population is affected by radiation as it is exposed to radioactivity in the environment because of primordial radionuclides and their daughters, with a contribution of cosmic radiation and cosmogenic radionuclides. Radon gas exposure especially has been recognized as a potential cause of carcinogenic effects by international organizations. Radon concentrates in confined environments (radon indoor) exhaling from ground flow and the walls of buildings. In this regard, for the first time, at European level, the Council Directive 59/2013/Euratom took into account the possible contribution of radiation from building materials, requiring pre-characterizing construction materials in order to limit people’s exposure and the health effects, providing a reference level for the concentration of the natural radionuclides present in them.

 

Studies on the radiation content of materials, characterization of building materials and stones, and performance investigation of constructive techniques on the impact of air quality concerning radiation concentration fulfill the aim of this Special Issue. In line with Euratom Directive 2013/59/Euratom, laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionizing radiation, the scientific community has been invited to share their research, specific strategies, and approaches in radioprotection perspective.

 

Our aim in releasing this Special Issue is to collect the latest studies focusing on any scientific aspect of the radioprotection issues involving workers, patients, and the general population to have an overview of the state of the art, future perspectives, and new frontiers in this field. The scope of this the Special Issue covers numerous areas of interest in an interdisciplinary framework including physics, medicine, radiobiology, engineering, and construction materials. Novel approaches for characterizing devices for dosimetry for medical applications, dose–effect biological studies, and innovative radioprotection measures and systems are included.

 

You are invited to submit your research work in the form of research papers, communications, review papers, and letters. Original results, data analysis, technical reports, communication, conceptual, experimental, and theoretical works are welcome; these may cover applications in clinical and working safety, buildings, spatial radiation, and radiobiological dose–response; related concepts to radiation field will also be evaluated. Manuscripts regarding education, dissemination, and training in radiation protection risk are also welcome, as well as review articles of applications of physics to clinical and radioprotection.

Dr. Vittoria D'Avino
Prof. Dr. Mariagabriella Pugliese
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • building materials
  • dosimetry
  • environmental radioactivity
  • internal radiation
  • ionizing radiation
  • medical sources
  • radiation exposure
  • radioactivity
  • radiation detection
  • radiation effects
  • radiation physics
  • radiation protection
  • space radiation
  • terrestrial radiation
  • X-ray security systems

