Environmental Radiation
Staff member: Dr. E.C. Finch, efinch@tcd.ie
Ionising radiation in the environment gives rise to radiation doses both at the workplace and in the home. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the study of environmental radioactivity and in the routes by which it and other sources of radiation dose may have an influence on human health. Research is currently concentrated on the quantities of natural and artificial radioactivity in building and other materials in the Republic of Ireland, and the mechanisms by which these sources give rise to occupational and domestic radiation exposures. Facilities include a wide-energy hyperpure n-type germanium gamma ray coaxial detector system, and work is performed in collaboration with other laboratories.
Some recent publications:- Natural radioactivity in building materials in the Republic of Ireland, E M Lee, G Menezes, E C Finch, Health Physics 86 No 4 (2004) 378-83.
- Assessment of natural radioactivity in Irish building materials, E M Lee, G Menezes, E C Finch, 11th International Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association, Madrid, Spain, 2004, paper 6a21.
- Occupational radiation exposures to NORM at an Irish peat-fired power station and potential implications of the use of peat fly ash by the construction industry, C Organo, E M Lee, G Menezes, E C Finch, 11th International Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association, Madrid, Spain, 2004, paper 2g5.
- Investigation of the peat-fired power generation in Ireland, Catherine Organo, Elaine Lee, Gerard Menezes, Eric Finch, NORM IV Conference, Katowice, Poland, 2004, pp 16-18.
- Investigation of occupational radiation exposures to NORM at an Irish peat-fired power station and potential use of peat fly ash by the construction industry, C Organo, E M Lee, G Menezes, E C Finch, Journal of Radiological Protection 25 (2005) 461-474.