Author: sdewji3

RED² Graduate Evaluates the Level of Radiation Protection Offered by Vehicles in a Radiological Event

Congratulations to Sena Dalak – the latest graduate from RED². Sena completed her MS in Nuclear Engineering.

Congratulations to  Sena Dalak, RED²’s latest graduate! Sena graduated this past summer with an MS in Nuclear Engineering under Dr. Dewji. We had a chance to sit down with Sena to share her graduate experience in the RED² Laboratory.

Thesis title: “Estimation of Protection Factors for The Transport of Radioactive Material” (details here).

 

 

 

  1. Please describe your project(s) work you conducted in the RED² Laboratory.
  • I performed radioactive material transportation studies using Type A and Type B packages simulated in MCNP and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) code, RADTRAN, to conduct transportation regulatory risk assessment. In this study, I have experienced challenges to find experimental data to compare the results of my MCNP simulations and to find some answers related to the code RADTRAN. Because of these challenges, this work could not go further.
  • I analyzed vehicle radiation protection factors (RPF) to determine shielding protection from external radiation sources with realistic representative models; included phantoms in realistic driving postures generated with the US-NRC Phantom with Moving Arms and Legs software. The limitation of this study was to find proper dimensions of a vehicle (military/civilian) and a trailer to simulate in MCNP however, I solved this problem producing a vehicle and a trailer from a computer-aided design (CAD) model implemented in MCNP by making use of Rhinoceros with the Grasshopper add-on. Then, the dose limits are evaluated using 2011 Fukushima environmental data for consequence management using NCRP recommendations.
Geometries used in simulations for a soil contamination scenario to calculate external dose coefficients to operators of vehicles in radiological environmental emergencies.
  1. What scientific/technical tools/methods did you use/learn to conduct your investigation?

I have developed proficiency with of several analytical tools, such as MCNP, RADTRAN, PIMAL, Vised, Python, Radiological ToolBox, and the recommendations and guidelines provided by governing/regulatory bodies (e.g., IAEA, NRC, and ICRP).

  1. What non-technical skills did you develop as a result of your experiences? Did you present at any conferences or win any awards because of your research?

I believe that I have developed my strengths include being a good team player and having a good communication from my experience working with my research group. I presented my work at the STC-HPS 2021 Virtual Spring Meeting and the 66thAnnual Meeting of the Health Physics Society. I also received an Education Grant from STC-HPS and Travel Grant from HPS.

  1. What was the impact of your work ? Where are you headed next?

My work has been submitted and will be published by the Health Physics Journal, where I have also presented at the STC-HPS 2021 Virtual Spring Meeting and the 66th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society. My career goals would be to first begin as a radiation specialist and gain some experience and eventually lead a team of radiation specialists. As of September, I will be working on transportation of radioactive materials at the Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Authority as Assistant Specialist.

  1. What excited you the most about your experience with RED²?

Gaining experience in an academic environment under my advisor [Dr. Dewji] and being able to accomplish publishing some of my work and presenting at a professional conference.

 

RED² Awards at 66th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society

The 66th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society was held from July 25-29, 2021 in Phoenix, AZ where the RED² Laboratory participated both remotely and virtually in poster and presentation sessions.

RED² undergraduate student, Sherry Adadi (left) and graduate student, Sena Dalak (right), presenting at their first HPS conference.


Included in the technical program were projects presented by both undergraduate and graduate RED²students. Click on the title to view the abstracts!

Emergency Response and Consequence Management

S Dalak, S Dewji Estimation of Protection Factors for the Transport of Radioactive Material
A Rosenstrom, E Asano et al. Dosimetry Assessment of Reference Populations Exposed to Prompt Radiation Fields from Nuclear Weapons
DE Margot, LD Cochran et al. Uncertainty Propagation in ICRP 66 Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) Applications in DCAL

 

Decontamination and Decommissioning

EA Asano, D Coleman et al. Hybrid Radiation Transport Methods for Detector Response Modeling of US EPA Superfund Counts Per Minute (CPM) Calculator
CE Bayne, CC Smith et al. Design Concept for Autonomous Robot for Sub-surface Environmental Characterization at Decommissioning Sites

Risk Assessment

A Kalinowski, D Pawel et al. Comparison of Cancer Risk Estimates from Internalized Uptake of Environmental Radionuclides

 

Nuclear Medicine

A Willis, S Adadi et al. Estimation of Skin Dose Rate Contamination from I-131 Therapy Patients
LC Aziz, SA Dewji Estimated Dose Rates to Members of the Public from External Exposure to Pediatric Patients Receiving 131I Thyroid Treatment
LC Aziz, SA Dewji Exposure Rate and Detector Response Data for Operational Monitoring of I-131 Patient Release
SA Dewji, A Willis et al. Design of a Mobile Brachytherapy Unit to Deliver Treatment to Patients in Remote Locations.
A Rosenstrom, M Santana et al. Radiation Protection Considerations for High Power Linear Accelerators Used in FLASH Radiotherapy

 

Occupational Monitoring and Dose Reconstruction

S Dalak, RH Mendleski et al. TLD Sensitivity Analysis for Improvement of Dose Reconstructions for the Department of Energy RadiationExposure Monitoring System

 

Special congratulations to RED² Ph.D. student, Ethan Asano, as recipient of the prestigious 2020-2021 Health Physics Society Fellowship awards, as well as Sean Dalak, Andrew Rosenstrom, Autumn Kalinowski, and Dmitri Margot for receiving HPS travel grant awards!

2021 HPS presentation by RED² Ph.D. student, Ethan Asano, entitled, “Air Exchange Rate Impact on Actinon, Thoron, and Radon Activity Equilibrium Factor and Inhalation Fractional Equilibrium Factor Determination in Vapor Intrusion Risk and Dose Models”.
2021 HPS presentation by RED² Ph.D. student, Andrew Rosenstrom, entitled, “Radiation Protection Considerations for High Power Linear Accelerators Used in FLASH Radiotherapy”.
2021 HPS presentation by RED² undergraduate senior design team member, Mark Dailey, entitled, Design of a Mobile Brachytherapy Unit to Deliver Treatment to Patients in Remote Locations