Zanini Alba, Ciancio Vicente, Laurenza Monica, Storini Marisa, Esposito Adolfo, Terrazas Juan Carlos, Morfino Paolo, Liberatore Alessandro, Di Giovan Gustavo
INFN Sez. Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy.
Università National de La Plata, Avenida 7776, 1900 La Plata, Argentina.
J Environ Radioact. 2017 Sep;175-176:149-157. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.04.011. Epub 2017 May 23.
The preliminary results obtained in the first environmental radiation dosimetry campaign performed in the Antarctic region are presented. This experiment is carried out in the framework of CORA (COsmic Rays in Antarctica) Project, a collaboration between Argentine and Italian institutions. After a feasibility study performed in the Antarctic summer 2013, a new campaign has been carried out, started in March 2015, to measure various components of cosmic ray induced secondary atmospheric radiation at the Argentine Marambio Base (Antarctica; 196 m a.s.l., 64°13' S, 56°43' W). Due to a very few dosimetric data available in literature at high southern latitudes, accurate measurements are performed by using a set of different active and passive detectors. Special attention is dedicated to measure the neutron ambient dose equivalent in different energy ranges, by using an active detector, the Atomtex Rem Counter, for neutron energy between 0.025 eV-14 MeV and a set of passive bubble dosimeters, sensitive to thermal neutrons and neutrons in the energy range 100 keV-20 MeV. The results obtained in the first six months of measurements for X and γ radiation and for low and intermediate energy neutrons (E ≤ 20 MeV) are presented in this paper and show that at high latitude, also at sea level and at distance from the South Magnetic Pole, the ambient dose equivalent is significant, in particular for the high contribution of neutron component. This involves that at higher altitude (i.e. Antarctic Plateau, over 3000 m a.s.l.) the yearly ambient dose equivalent could be higher than the limit of 1 mSv recommended for general public by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).
本文介绍了在南极地区开展的首次环境辐射剂量测定活动所获得的初步结果。该实验是在阿根廷和意大利机构合作开展的CORA（南极洲宇宙射线）项目框架内进行的。在2013年南极夏季进行可行性研究之后，于2015年3月启动了一项新的活动，以测量阿根廷马兰比奥基地（南极洲；海拔196米，南纬64°13′，西经56°43′）宇宙射线诱发的二次大气辐射的各种成分。由于在高南纬地区的文献中可用的剂量测定数据非常少，因此使用一组不同的有源和无源探测器进行了精确测量。特别关注使用有源探测器Atomtex Rem Counter测量不同能量范围内的中子环境剂量当量，该探测器用于测量0.025 eV至14 MeV之间的中子能量，以及一组对热中子和100 keV至20 MeV能量范围内的中子敏感的无源气泡剂量计。本文展示了在前六个月的测量中获得的关于X和γ辐射以及低能和中能中子（E≤20 MeV）的结果，结果表明在高纬度地区，即使在海平面且远离南极磁极的地方，环境剂量当量也很显著，特别是中子成分的贡献很大。这意味着在更高海拔（即南极高原，海拔超过3000米），每年的环境剂量当量可能高于国际放射防护委员会（ICRP）为公众推荐的1 mSv限值。
