Contamination skin doses and attenuation of radiation by clothing

The potential operating environment following an attack using CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) materials has led to design work aiming to reduce the physiological burden of protective clothing, while maintaining satisfactory levels of chemical protection. In this paper, we review the radiological protection provided by these lighter, thinner clothing options. Monte Carlo modelling has been used to determine the contribution to skin dose from both beta and gamma radiation from four sources, each with different emission characteristics. The protection factors for eight materials have been characterised in terms of the surface density of each material (ranging from 50 to 482 g m⁻²). As protective clothing is made lighter and more breathable, the radiological protection is significantly reduced. This work has provided quantitative analysis of the magnitude of this reduction. A simple algorithm has been derived which can be used to estimate the protection factor for any clothing, on the basis of the surface density of the material (within the range of materials studied). These results show the need for skin radiation exposure to be considered by protective suit designers and CBRN response planners.