UNITED NATIONSREPORT OF THE
UNITED NATIONSSCIENTIFIC COI\IMITTEE
ON THE
EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATIONNOTE
Throughout this report and its annexes cross-references are denoted by a letter
followed by a number: the Jetter refers to the relevant technical annex (see Tableof Contents) and the number is that of the relevant paragraph. \Vithin each technicalannex, references are made to its individual scientific bibliography by a number
without any preceding letter.
Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United
Nations document.

ANNEXES

Annex E

METHODS OF RIEASURERIENTParagraphs

I. INTRODUCTION.............................................. 1
Direct measurements ....................................... 3
Indirect measurements ...................................... 5
11. SAMPLING................................................. 6................. 11111. &~DIOCHEMISTRY A N D ACTIVITY
MEASUREMENT
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The ultimate purpose of radiological measuremerits of concern to the Committee is the estimationof tissue dose from natural sources, man-made sourcesand environmental contamination. I n some cases, however, measurements of radioactivity are also of primaryconcern. I t is emphasized that new and improved methods are constantly being developed.
2. I t is customary to classify measurements of thisnature into categories relating to the method used, i.e.,
direct or indirect. Direct exposure rate measurements arethose made with ionization chambers or instruments calibrated in terms of air ionization. Indirect methods arethose where =F'osure rate is calculated "ommeasurement. The rates of exposure from medical andindustrial practice and from terrestrial and cosmic radiation are sui3ciently high to allow direct measurement.
rates from otherare low and the dose
rate must usually be estimated indirectly by activity
measurement and subsequent calculation.

Direct nlearuretnents
3. Routine
determination of external
ures usually involves the measurement of gas ionization,
between energy absorption and ionias thezation is relatively independent of energy. Any ionization chamber with an air equivalent wall may be used forthe measurement, but it must be standardized periodically against a free air chamber.'
3. Scintillation counters, films and geiger counters
can be used for rough estimation of exposure or exposure rate, but they can give erroneous results in mixed
radiation fields. They can be valuable, however, if thecomposition of the field is known and they have beencalibrated under similar conditions.
Indirect nreanireritcltts
5. The indirect determination of exposures fromradioactive sources, such as deposited fall-out or radioisotopes in the body. is more complex. I t involves consideration of methods of sampling, radiochemistry andcross-referNorE: Throughout this report and its
ences are denoted by a letter iollowed by a number: the letterrefers to the relevant technical annex (see Table of Contents)
and the number is hatof the relevant paragraph Within eachtechnical amex, references are made to its indi%+dualsdentificbibliography by a number without any preceding letter.

activity measurement. Methods for these are outlined in
the following sections. The necessary dose computations
are described in annexes BI CI and D.

11. SAMPLING

6. ~h~ determination of activity in the atmosphere,
fall-out deposit. soil, foodstuff and human tissue requires
the collection of samples representative of a given geographic region. Although this is difficult from a technical and statistical viewpoint, there are recognized methods.lJ I t is recommended that the sampling of the environment and the biological materials be co-ordinated.
may be present in the atmo7. Radioaai\,esphere in gaseous or particulate form, each requiring its
For measurement of radioaaive
own sampling
be obtained by colleainga meagases, the sample
sured volume of air in a suitable containeel or by drawing a measured vo]unle of air through an activated charprecod t r a p . 4 , ~ ,~~~h~filters4.5,8-1i andcipitators are suitable for collection of airborne particul a t e ~ . ~These+methods may also be used for very roughestimates of gaseous activities having solid daughter^.'^^'^
Deposited fall-out activity may be collected periodicallyby a high-walled ~ot'?-''"~-~' or high-walled funI E ~ , or
~ the
~ - accun~ulated~ ~deposit may be obtained fromsoil samples. 25.26.Dl4
8. I t is not possible at present to state the absolute
efticiency of any device for the collection of fall-out deposition. The high-walled pot is recommended as anarbitrary basis of comparison for other methods.
9. Samples of foodstuff should represent the regional
diet. and should be selected with reference to the isotope
interest. ~ l t h o u g hit is advisable to take samples
frequently, it is more economical to analyse a composite
representing one or more months' collection.
10. The itt vivo measurement of radioactive strontium
or radium by whole body spectrometry is inadequate a t
present. Therefore samples of bone are required for estimation of the skeletal burden in man. Specifications f o r
sampling have been given.25~D66

