Estimating the exposure to first receivers from a contaminated victim of a radiological dispersal device detonation

Abstract

The threat of a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) detonation arouses the concern of contaminated victims of all ages. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dose to a uniformly contaminated five-year old male. It also explores the exposure rates surrounding the victim to be used by first receivers to estimate their exposure from the victim. The victim was modeled as an anthropomorphic phantom using the BodyBuilder program. A thin layer of source material was added to the surface of the phantom’s skin to simulate whole-body contamination. The computer code MCNP5 was used to tally the doses to the individual organs of the phantom and create a mesh to generate contour exposure rate lines. Using an activity of 37 GBq m-2, the five-year-old victim received an effective dose 158.23 mSv in one hour. Contour lines were produced that showed the exposure rates around the victims ranging from 0.5 to 10 R/h. The contour exposure-rate contour lines were also generated after the removal of contaminated clothing. Removing the victim’s clothing reduced the exposure rates by eighty percent.