Air activation produced by high-energy medical accelerators

The activity of 15O and 13N per unit volume of air produced by a 25 and a 45-MeV medical accelerator was determined by direct measurement. The accelerators were operated in such a fashion as to produce maximum activation of the treatment room air. Levels of the order of 1% or less of the maximum permissible concentration in air for 15O and 13N were found immediately after accelerator shutdown. Three different techniques for calibrations of the air detector were investigated.