Correction factors for induced radioactivity: comparing simplified continuous and periodic irradiation scenarios in medical cyclotron decommissioning

Abstract

Abstract The use of a Monte Carlo code in the assessment of residual radioactivity for decommissioning of a medical cyclotron facility requires a reasonable approximation to the facility’s history of operations. A periodic irradiation scenario simulating the cyclotron’s daily operation for radioisotope production is generally considered reasonable, but its implementation in the code’s input file can be cumbersome because more than thousands of irradiation cycles must be modeled. In practice, two simplified scenarios with continuous irradiation are commonly used instead: (i) omitting the downtime between two irradiation periods and (ii) extending the irradiation duration across the entire operational lifespan of the facility, albeit with a reduced beam current to maintain workload consistency. A systematic comparison of residual radionuclide productions across various half-lives under these three scenarios was performed. This technical note presents the resulting correction factors for the two simplified continuous irradiation models, enhancing their applicability in estimating radioactive inventories under a range of circumstances.