Question

1. An accident has occurred in a uranium fuel processing plant and 3 workers are exposed to significant acute radiation dose.  

• Worker A receives whole body absorbed doses of 3 Gy of 2 MeV neutrons and 5 Gy of 1 MeV photons
• Worker B receives a whole body absorbed dose of 8.0 Gy photons
• Worker C receives a whole body absorbed dose of 1 Gy from 1.0 MeV photons.

All three workers are hospitalized.

1. What symptoms do you expect to observe, and when, in each worker?
2. What can you say about the likelihood of death for each worker?

Answer 1

Answer a) symptoms and time of period:

Worker A received the highest radiation dose, as the radiation weighing factor of 2Mev neutrons is 10 and 5 for Photos, thus it likely to have acute symptoms in worker A, such as skin burn, radiation syndrome, nauzea, vomiting. While within 30-35 days of period he will suffer hair loss, leukemia etc.

Worker B received the least radiation because the radiation weighing factor of photons is 1. Worker B would have long term disease like cancer, hair loss, skin erythema etc.

Worker C received has the medium exposure, due to 1MeV photon, he would have risks of getting tract disorders, sterility, slightly skin burns etc.

Answer b). Regarding death, worker A has high probability of dying within 30-50 days, as per radiation dose received.

While Worker C has the least can likely to survive, after getting proper treatment.

And worker B could like for years.

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