Assessment of the prompt radiation hazards of trapped antiprotons

Investigators at several laboratories are seriously considering the storage and transport, perhaps over long distances, of very low energy antiprotons as a part of basic physics research programs and perhaps even for practical applications. To do this will require proper attention to the prompt radiation hazards due to the release of energy in the annihilations of antiprotons with nuclei, under either planned or accidental circumstances. In this paper, the potential storage of very low energy antiprotons is discussed, and the major features of the radiation fields produced by their annihilations are reviewed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Detailed Monte Carlo shielding calculations for a conceptual source of annihilating antiprotons nearly at rest are presented. It is concluded that these radiation fields are readily understood and that the radiation hazards can be mitigated using conventional means.