Estimating Radiation Exposure from Multiple Sources

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The discussion focuses on estimating total radiation exposure from three sources: Ba-133, Cs-137, and Co-60, using a specific equation that accounts for distance and absorption coefficients. The user calculates the dose rates for each source, subtracting background radiation, and applies a formula to determine exposure over a 10-minute period while holding the sources. The calculated exposures are 0.0462 mR for Ba-133, 0.0195 mR for Co-60, and 0.0178 mR for Cs-137, leading to a total extra exposure of 0.0835 mR. The reasoning and calculations presented are deemed reasonable by other participants in the discussion. Overall, the approach to estimating radiation exposure appears sound.
Von Neumann
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Question:

I'm looking to estimate my total extra exposure (dose above background) by taking into account account roughly how long I was near each source, the strength of the source, and its approximate distance from me. I believe it's useful to use the following equation,

\frac{dD}{dt}=\frac{dD_{0}}{dt}e^{-cx}

where \frac{dD_{0}}{dt} is the dose rate at x=0 and c is the absorption coefficient.

The dose rates measured at x=0 for the 3 sources, as well as the calculated absorption coefficients are

Ba-133: 277 μR/h , c=0.303/in.
Cs-137: 107 μR/h , c=0.375/in.
Co-60: 117 μR/h , c=0.360/in.

*note that the background radiation has been subtracted from the dose rates shown.

So if I take the time t spend near each source as 10 minutes, and the distance from each source as x=0 in. (as I was holding the sources as we varied the distance in the first part of the experiment) I can approximate the exposure as


\frac{dD_{0}}{dt}\cdott

and then sum these for from each source. So therefore I get,

Ba-133: 277 μR/h * (10 min) * (1 h/ 60 min) = 0.0462 mR
Co-60: 107 μR/h * (10 min) * (1 h/ 60 min) = 0.0195 mR
Cs-137: 117 μR/h * (10 min) * (1 h/ 60 min) = .0178 mR

Thus as my total extra exposure I get,

0.0462 mR + 0.0195 mR + 0.0178 mR = 0.0835 mR

Is this reasoning correct? Thank you in advance for any input.
 
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Looks reasonable.
 
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