A determination of the oxygen enhancement ratio for²⁵²Cf using cultured mammalian cells

Abstract

Chinese hamster cells in culture were used as a biological test system to measure the oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) for the mixed neutron and γ-ray emission from 252Cf. The cells were irradiated in suspension in sealed glass ampoules. Ampoules containing 106 cells in 1 ml. became hypoxic within two hours of being sealed. Ampoules containing 103 cells remained aerated for at least 26 hours which was the longest exposure used in the californium experiments. The OER measured with this system was found to be 1·4, with 95 per cent confidence limits of 1·25 and 1·55.