NPRE 441: Principles of
Radiation Protection
Spring, 2024
Course Description
This course
provides a comprehensive coverage of the principles and methodologies
underlying radiation protection and radiation health physics. The major topics
being discussed in this course include sources of ionizing radiation, the
interaction of ionizing radiation with matter, essential tools
and techniques for dosimetry measurements, counting statistics, principles of
radiation dosimetry, biological effects of ionizing radiation, methods for
deriving the radiation dose from internal and external radiation sources, and
standard approaches for shielding design and radiation protection.
Textbook
Primary: J. Turner, "Atoms, Radiation, and Radiation
Protection", Third Edition, Wiley-VHC, Inc. (2007).
Reference Books
[1]
H. Cember, "Introduction to Health
Physics", 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill (2010).
[2]
J. K. Shultis and R. E. Faw,
"Radiation Shielding," American Nuclear Society (2000).
[3] R. E. Faw and J. K. Shultis,
"Radiological Assessment: Sources and Doses, American Nuclear Society
(1999).
[4] E. L. Alpen, "Radiation Biophysics," Academic Press (1998).
[5] G. F. Knoll, Radiation Detection and Measurements, Third Edition, John
Wiley & Sons, 1999.
Course Website
Course website: http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/npre441/
GCOE course explorer
website:
https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/2024/spring/NPRE/441
Lecture Hours and Lecture Room Information
Lecture hours: Monday and Wednesday at Noon to 1:50 pm.
Lecture room: 3018 Campus Instructional Facility.
Grading
6 homework: 20%
(towards the final score)
4-6 quizzes: 30%
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 20%
Term project: 10%
Teaching Assistants and Office Hours
Teaching Assistant: Runxia Wen, email: runxiaw2@illinois.edu
Office Hours: 4-6 pm on
Friday at 220 Talbot.
Course Contents
Chapter 1: The Nucleus and Nuclear Radiation
·
Nuclear
structure and nuclear binding energy
· Alpha decay, beta decay, and secondary ionizing radiations
·
Transformation
kinetics and serial decay
· Naturally occurring radioactivity
Chapter 2: Interaction of Radiation with
Matter
·
Interaction
of beta particles with matter
· Interaction heavy charged particles and phenomena associated with charged particle tracks
· Interaction of X-rays and gamma-rays I – Interaction mechanisms
·
Interaction
of X-rays and gamma-rays II – attenuation coefficients, calculation of
energy absorption and energy transfer
Chapter 3: Methods for Radiation Detection
(Note: this chapter will not be
covered in NPRE441, but the conceptual understanding of basic radiation
detection and measurement techniques would be needed for Chapters 4 and 5)
·
Gas-filled
detectors, ionization process, charge migration, ionization counters, and
proportional counters.
·
Scintillation
detectors
·
Semiconductor
detectors
·
Neutron
detection techniques
Chapter 4: Counting Statistics
·
Counting
statistics, error, and error propagation
·
False-positive and false-negative errors and
delectability limits
·
A brief introduction to Monte Carlo techniques
Summary slides of Chapter 4
Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry
·
Units, dose, exposure, and dose-exposure relationship
·
Measurement of exposure and absorbed dose, the
Bragg-Gray principle
· Dose calculations associated with X-ray, gamma-ray, charged particles, and neutrons
·
Internally
deposited radioisotopes and the MIRD method
Summary
slides of Chapter 5
Chapter 6: Biological Effects of Radiation
(Note
(01/12/24) that the contents covered in this chapter will be subject to further
adjustment)
·
The
time frame for radiation effects
·
Physical,
pre-chemical, and chemical changes in irradiated water
· Basic concepts of cell biology and
irradiation of cells
· Types of radiation damage
· Therapeutic ratio and the 5 Rs of radiobiology
·
Factors
affecting dose responses
· The acute radiation syndrome and delayed somatic effects
Chapter 7: External Radiation Protection
·
Basic
principles for external radiation protection and gamma-ray shielding considerations
·
Shielding
in X-ray installations
·
Protection against external beta radiation
·
Neutron shielding
Summary
slides of Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Radiation Protection Criteria and
Exposure Limits
·
The
objective of radiation protection
· ICRP dosimetry models (for the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract)
Homeworks
Homework 1. It is due at 5 pm
on Monday, February 12, 2024.
Homework 2. It is due at 5 pm
on Monday, March 4, 2024.
Term Project
TBA.
Quizzes
TBA.
Exams
Midterm Exam:
Date: Wednesday, March 6th, at
12-2 pm.
Location: 3018 CIF.
Format: This will be a close-book exam, but you
can bring 2 pieces of paper with all equations and other relevant content.
Content covered in the exam: Introduction, Chapter 1: The Nucleus
and Nuclear Radiation, and Chapter 2: Interaction of Radiation with
Matter.
Final Exam: TBA.