Radiation Protection Dosimetry: A Radical Reappraisal
Author: Jack Simmons & David WattISBN: 9780944838877 ISBN10: 0944838871
Published: 1999 | 160 pp |
OUT OF PRINT
SCOPE | September 1999
“The authors are seeking a radical reappraisal of radiation protection dosimetry by challenging the basic unit and quantities derived from the fundamental idea of energy absorbed per unit mass. Instead they propose what they believe to be a more simple and logical model of radiation bioeffectiveness and its application in a fluence-based system. They provide evidence in the text to show that absorbed dose and the quantities linked to it are not useful predictors of the effects of radiation. A new model of radiation action is presented which the authors claim unifies the results for all radiation types and includes allowance for direct/indirect action, time and whether cells in their cycle are synchronised or asynchronised.
“The book begins with an introductory chapter which attempts to liken the revolution in astronomy brought about by Copernicus with the potential changes that the authors feel are required in radiation dosimetry. Chapter two usefully summarizes the origin of the existing system of units. A later chapter provides a good overview of some of the biological models, details their strengths and limitations and assumptions which have been made about them.
“Two pages in chapter six are the main focus of the book, as the authors outline their proposed model of risk. The conclusion identifies that the system is based on the fluence of the radiation, coupled with an estimation of the reciprocal mean free path of the primary ionisation. Risk of detriment could then be established solely on the basis of these two measurements
“Much of the publication is easily readable, although some chapters contain numerous equations. The book contains many graphs usefully included within the body of the text itself. The book certainly achieves its objectives in setting out a radical reappraisal of radiation protection dosimetry, building on the differences in opinion that already exist between the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The text is probably aimed at physicists working in radiation protection, radiation dosimetry and radiobiology. Its purchase at this point in time is recommended for a departmental library. It could be that in years to come (although things are slow to change) this may be a book that no radiation physicist can do without!”
Cathy Griffiths