Neutron and photon fields in the BNCT room with closed beam shutters

The epithermal neutron beam at the LVR-15 reactor was designed for the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) of cancers, but it has also been used for material testing. In the case where the beam is closed with two designed shutters, there is still an indispensable background in the irradiation room, which limits the movement of persons during patient positioning before exposure or during the preparation of the samples. Because the epithermal filter of the beam was designed in a former thermal column, as a multi-layer system, it was suspected that both fast neutrons and photons penetrated the filter shielding into the room. The purpose of this study was to determine the causes of potential faulty shielding and to estimate the doses to persons who perform the irradiation experiments and/or exposure of patients. The quality of the shielding was evaluated from two-dimensional measurements of both neutron and photon distribution on the surface of the beam shutter. During the measurement both the shutters of the epithermal beam were closed and the reactor was operated at the nominal power of 9 MW. This experimental arrangement is similar to the conditions that exist when either the irradiation experiments or the exposure of patients is performed in this room. The neutron space distribution was measured using a Bonner sphere of phi 76.2 mm diameter with an LiI(TI) scintillation detector of phi 4 x 8 mm. A small Geiger-Muller tube was used for the measurement of photon distribution. The detectors were placed on a three-dimensional positioning equipment controlled by a computer, which enabled automatic measurement with 1 cm mesh step. Results of the measurement show that the background profile in the irradiation room has reasonable maximum only at the beam aperture.