Reassessment of gamma-ray doses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Reassessment of gamma-ray doses from the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been carried out with the thermoluminescent measurements of bricks and decorative tiles which were collected from the buildings that remain as they were at the time of the explosions. The thermoluminescent measurements were performed using a dating technique generally used in archaeology. Annual background dose rates from natural radionuclides in the brick and tile samples and from environmental radiations around the samples were determined with commercially available thermoluminescent detectors. The resultant gamma-ray doses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are given as a function of distance from the hypocenters and are compared with the DS86 (Dosimetry System 1986) and the T65D (Tentative 1965 Dose).