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Vertical distribution of natural radionuclides, 137Cs and heavy metals were measured in soil and plants collected from Kragujevac surroundings. The activities of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs, were measured by gamma spectrometry in plants, soil and milk. The mean absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose, external hazard index and excess lifetime cancer risk were (81 ± 13) nGy h−1, (99 ± 16) μSv, (0.5 ± 0.1) and (3.8 ± 0.6) 10–4, respectively. The Spearman linear correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between heavy metal concentration and radionuclide. Unmix 6.0, was used to systematize abovementioned parameters in order to establish a data pattern.

International audience; This paper summarizes the results of an intercomparison on the use of the ICRP Reference Computational Phantoms with radiation transport codes, which was organized by EURADOS working group 6. Three exercises are described: exposure to an anterior-posterior (AP) photon point source, exposure to an AP neutron point source, and exposure to two typical medical X-ray examinations. The three exercises received 17, 8 and 8 solutions, respectively. Participants originated from fifteen different countries, and used a wide range of Monte Carlo codes. Due to difficulties in defining the precise source location unambiguously in the exercise description, agreement to within ~10 % of the reference solution was considered satisfactory for a given participant’s results. Although some participants provided initial solutions in good agreement with the reference solutions, differences of several tens of percent, or even several orders of magnitude, were exhibited for many of the others. Following feedback and suggestions from the organizers, revised solutions were submitted by some of the participants for the photon exercises; in general, agreement was improved. The overall observations from these three intercomparison exercises are summarized and discussed.

Indoor radon, thoron and their decay products concentration measurements were performed in 25 primary schools in Banja Luka city region, the capital of Republic of Srpska. Studies have been carried out in the period from April 2011 to May 2012 using 4 different passive radon (CR39, LR115) and thoron (CR39, LR115) detectors. Detailed statistical analysis of radon and thoron and their progeny concentration distribution considering geological position, type of detector, measuring uncertainty, indoor position of the detectors and building material is given. Elevated levels of radon concentration (>400 Bq m-3) were found only in a few schools.

Since 1996/97, indoor radon has been measured in scattered locations around Kosovo. In the most recent campaign, apart from radon, thoron and Rn and Tn progenies have also been measured. The current survey involves 48 houses, in which different detectors have been deployed side-by-side in one room, in order to measure indoor radon and thoron gas with RADUET devices based on CR-39 detectors (analysed by Japanese collaborators) and with direct thoron and radon progeny sensor (DTPS and DRPS) devices based on LR-115 detectors (analysed by collaborators from India). Estimated arithmetic mean values of concentrations in 48 houses are 122 Bq m23 for radon and 136 Bq m23 for thoron. Those for equilibrium equivalent radon concentration and equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration based on measurements in 48 houses are 40 and 2.1 Bq m23, respectively. The arithmetic mean value of the equilibrium factor is estimated to be 0.50+0.23 for radon and 0.037+0.041 for thoron. The preliminary results of these measurements are reported, particularly regarding DTPS and DRPS being set up in real field conditions for the first time in the Balkan region. The results are to be understood under the caveat of open questions related to measurement protocols which yield reproducible and representative results, and to quality assurance of Tn and Rn/Tn progeny measurements in general, some of which are discussed.