OPTICAL ABSORPTION OF GAMMA IRRADIATED SOLID SUGAR

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Radiation Protection and Dosimetry Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology.

2 Egyptian Armed forces.

3 Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority.

Abstract

ABSTRACT
In the case of radiation emergency, a sugar method, with readout by UV spectra analysis as personnel monitor for the affected population, is proposed. Characteristics of the method are economics, universal availability and portability, with quantitative monitoring characteristics for ionizing radiation. Relative simplicity of the procedure for evaluating dose to individuals or to households after irradiation and readout was used this widely available and compact monitor. In this study, the simpler optical absorption studies show the presence of a distinctive band in the UV region (269nm), whose intensity changes with the irradiation dose. The dose linearity of the sugar solution with the absorbance at peak is experimentally verified from 0.25 Gy to 40kGy. Fading effect was studied for all the used radiation range. These results might be interpreted in terms of the formation of free radicals and possible chain scission and crosslinking along the sugar molecular chains. The optical energy gap and Urbach energy of the sugar solution also investigated. Dose (D) – absorbance difference (A-Ao) relationship may be followed up using the two equations A-A0 = 0.0439 D (kGy)+ 0.054, with linear regression 0.969 in the dose range from 0.25 kGy to 2.0 kGy and A-A0 = 0.0165 D (kGy)+ 0.173 with linear regression 0.9660 in the dose range from 2.0 kGy to 40 kGy.

Keywords