Kazuo Kato

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of 36Cl Produced by Neutrons from the Hiroshima Bomb

Accelerator mass spectrometry was performed at the Munich tandem laboratory to determine 36Cl/Cl ratios of samples from a tombstone exposed to neutrons from the Hiroshima bomb. The ratios were determined from the surface to deeper positions. The depth profile of 36Cl/Cl can be used for estimating the neutron energy distribution and intensity near the hypocentre in Hiroshima.

Accelerator mass spectrometry with fully stripped 26Al, 63Cl, 41Ca and (su59)Ni ions

The detection system of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) with completely stripped ions of 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca and 59Ni at the Munich accelerator laboratory and measurements with these ions are presented. Detection limits are given. The presented applications are: dating of groundwater of the Milk River aquifer and deduction of the neutron fluence and spectrum of the Hiroshima A-bomb.

Gamma-Ray Measurement of 152Eu Produced by Neutrons from the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb and Evaluation of Neutron Fluence

The 152Eu/Eu ratios were measured in a tombstone exposed to neutrons of the Hiroshima atomic bomb near the hypocenter. Measurements of 152Eu gamma rays were performed for europium samples chemically isolated from numerous rock specimens taken from the tombstone. A reliable attenuation curve of the 152Eu/Eu ratios was obtained. The curve suggests that the thermal neutron component was relatively small and the average incident angle of neutrons to the tombstone was roughly 45°C from the perpendicular downward direction. It revealed to us several important pieces of information concerning the energy and angular distributions near the Hiroshima bomb hypocenter.

Accelerator mass spectrometry with heavy ions

Abstract Accelerator mass spectrometry measurements with fully stripped 36 Cl ions have been performed at the Munich accelerator laboratory in order to date groundwaters and palaeontological samples, to study anthropogenic 36 Cl produced through nuclear tests and to determine the fast neutron flux of the Hiroshima A-bomb.

Calibration of Mg2SiO4(Tb) thermoluminescent dosimeters for use in determining diagnostic x‐ray doses to Adult Health Study participants

Characteristics of Mg2SiO4(Tb) thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) were ascertained preparatory to measuring doses from diagnostic x-ray examinations received by Adult Health Study participants. These detectors are small, relatively sensitive to low-dose x-rays, and are appropriate for precise dosimetry. Extensive calibration is necessary for precisely determining doses according to their thermoluminescent intensities. Their sensitivities were investigated by dose, according to x-ray tube voltage, and by exposure direction, to obtain directional dependence. Dosimeter sensitivity lessened due to the fading effect and diminution of the planchet. However, these adverse effects can be avoided by storing the dosimeters at least 1.5 h and by using fresh silver-plated planchets. Thus the TLDs, for which sensitivities were determined in this study, will be useful in subsequent diagnostic x-ray dosimetry.

Neutron spectrum and yield of the Hiroshima A-bomb deduced from radionuclide measurements at one location

In this paper measurements of the radionuclides of 36Cl, 41Ca, 60Co, 152Eu and 154Eu in samples from Hiroshima, which were exposed to neutrons of the A-bomb explosion, are interpreted. In order to calculate the neutron spectrum at the sample site, neutron transport calculations using Monte Carlo techniques were carried out. Activation profiles in a granite mock-up irradiated with reactor neutrons could be reproduced by this method using DS86 input parameters. The calculated neutron spectrum at the sample site for non-thermal neutrons is identical to that obtained in DS86, but contains some 50% more thermal neutrons. The influence of parameters like soil composition, source terms and air humidity on the activation of these radioisotopes is discussed. The granite-covered earth at the sample site, for example, hardens the spectrum in comparison with DS86 values. Even when using a fission spectrum pointing downward and neglecting air humidity one cannot explain our 36Cl measurements. If the effective thermal neutron fluences, that have a similar ratio of resonance integral to thermal neutron capture cross sections obtained from 36Cl, 41Ca and 152Eu, are averaged, a bomb yield of about 16 kt is deduced in agreement with a bomb yield of (15 +/- 3) kt estimated in DS86.

Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy of 166Er

Relative intensities of gamma rays of 166 Er from the decays of 166m Ho were precisely measured with a calibrated Ge(Li) detector. Errors of relative gamma-ray intensities are about 0.5% for strong gamma rays. Angular correlations for 11 cascades were measured with Ge(Li) and NaI(T1) detectors. The B (E2) ratios were deduced from the relative gamma-ray intensities and the adopted values of the M1 components. These ratios were satisfactorily explained by means of the band mixing treatment between the ground-state band and the gamma-vibrational band.

Organ Doses from Radiation Therapy in Atomic Bomb Survivors

Abstract Kato, K., Antoku, S., Kodama, K., Kawamura, S., Fujita, Y., Komatsu, K. and Awa, A. A. Organ Doses from Radiation Therapy in Atomic Bomb Survivors. Radiat. Res. 155, 783–793 (2001). Previous surveys of radiation therapy among the Life Span Study (LSS) population at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) revealed that 1,670 (1.4%) of the LSS participants received radiation treatments before 1984. The data on therapeutic radiation doses are indispensable for studying the relationship between radiation treatments and subsequent cancer occurrences. In this study, the radiation treatments were reproduced experimentally to determine the scattered radiation doses. The experiments were conducted using a female human phantom and various radiation sources, including a medium-voltage X-ray machine and a 60Co γ-ray source. Doses were measured using thermoluminescence dosimetry and ionization chambers. Radiation doses were determined for the salivary glands, thyroid gland, breast, lung, stomach, colon, ovary and active bone marrow. The results have been used for documenting the organ doses received by patients in previous surveys. The contribution of therapeutic irradiation to the occurrence of chromosome aberrations was studied using data on doses to active bone marrow from both radiation treatments and atomic bomb exposures in 26 RERF Adult Health Study participants. The results suggest that radiation treatments contributed to a large part of their frequencies of stable-type chromosome aberrations. The therapeutic radiation doses determined in the present study are available for investigating the effects of therapeutic irradiation on the subsequent primary cancers among atomic bomb survivors who received radiation treatments.

Organ doses to atomic bomb survivors during photofluorography, fluoroscopy and computed tomography

Doses to the salivary glands, thyroid gland, breast, lung, stomach and colon during mass radiological gastric screening, mass radiographic chest screening, upper gastrointestinal series and computed tomography were determined by exposing a female human phantom to simulated radiological X-ray examinations as performed in community hospitals. The doses were measured using thermoluminescent dosimeters, and the results will be used to document organ doses received by participants in the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission/Radiation Effects Research Foundation Adult Health Study.