Health physics

Regular enrolement

Ionizing radiation sources, natural isotopes, cosmic radiation, fuel cycles of nuclear power plants, accelerators, neutron generators, X-ray sources, nuclear explosions, radiological and nuclear accidents
Radioactive transformations, processes, decay schemes, radiation rates, radioactive decay schemes, equilibrium, activation, fission and products, criticality
Interaction of radiation with matter
Measurement of radioactivity. Basic principles, instrumentation, measurement techniques
Dosimetry. Basics, dose calculation, dose measurements
Shielding calculations, alpha, beta and gamma particles shields, neutron, proton and heavy ion shields. Biological effects of radiation. Effects on the cellular level, deterministic and stochastic effects, basics of radiation protection, regulatory issues.
Radiological monitoring. Air, water, soil and food monitoring.
Techniques of radiological monitoring. Measurements of radiation dose rates, high-resolution gamma spectroscopy, alpha spectroscopy, radiochemical methods.
Modeling of the radiation dispersion
Monitoring programs. In general. Specific to Slovenia.

• H. Cember, Introduction to Health Physics, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 1996
• J. E. Martin, Physics for Radiation Protection, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2000
• Annals of ICRP, 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Publication 60
• International Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Ionizing Radiation and for Safety of Radiation Sources, IAEA, Safety Series No. 115
• Slovenska zakonodaja

Students get familiar with the health physics principles and basic data that is needed in evaluation of radiation hazard and planning of radiation shielding. Concepts are illustrated with practical examples. This course links with other courses on dosimetry, radiation measurement and other more specific fields.

Knowledge and understanding:
Obtaining fundamental knowledge of health physics, ionization measurement measurements and radiation safety.

Application:
Use in radiological monitoring of environment.

Reflection:
Assessment of danger level in various radiological incidences and planning of mitigation procedures.

Transferable skills:
Ability to collect the data and critically evaluate the level of radiation hazard and recommend adequate mitigation procedures.

Lectures, problem solving, homework, consultations.

Written exam (theory)
Written exam (problem solving), homework
Subject is also a part of the final committee exam. Marks: pass/fail (according to the UL rules).
grading: 5 (fail), 6-10 (pass) (according to the Statute of UL)

1. VIDMAR, Tim, LIKAR, Andrej, KORUN, Matjaž, VODENIK, Branko, KOSSERT, K. A novel approach to the analysis of HPGe spectra. Part 1. Nucl. instrum, methods phys res., Sect. A, Accel.. [Print ed.], 2008, vol. 587, no. 1, str. 68-75.
2. LIKAR, Andrej, LIPOGLAVŠEK, Matej, VENCELJ, Matjaž, VIDMAR, Tim, BARK, R. A., GUEORGUIEVA, E., KOMATI, F. S., LAWRIE, J. J., MALIAGE, S. M., MULLINS, S. M., MURRAY, S. H. T., RAMASHIDZHA, T. Proton capture to continuum states of supBi. Phys. rev. C. Nucl. phys., 2006, vol. 73, str.044609-1-044609-8.
3. Vidmar T., Likar A. Calculation of total efficiencies of extented samples for HPGe detectors. Nucl. instrum, methods phys res., Sect. A, Accel., 2005, vol. 555, str. 251-254.