111. R~IOCHEMISTRTA S D ACTIVITY%IEASL~RE~IEP~T
11. R ~ , - may
J ~ ~be measured by alpha counting in an

ionization ~hamber"*'~*'~or scintillation c ~ u n t e r . ~ ~ * ~ ~The techniques suitable for air samples are also adequate for samples of exhaled breath ior evaluation of124

kthe radium body burden. Standards may be prepared
REFERENCES
from commercially available radium solution^.^^^^^
1. United States Department of Commerce, National
12. The determination of strontium activity in the
Bureau of Standards Handbook 62: Report of thevarious materials described above involves preparation
Internaiio~tal Coi?z~itissiotton Radiological Unitsof the sample, separation of strontium and measurement
and Mearz~rrme~lts( I C R U ) (19 57).
of the activity.
2. Deming. Mr. E.: Some theory of sa~tzpling.John
13. The preparation depends on the type of sample:
Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York (19 j0).
(a) soil from which strontium is removed satisfactorily
3, snedecor, G.
: Statistics. Iowa State College
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bone, which are best treated by wet or dry ashing with
4. Goldman, F. H., and Jacobs, 31. B. : Chenrical ,)wthsubsequent solution in mineral acid. Following thisods b r ktdustrial hygime. Interscience, London
treatment strontium is radiochemically purified. YS0 is(1953).
allowed to grow to equilibrium, is separated from the
5. Elkins. H. B.: The clretnistry of indusfrirrl toxicoparent and measured in a beta counter, thus giving thelogy. John Wiley and Sons. Inc.. New York (1950).
SrgOcontent of the sample.'5*26*33-39
The activity of any
SF9present can be determined by difference. A moder6. Harley, J. H., Jetter, E., and Eisenbud, M., A.M.A.
ately low background counter (5 to 10 cpm) is satisfacArchives of Ind. Hyg. and Occupat. Med., 4, 1-9(1951).
tory for all samples but human bone, which requires
counters with a background of about 1 cPm. The count7. Grove, W. P., and Clack, B. N., Brit. J. of Radiol.,ing procedure must be calibrated with an absolute standSUPPI.7, 120-123 (1957).
ard in order to convert the values obtained to disintegra8- ~~J. B.,~~~~12,h N ~, 1,. ~62-65 (1954).
l~~are available fortion rate. Reference samples for SrDO
g.
Harris,W.
B.,
LevinelH.
D.,
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Atomic Radiation and also ~ornrnercially.~~
10.
Steward, N. G., Crooks, R. N., and Fisher, E. M. R.,
14. The determination of total beta activity involves
UN
document A/AC.82/G/R.20.
only preparation of the sample and measurement of the
11. Hultqvist, B. :Stzrdies on naturally occurring ion&activity. ~~i~~~~~~
activity may be concentrated
ing radiations. Kungl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademfactorily by e v a p ~ r a t i o nor~ ~by~ ~absorption~
on ioniens Handlingar, Series 4, vol. 6, No. 3. Stockholm
exchange resin^.?^.^^ Air filters or the residues from(1956) and UNdocument A/AC.82/G/R.15, Part4.
rainwater may be counted directly or dry-ashed prior to
12. Alba A. F., Beltkn. V., Brody, T. A., Lezama, H.,
measurement of activity.23*~3*38.40
Useful infomation
Moremo M., A., Tejera, A, and Visquez B., M.,
may be obtained by determination of beta or gamma
U N document A/AC.82/G/R.5.
activity. The conversion of counting data to disintegration rates is difficult;the best standardization is accom13. Labeyrie, J., U N document A/AC.82/G/R.16, Part
plished with mixed fission products from a short irradia1-1.
tion but natural potassium is more generally available
14- &fartell,E. A., UN document A/AC.gZ/G/R.21.
and has suitable radiation characteristics.
15. Wilkening, M. H., Rev. Sci. Inst. 23, 13-16 (1952).
15. The Cs137burden of humans living in a
16. Harley, J. H., Nucleonics, 11, No. 7, 12-1j (1953).
nated environment can best be measured in vivo with a
17. Shirvailtar, V. V., and Vohra, K. G.. UN document
whole body s p e c t r o m e t e r . 4 ~ ~ 5G~~~~ spectroscopy is
A/AC.S2/G/R.32.
also useful for direct determination of this radioisotope
18.
Hvinden. T., U N document A/AC.82/G/R.92in other material^?^*^^ Radiochemical separation techniques have been described which allow measurement of
19. Harley, J. H., Hardy, Jr., E. P., Whitney, I. B.. andthe caesium beta or gamma activity without energy disEisenbud, M.. U N document A/AC.82/G/R.93.
c r i m i n a t i ~ n Adequate. ~ ~ ~ ~standards~ ~ ~ ~ ~have~ not been
20. ~ l ~J.,k UN, document A/AC.82/Gfl.l%.
available until re~ently.~'
An accuracy of 2 25 per cent21. Boulenger, R., UN document A / A c . ~ ~ / G / R . ~ o ~ .
may be obtained by comparison of the beta activities of
22. Stewart, N.G., Osmond. R. G. D.. Crooks. R. N.,
the Cs131 Wid7a s r w standard.
intercomparison
proand Fisher, E. M.. UN document A/AC.82/G/
gramme for development of CslJ7standards is desirable.
R. 143.
16. The 113' burden in humans can best be measured
23.
Edvarson,K., U N document r\/AC.82/G/R.149.
in vivo by scintillation counting of the thyroid with2
4.
Welford,G.
A., and Harley, J. H., Presented at theenergy discrimination.48-51 ~lgamma~ spectroscopy~,isAmericanChemicalSociety Meeting in San Franuseful f o r direct determination of this radioisotope incisco on April 14, 1958. To be published in Analytother materials, though radiochemical techniques haveical Chemistry.
been described which allow measurement of the sepa25. Bryant, F. J., Chamberlain, A. C., Morgan, A.. and. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~standards are comrated iodine a ~ t i v i t y Adequate
Spicer, G. S., U N document ~/Ac.82/G/R.30.
mercially available.54
26.
Hamada, G. H., and Hardy, Jr., E. P.,united States
17. The determination of radium involves preparation
Atomic Energy Commission report HAS=33
of a sample solution as for SrgOfollowed by measure( 1958).
ment either by a radon emanation techniqueo6 or by
27. Curtiss, L. I?., and Davis, F. J., J. Res. Nat- Bur.
radiochemical separation and alpha counting of theStand. 31, 181-195 (1943).
radi~m.~Standards~ ~ ~ ' are commercially a ~ a i l a b l e . ~ ' * ~ ~28. Pradel, J., UN document ~ / ~ ~ . s Pa*~ / ~ f i ~ ~18. The current radiochemical literature describes
1-3.
methods for many other nuclides, (fission products, in29. Pittendrigh, L. W. D.. Atomic Energy Research
duced activities, fissionable materials and natural isoEstablishment, Harwell, England, r e p r t!opes) which would appear to be completely satisfactory
HP/?vI 83 (1954).
m most instances.
12530. Van Dilla, M. A,, and Taysum, D. H., Nucleonics
13, NO. 2, 68-69 (1955).
31. Standard samples are available at National Bureauof Standards, United States Department of Commerce. Washington 25, D.C.. U.S.A.
32. Standard samples are available at The Radiochenical Centre, Amersham, England.
33. Health and Safety Laboratory, Ma~izialof Stattdard
Procedr~ves.United States Atomic Energy Commission report NYO-4700 (1957).
34. Michon. G.. UN document ~ / A c . 8 2 / G / R 1 6 Part
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35. Kurchatov, V. V.. UN document A/AC.82/G/R.40.
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UN document ~/Ac.82/G/R.98.
37. Netherlands: Report to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation,
U N document A/AC.82/G/R110.
38. Osmond. R. G., Pratchett, A. G., and lliarricker,
J. B., UN document A/AC.82/G/R.132.
39. Saito, N.. UN document A/L4C.82/G/R.135.
40. Lockhart, Jr., L. B., Baus, R. A., and Blifford, Jr.,
I. I<., UN document AC.82/G/R.124.
41. Anderson, E. C., Brit. J. of Radiol., Suppl. 7, 27-32(1957).
42. Burch, P. R. J., Brit. J. Radiol., Suppl. 7. 20-26(1957).
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G/R. 167.
44. Owen, R. B., Brit. J. Radiol. Suppl. 7,33-37 (1957).

