Measuring and Monte Carlo Modelling of X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Attenuation in Personal Radiation Shielding Protective Clothing

A collection of personal protective equipment (PPE), suitable for use in case of accident in nuclear facilities or radiological emergencies, was gathered at the National Institute for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection, Czech Republic. The shielding characteristics of the various PPE materials were measured via narrow geometry spectral attenuation measurements with point radionuclide sources covering a broad range of photon energies. Photon relative penetration and attenuation for relevant energies of the spectra were the principal experimentally determined quantities for tested PPE. Monte Carlo simulations in the MCNPX™ code were carried out to determine photon attenuation for respective energies in the tested PPE, and the results were compared to those determined experimentally. Energy depositions in a unit volume of an ORNL phantom were simulated in a radioactive aerosols atmospheric environment to determine effective doses both for the whole body and in various organs in the human torso during exposure to different dispersed radioactive aerosols while wearing one of the PPE protecting against X- and gamma-ray. This work aimed to determine the effective dose and its decrease for individual PPE protecting against X- and gamma-ray.