The world is naturally radioactive and approximately 82% of human-absorbed radiation doses, which are out of control, arise from natural sources such as cosmic, terrestrial, and exposure from inhalation or intake radiation sources. In recent years, several international studies have been carried out, which have reported different values regarding the effect of background radiation on human health. Gamma radiation emitted from natural sources (background radiation) is largely due to primordial radionuclides, mainly 232Th and 238U series, and their decay products, as well as 40K, which exist at trace levels in the earth's crust. Their concentrations in soil, sands, and rocks depend on the local geology of each region in the world. Naturally occurring radioactive materials generally contain terrestrial-origin radionuclides, left over since the creation of the earth. In addition, the existence of some springs and quarries increases the dose rate of background radiation in some regions that are known as high level background radiation regions. The type of building materials used in houses can also affect the dose rate of background radiations. The present review article was carried out to consider all of the natural radiations, including cosmic, terrestrial, and food radiation.

Findings of the present study showed that if the density and homogeneity of the low-density polymer gel dosimeters are equal to those of the normal lung tissue, it may be used to measure the three dimensional dose distributions in lung tissue during radiation therapy.

Background:On account of the lower electron density in the lung tissue, the dose distribution in the lung cannot be verified with the existing polymer gel dosimeters. Thus, the aims of this study are to make a low density polymer gel dosimeter and investigate the effect of nitrogen gas bubbles on the R2 responses and its homogeneity.Materials and Methods:Two different types of low density polymer gel dosimeters were prepared according to a composition proposed by De Deene, with some modifications. In the first type, no nitrogen gas was perfused through the gel solution and water. In the second type, to expel the dissolved oxygen, nitrogen gas was perfused through the water and gel solution. The post-irradiation times in the gels were 24 and 5 hours, respectively, with and without perfusion of nitrogen gas through the water and gel solution.Results:In the first type of gel, there was a linear correlation between the doses and R2 responses from 0 to 12 Gy. The fabricated gel had a higher dynamic range than the other low density polymer gel dosimeter; but its background R2 response was higher. In the second type, no difference in R2 response was seen in the dose ranges from 0 to 18 Gy. Both gels had a mass density between 0.35 and 0.45 g.cm-3 and CT values of about -650 to -750 Hounsfield units.Conclusion:It appeared that reactions between gelatin-free radicals and monomers, due to an increase in the gel temperature during rotation in the household mixer, led to a higher R2-background response. In the second type of gel, it seemed that the collapse of the nitrogen bubbles was the main factor that affected the R2-responses.

No abstract