45. Marinelli, L. D., Brit. J. of Radiol. Suppl. 7. 38-43(1957).
46. Iredale, P., and Humphreys, D. L. O., UN document A/AC.82/G/R.152.
47. Booker, D. V., Phys. in Med. and Biol. 2, 29-35(1957).
48. Gunther, R. L., and Jones, H. B.. United States
Atomic Energy Commission report UCRL-2689
and addendum (1954).
49. Franco, V. H.. Botelho, L., Ciode, W., Baptista,
A. R4.. Fernandez, M. A. P., and Martins, M. L..
Proc. Int. Conf. Peaceful Uses Atomic Energy,
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193-203 (1956).
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Meeting on Bio-Assay and Analytical Chemistry,
October 11 and 12, 1956. Los Alamos Scientific
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53. Bergh, H., Finstad. G., Lund, L.. Michelsen. O., andOttar, B., UN document A/AC.82/G/R.113.
54. Standard samples can be obtained from KuclearChicago Corporation, 223 West Erie Street, Chicago
10, Ill., U.S.A.
55. Hudgens, J. E.. Benzing, R. O., Cali, J. P., Moyer.
R. C., and Nelson, L. C., Nucleonics, 9, No. 2, 1121 (1951).
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57. Kirby, H. W., Anal. Chem. 25, 1238-1241 (1953).

