https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01472-8
Regular Article
Analysis of small closed cabins of whole-body counters for background radiation shielding
Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear, Postal Code 941, 30161-970, Belo Horizonte, M.G., Brasil
Received:
26
June
2024
Accepted:
20
January
2025
Published online:
5
February
2025
This article highlights design aspects of a low background radiation Whole Body Counter (WBC) installation, addressing the use of closed cabinets of reduced volume to attenuate environmental radiation, replacing iron-shielded rooms. The justification lies in the portability and economic feasibility of WBC laboratories, allowing the service of monitoring internal radiological contamination with quality. Comparative analyses evaluate the reduction of background radiation and additional scattered radiation induced in a central detector, including human phantom with internal contamination. Configurations of cylindrical and rectangular cabins and shielded room, made of iron, are investigated. The findings show a significant reduction in background environmental radiation in the three types of environments with spectra up to 3 MeV. Enclosed cabins are 10 times more efficient at reducing background radiation than partially shielded beds (shadow shielded). A two-floor building assists in a 50× reduction in background radiation, and enclosed shielded cabins reduce background radiation by 2000×. The presence of radiation induced by the cabins is also observed in counts of human phantom contaminated with radionuclides emitting photons of energy higher than the threshold of the disintegration reactions in the constituent material. Mitigating measures, such as internal lead covering, and proximity of the detector to the patient by centering on the limited volume, are analyzed. It is concluded that small-volume cabins for WBC laboratories are viable and useful instruments.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01472-8.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
