NPRE 441: Principles of
Radiation Protection
Spring, 2022
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:
http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/npre441/
Grading
8 homework: 20% (towards the final score)
6 quizzes: 30%
Midterm exam: 15%
Final exam: 20%
Term project: 15%
Teaching Assistants and Office Hours:
TA: Alvaro
Pizarro Vallejos, email: <alvarop2@illinois.edu>
Format and Office Hours: TBA
Lecture Information:
Location: 3018 Campus Instructional Facility.
Time: Monday
and Wednesday at noon-2.
Zoom Links:
Lecture:
https://illinois-phi.zoom.us/j/87899021367?pwd=QzN4N3dLM2VXeXdROEVuZXpoRkUwZz09
Office hour every Friday at 1-4 pm:
https://illinois.zoom.us/j/7523887025?pwd=SkpPL3ZtdW1UNDBoTnAvMzUxMmp6QT09
Lecture Notes
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 photons I – Interaction mechanisms
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
Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry
·
Units, dose, exposure,
and dose-exposure relationship
·
Measurement of
exposure and absorbed dose from X-rays, gamma-rays, and charged particles
· Dose calculations associated with X-ray, gamma-ray, charged particles, and neutrons
·
Internally
deposited radioisotopes and the MIRD method
Chapter 6: Biological Effects of Radiation
·
Basic
concepts of cell biology and irradiation of cells
·
Types
of radiation damage (slides attached, these covers class2&3)
· Therapeutic ratio and the 5 Rs of radiobiology
Chapter
7: External Radiation Protection
·
Basic
principles for external radiation protection
· Gamma-ray shielding considerations
·
Shielding
in X-ray installations
·
Protection
against external beta radiation
Chapter
8: Radiation Protection Criteria and Exposure Limits
·
The
objective of radiation protection
· ICRP dosimetry models (for the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract)
Homework
Homework 1. Due date: Monday,
Feb. 21, at 5pm. Solutions.
Homework 2. Due date:
Wednesday, March 2, at 5pm. Solutions.
Homework 3. Due date: Monday,
March 21, at 5pm.
Homework 4. Due date: Monday,
April 25 at 5pm.
Please send your homework electronically
to our TA, Alvaro
Pizarro Vallejos, <alvarop2@illinois.edu>
Term Project
TBA
Quizzes
Exams
Midterm Exam:
Date and time: Noon-2pm on March 21, 2022, during regular lecture
hour.
Contents covered: Chapter 1-3 (as on the
course website).
Format: close book. We will provide essential equations and
constants.
Final Exam: TBA
Date and time: 7-10 pm on Thursday, May 12.
Contents covered: Chapter 4-7 (as on the
course website).
Format: close book. We will provide essential equations and
constants.