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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8 pages, 1284 KiB  
Article
The Performance of LiF:Mg-Ti for Proton Dosimetry within the Framework of the MoVe IT Project
by Vittoria D’Avino, Francesco Tommasino, Stefano Lorentini, Giuseppe La Verde and Mariagabriella Pugliese
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(17), 8263; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11178263 - 6 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2377
Abstract
Proton therapy represents a technologically advanced method for delivery of radiation treatments to tumors. The determination of the biological effectiveness is one of the objectives of the MoVe IT (Modeling and Verification for Ion Beam Treatment Planning) project of the National Institute for [...] Read more.
Proton therapy represents a technologically advanced method for delivery of radiation treatments to tumors. The determination of the biological effectiveness is one of the objectives of the MoVe IT (Modeling and Verification for Ion Beam Treatment Planning) project of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) CSN5. The aim of the present work, which is part of the project, was to evaluate the performance of the thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs-100) for dose verification in the proton beam line. Four irradiation experiments were performed in the experimental room at the Trento Proton Therapy Center, where a 150 MeV monoenergetic proton beam is available. A total of 80 TLDs were used. The TLDs were arranged in one or two rows and accommodated in a specially designed water-equivalent phantom. In the experimental setup, the beam enters orthogonally to the dosimeters and is distributed along the proton beam profile, while the irradiation delivers doses of 0.8 Gy or 1.5 Gy in the Bragg peak. For each irradiation stage, the depth–dose curve was determined by the TLD readings. The results showed the good performance of the TLDs-100, proving their reliability for dose recordings in future radiobiological experiments planned within the MoVe IT context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting)
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13 pages, 2509 KiB  
Article
Sorrentina Peninsula: Geographical Distribution of the Indoor Radon Concentrations in Dwellings—Gini Index Application
by Filomena Loffredo, Irene Opoku-Ntim and Maria Quarto
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(17), 7975; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177975 - 28 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1564
Abstract
The radon isotope (222Rn, half-life 3.8 days) is a radioactive byproduct of the 238U decay chain. Because radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after smoking, dense maps of indoor radon concentration are required to implement effective locally [...] Read more.
The radon isotope (222Rn, half-life 3.8 days) is a radioactive byproduct of the 238U decay chain. Because radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after smoking, dense maps of indoor radon concentration are required to implement effective locally based risk reduction strategies. In this regard, we present an innovative method for the construction of interpolated maps (kriging) based on the Gini index computation to characterize the distribution of Rn concentration. The Gini coefficient variogram has been shown to be an effective predictor of radon concentration inhomogeneity. It allows for a better constraint of the critical distance below which the radon geological source can be considered uniform, at least for the investigated length scales of variability; it also better distinguishes fluctuations due to environmental predisposing factors from those due to random spatially uncorrelated noise. This method has been shown to be effective in finding larger-scale geographical connections that can subsequently be connected to geological characteristics. It was tested using real dataset derived from indoor radon measurements conducted in the Sorrentina Peninsula in Campania, Italy. The measurement was carried out in different residences using passive detectors (CR-39) for two consecutive semesters, beginning in September–November 2019 and ending in September–November 2020, to estimate the yearly mean radon concentration. The measurements and analysis were conducted in accordance with the quality control plan. Radon concentrations ranged from 25 to 722 Bq/m3 before being normalized to ground level, and from 23 to 933 Bq/m3 after being normalized, with a geometric mean of 120 Bq/m3 and a geometric standard deviation of 1.35 before data normalization, and 139 Bq/m3 and a geometric standard deviation of 1.36 after data normalization. Approximately 13% of the tests conducted exceeded the 300 Bq/m3 reference level set by Italian Legislative Decree 101/2020. The data show that the municipalities under investigation had no influence on indoor radon levels. The geology of the monitored location is interesting, and because soil is the primary source of Rn, risk assessment and mitigation for radon exposure cannot be undertaken without first analyzing the local geology. This research examines the spatial link among radon readings using the mapping based on the Gini method (kriging). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting)
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12 pages, 1617 KiB  
Article
Radon Levels of Water Sources in the Southwest Coastal Region of Peninsular Malaysia
by Noor Fadilla Ismail, Suhairul Hashim, Mohamad Syazwan Mohd Sanusi, Ahmad Taufek Abdul Rahman and David Andrew Bradley
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(15), 6842; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11156842 - 25 Jul 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2943
Abstract
Across populations, the dominating source of public exposure to radiation is radon gas. In the present study, we aimed at determining the concentration of radon in water sources from the southwest coastal region of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 27 water samples were [...] Read more.
Across populations, the dominating source of public exposure to radiation is radon gas. In the present study, we aimed at determining the concentration of radon in water sources from the southwest coastal region of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 27 water samples were taken from various water sources which included groundwater, as well as hot spring, lake, river, seawater, and tap water; the radon concentrations were measured using a RAD7 portable radon detector. The radon concentrations ranged from 0.07 ± 0.12 to 187 ± 12 Bq l−1, with an average of 21 ± 12 Bq l−1. The highest concentration was found in hot spring water, with an average concentration of 99 ± 6 Bq l−1, while the lowest concentration was found in tap water, with an average concentration of 1.95 ± 0.61 Bq l−1. The average concentrations of radon for all categories of sampled water were below the 100 Bq l−1 WHO guidance level for safe drinking water. According to the ICRP effective dose conversion factor and UNSCEAR (2000), the total effective dose from the summation of inhaled and imbibed water was calculated from the aqueous radon concentrations, with an average effective dose of 4.45 µSv y−1, well within the WHO safe drinking water guideline value of 100 µSv per year. The results of this study could support the efforts of authorities and regulators who are responsible for controlling and strategizing to ensure public safety against radon exposures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting)
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14 pages, 1932 KiB  
Article
Gamma Ray Shielding Properties of Yb3+-Doped Calcium Borotellurite Glasses
by Aljawhara H. Almuqrin and M. I. Sayyed
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5697; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125697 - 19 Jun 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 1886
Abstract
This research work aims to investigate the radiation shielding ability of a Yb3+-doped calcium borotellurite glass system. The system has the basic composition of CaF2–CaO–B2O3–TeO2–Yb2O3 but is denoted as TeBYbn [...] Read more.
This research work aims to investigate the radiation shielding ability of a Yb3+-doped calcium borotellurite glass system. The system has the basic composition of CaF2–CaO–B2O3–TeO2–Yb2O3 but is denoted as TeBYbn for simplicity. The effect of increasing the TeO2 content in the glasses from 10 to 54 mol% was investigated, with five different chosen compositions and densities. The Phy-X/PSD program was used to investigate the mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) of the samples. The mass attenuation coefficients were theoretically determined by using an online software for the calculation of shielding parameters. Other parameters were then calculated and analyzed, such as the linear attenuation coefficient (µ), transmission factor (TF), radiation protection efficiency (RPE), effective atomic number (Zeff), and mean free path (MFP). TeBYb5, the glass with the greatest TeO2 content, was shown to have the greatest µ/ρ; however, at greater energies, the differences between the values are practically negligible. µ was shown to increase with density, such as from 0.386 cm−1 to 0.687 cm−1 for TeBYb1 and TeBYb5 at 0.284 MeV, respectively. The least TF was found for samples with a thickness of 1.5 cm, proving an inverse correlation between the thickness of the sample and the TF. The HVL and TVL of the glasses decreased as the density of the samples increased, which means that TeBYb1 is the least effective out of the investigated glasses. The five samples proved to have a lower MFP than some other shielding glasses, demonstrating their capabilities as radiation shields. Based on the calculated parameters, TeBYb5 indicated the greatest photon attenuation ability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting)
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9 pages, 1497 KiB  
Article
Occupational Radiation Dose, Especially for Eye Lens: Hp(3), in Medical Staff Members Involved in Computed Tomography Examinations
by Minoru Osanai, Hidenori Sato, Kana Sato, Kohsei Kudo, Masahiro Hosoda, Shota Hosokawa, Maiko Kitajima, Megumi Tsushima, Akira Fujita, Yoichiro Hosokawa and Yoko Saito
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(10), 4448; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11104448 - 13 May 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2973
Abstract
Radiation dose management of medical staff has become increasingly important. Particularly, based on the statement by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in 2011, a new lower equivalent dose limit for the eye lens is being established in each country. Although many [...] Read more.
Radiation dose management of medical staff has become increasingly important. Particularly, based on the statement by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in 2011, a new lower equivalent dose limit for the eye lens is being established in each country. Although many reports have discussed the occupational radiation dose in interventional radiology (IR), few studies have examined the dose during computed tomography (CT) examinations. This study investigated the radiation dose exposure to medical staff present in the CT room during irradiation, with particular focus on the exposure to eye lens. The radiation dose exposure to those who assist patients during head, chest and upper abdomen CT examination was measured in a phantom study. The radiation dose exposure with scattered radiation was never negligible (i.e., high); Hp(3) was the highest in head CT examination, at 0.44 mSv per examination. Furthermore, the shielding effect of radiation protection glasses was large, and radiation protection glasses are useful tools for the medical staff who are involved in CT examinations. The justification and optimisation should be carefully considered in assistant actions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting)
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Review