Appendix

LIST O F SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS
The scientific experts who have taken part in the preparation of the report while attending Committee sessions
as members of national delegations are listed below. The Committee must also express its appreciation to the many
individual scientists not directly connected with national delegations whose voluntary co-operation and good willcontributed in no small measure to the preparation of the report.
ARGENTINA:
Dr. C. Nuiiez (Representative)
Dr. D. J . Beninson
Professor E. Favret
Dr. N. Nussis
Dr. J. A. Olarte
AUSTRALIA:
Dr. C. F. Eddy (Representative-first
Mr. D. J . Stevens (Representative)
Dr. A. R W. Wilson

Dr. A. Halawani (Representative)
Dr. H. T. Daw

session)BELGIUM:
Professor Z. Bacq (Representative)
Mr. R. Boulenger
Dr. M. Errera
Professor F. Twisselman
BRAZIL:
Professor C. Chagas (Repesetrtative)
Dr. B. Gross
Professor N. Libanio
Professor C. Pavan
Father F. X. Roser, S.J.
CANADA:
Dr. E. A, Watkinson (Representative)
Dr. R. K . Appleyard
Dr. P. M. Bird
Dr. W. E. Gnunmitt
Dr. Colin Hunter
Dr. G. H. Josie
Dr. C. A. Mawson
Dr. H. B. Newcombe
Dr. F. D. Sowby
CZECHOSLOVAKIA:
Professor F. Hertik (Representative)
Professor F. BEhounek
Dr. M. HaSek
Dr. L. Novik
Professor V. Sobek
Dr. I. Ulehla
Dr. V. Zelenf

Professor L. Bugnard (Representative)
Dr. A. Allisy
Dr. J. Coursaget
Dr. H. Jammet
Dr. J. Labeyrie
Dr. J. Lejeune

INDIA:
Dr. V. R. Khanolkar (Representative)
Dr. A. R. Gopal-Ayengar
Dr. A. S. Rao
JAPAN :

Dr. M. Tsuzuki (Representative)
Dr. Y. Hiyama
Dr. D. Moriwaki
Dr. K. Murati
Dr. M. Nakaidzumi
Mr. S. Ohta
Dr. N. Saito
Dr. E. Tajima
MEXICO:
Dr. M. Martinez Baez (Representative)
Dr. F. A. Andrade
Dr. H. Zalce

Professor R. M. Sievert (Representative)
Dr. B. A. A. Aler
Dr. R. G. Bjarnerstedt
Professor G. Bonnier
Professor T. 0. Caspersson
Professor C. A. T. Gustafsson
Dr. A. G. A. Nelson* Now in the United Arab Republic.

UNIONOF SOVIETSOCIALISTREPUBLICS:
Professor A. V. Lebedinsky (Representative)
Professor K. K. Aglintsev
Professor B. M. Isaev
Professor P. M. Kireev
Professor A. N. KraevsLy
Professor A. bZ. Kuzin

UNITEDKXNGDOM
OF GREATBRITAINAND
NORTHERNIRELAND
Professor W. V. Mayneord (Represetltativefirst session)
Dr. E. E. Pochin (Represelztative)
Dr. T. C . Carter
Mr. A. C. Chamberlain
Dr. W. G. Marley
Mr. N. G. Stewart

Dr. Shields Warren (Represe~rtative)
Professor G. W. Beadle
Dr. A. M. Brues
Professor J. Crow
Professor Th. Dobzhansky
Dr. C. L. Dunham
Mr. Merril Eisenbud
Professor Sterling Emerson
Professor G. Failla
Dr. J. H. Harley
Dr. J. S. Laughlin
Professor J. V. Nee1
Dr. M. Zelle