Critical requirements for a posteriori track recorder neutron dosimetry at Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Abstract

International programs have been carried out over the last four decades to quantify the exposure of atom bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unfortunately, the quest for accurate gamma-ray and neutron exposure doses of atom bomb survivors has proven illusive. In the most recent of these programs, designated as Dosimetry System 1986 (DS86), a serious and persistent discrepancy has arisen between neutron transport calculations and radiometric (RM) neutron dosimetry for the Hiroshima site, which has been called the DS86 neutron dosimetry enigma. A recently completed in-depth analysis demonstrates that a simple single factor panacea does not exist to explain the DS86 neutron dosimetry enigma. Careful treatment of a number of specific experimental and calculational effects is required before any progress can be achieved. Within this perspective, the applicability of solid state track recorder (SSTR) neutron dosimetry for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki sites is examined as an independent alternative to radiometric (RM) neutron dosimetry. The utility of the SSTR method for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki sites is analyzed in light of: (i) the current status of the DS86 neutron dosimetry enigma; and (ii) SSTR characteristics that are specifically germane to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki sites. On this basis, critical SSTR requirements are identified, recommended ways of meeting these critical requirements are advanced and the domain of applicability of SSTR neutron dosimetry at the Hiroshima site is estimated.