PNNL

Abstract

In October 2006, the most recent of the usually quadrennial European internal dosimetry meetings was held in Montpellier, France. Based on questions and discussions at that meeting, Health Physics Society (HPS) Past President Ray Guilmette of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) organized and cochaired with Keith Eckerman a special session onCurrent Topics in Internal Dose Assessment.” For a session scheduled on the last day of the Annual HPS Meeting in Portland, Oregon, one might not expect a huge turnout. However, the session was intense and riveting, with well over 100 people at the beginning, and perhaps 60 holding on until well after noon, after the official ending of the meeting. First, Guilmette invited six of our best and brightest in the internal dosimetry and dose reconstruction community. Then he challenged each to answer five questions on assessment or reconstruction of doses due to intakes of radionuclides: Who is the customer (for the dose assessment)? What are the rules and constraints for the dose assessment? What are the appropriate methods, models, and calculation techniques? What are the dose endpoints? How are uncertainties handled?