Calculation of dose conversion factors for thoron decay products

Abstract

The dose conversion factors for short-lived thoron decay products were calculated using a dosimetric approach. The calculations were based on a computer program LUDEP, which implements the ICRP 66 respiratory tract model. The dose per equilibrium equivalent concentration for thoron (EETC) was calculated with respect to (1) equivalent dose to each region of the lung tissues (bronchial, bronchiolar and alveolar), (2) weighted equivalent dose to organs other than lung, and (3) effective dose. The calculations indicated that (1) the most exposed region of the lung tissues was the bronchial for the unattached fraction and the bronchiolar for the attached fraction, (2) the effective dose is dominated by the contribution of lung dose, and (3) the effective dose per EETC was about four times larger than the effective dose per equilibrium equivalent concentration for radon (EERC). The calculated dose conversion factors were applied to the comparative dosimetry for some thoron-enhanced areas where the EERC and EETC have been measured. In the case of a spa in Japan, the dose from thoron decay products was larger than the dose from radon decay products.