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20 pages, 631 KiB  
Review
Dose Calculation Algorithms for External Radiation Therapy: An Overview for Practitioners
by Fortuna De Martino, Stefania Clemente, Christian Graeff, Giuseppe Palma and Laura Cella
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(15), 6806; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11156806 - 24 Jul 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 10589
Abstract
Radiation therapy (RT) is a constantly evolving therapeutic technique; improvements are continuously being introduced for both methodological and practical aspects. Among the features that have undergone a huge evolution in recent decades, dose calculation algorithms are still rapidly changing. This process is propelled [...] Read more.
Radiation therapy (RT) is a constantly evolving therapeutic technique; improvements are continuously being introduced for both methodological and practical aspects. Among the features that have undergone a huge evolution in recent decades, dose calculation algorithms are still rapidly changing. This process is propelled by the awareness that the agreement between the delivered and calculated doses is of paramount relevance in RT, since it could largely affect clinical outcomes. The aim of this work is to provide an overall picture of the main dose calculation algorithms currently used in RT, summarizing their underlying physical models and mathematical bases, and highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, referring to the most recent studies on algorithm comparisons. This handy guide is meant to provide a clear and concise overview of the topic, which will prove useful in helping clinical medical physicists to perform their responsibilities more effectively and efficiently, increasing patient benefits and improving the overall quality of the management of radiation treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiation Protection in Clinical and Environmental Setting)
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