Radiation Protection Safety Protocol for Industrial X-Ray Backscatter Radiography Experiments

Scattered radiation has been used in medical and engineering applications to determine properties and form images or irradiated objects. Scattered radiation is ideally suited to the geometry of mine detection which depends upon differences between the number of photons scattered from mines and soil to produce an image as opposed to conventional radiography which uses the transmission of photons through an irradiated object to produce an image. Mine detection through backscatter radiation measures the amount of radiation that is backscattered from the ground to a NaI detector which is mounted next to the x- ray source. To generate sufficient backscatter radiation to image buried land mines, an industrial x-ray unit must be operated continuously at or above 150 k Vp for 2 to 3 hours. Operating an industrial x-ray unit at this level and duration for the purpose of mine detection requires a complete radiological review of both the exposure room and the x-ray unit itself.