Determination of radiation doses to the skin due to 238U and 232Th series for the therapeutic application in the Merzouga sand baths

In this work, we used CR-39 and LR-115 type II solid-state nuclear track detectors to measure 238U, 232Th,222Rn and 220Rn concentrations in Merzouga sand. The measured concentrations of 238U and 232Th in the studied sand samples vary from (332.59±16.62) mBq·cm-3 to (335.54±20.13) mBq·cm-3 and (80.43±4.02) mBq·cm-3 to (84.75±5.08) mBq·cm-3, respectively. We evaluated the radiation doses to the skin from the application of different sand baths by the patients by using a model based on specific alpha-dose and alpha-particle residual energy concepts. The maximum total equivalent dose to the skin due to the 238U and 232Th series from the cutaneous application of different sand baths by patients was found equal to (148.12±11.85) µSv y-1cm-2.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa Nr 461252 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2021).