Appendix A

Supporting Data (Figures)

Fig. A.1a. Average HVLs and TVLs (equilibrium) of shielding materials

(broad beams) (NBS, 1982; Wachsmann and Drexler, 1975). For example,
an energy of 10 MeV gives a TVL in concrete (Curve 3) of ~44 cm and a
HVL of ~13 cm. Note that these values will be less for concrete of density
2.35 g cm–3 by ~0.94 (i.e., inversely proportional to the densities, 2.2/2.35).

158
 A. SUPPORTING DATA (FIGURES) / 159

Fig. A.1b. Primary TVLs for materials (expanded from Figure A.1a).

Fig. A.2. Calculated dose equivalent (including neutron capture

gamma-ray contribution) transmitted per unit fluence of neutrons with
average energy E n incident normally on slabs of ordinary concrete (Hns)
(Sv cm2 n–1) (adapted from NCRP, 1977).
Appendix B

Supporting Data
(Tables)

TABLE B.1—Suggested occupancy factorsa (for use as a guide in planning

shielding when other sources of occupancy data are not available).

Occupancy
Location
Factor (T)

Full occupancy areas (areas occupied full-time by an

individual), e.g., administrative or clerical offices;
treatment planning areas, treatment control rooms, nurse 1
stations, receptionist areas, attended waiting rooms,
occupied space in nearby building
Adjacent treatment room, patient examination room
1/2
adjacent to shielded vault
Corridors, employee lounges, staff rest rooms 1/5
b
Treatment vault doors 1/8
Public toilets, unattended vending rooms, storage areas,
outdoor areas with seating, unattended waiting rooms, 1/20
patient holding areas, attics, janitors’ closets
Outdoor areas with only transient pedestrian or vehicular
traffic, unattended parking lots, vehicular drop off areas 1/40
(unattended), stairways, unattended elevators
a
When using a low occupancy factor for a room immediately adjacent to a ther-
apy treatment vault, care shall be taken to also consider the areas further
removed from the treatment room. The adjacent room may have a significantly
higher occupancy factor and may therefore be more important in shielding design
despite the larger distances involved.
b
The occupancy factor for the area just outside a treatment vault door can often
be assumed to be lower than the occupancy factor for the work space from which
it opens.

160
 B. SUPPORTING DATA (TABLES) / 161

TABLE B.2—Primary-barrier TVLs for ordinary concrete (2.35 g cm–3), steel

(7.87 g cm–3), and lead (11.35 g cm–3) (suggested values in centimeters).a

Endpoint Energy TVL1 TVLe

Material
(MV)b (cm) (cm)

4 Concrete 35 30
Steel 9.9 9.9
Lead 5.7 5.7
6 Concrete 37 33
Steel 10 10
Lead 5.7 5.7
10 Concrete 41 37
Steel 11 11
Lead 5.7 5.7
15 Concrete 44 41
Steel 11 11
Lead 5.7 5.7
18 Concrete 45 43
Steel 11 11
Lead 5.7 5.7
20 Concrete 46 44
Steel 11 11
Lead 5.7 5.7
25 Concrete 49 46
Steel 11 11
Lead 5.7 5.7
30 Concrete 51 49
Steel 11 11
Lead 5.7 5.7
Co-60 Concrete 21 21
Steel 7.0 7.0
Lead 4.0 4.0
a
Concrete values are based on a conservatively safe adaptation from Nelson
and LaRiviere (1984) with extrapolation to 4 MV, and use of Kirn and Kennedy
(1954) for 30 MV. Lead and steel TVLs are conservatively safe values adapted
from NCRP Report No. 49 (NCRP, 1976) and Wachsmann and Drexler (1975).
b
Endpoint energy based on values from Cohen (1972).
 162 / APPENDIX B
TABLE B.3—Properties of various shielding materials (adapted from Profio, 1979).

Ordinary Concrete Heavy Concrete Lead Iron Polyethylene

Density (g cm–3) 2.2 – 2.4 3.7 – 4.8 11.35 7.87 0.95

Effective atomic number 11 ~26 82 26 5.5

Hydrogen concentration × 1022

0.8 – 2.4 0.8 – 2.4 0 0 8
(atoms cm–3)

Thermal neutron activation Small Large —a Moderate Nil

Relative cost $$ $$$$ $$$ $$ $$$

a
The amount of thermal neutron activation depends primarily on the impurities in the lead.
TABLE B.4—Scatter fractions (a) at 1 m from a human-size phantom, target-to-phantom distance of 1 m, and field size of
400 cm2 (McGinley, 2002; Taylor et al., 1999).

Scatter Fraction (a)

Angle (degrees)
6 MV 10 MV 18 MV 24 MV

B. SUPPORTING DATA (TABLES)

10 1.04 × 10–2 1.66 × 10–2 1.42 × 10–2 1.78 × 10–2

20 6.73 × 10–3 5.79 × 10–3 5.39 × 10–3 6.32 × 10–3

30 2.77 × 10–3 3.18 × 10–3 2.53 × 10–3 2.74 × 10–3

45 1.39 × 10–3 1.35 × 10–3 8.64 × 10–4 8.30 × 10–4

60 8.24 × 10–4 7.46 × 10–4 4.24 × 10–4 3.86 × 10–4

90 4.26 × 10–4 3.81 × 10–4 1.89 × 10–4 1.74 × 10–4

135 3.00 × 10–4 3.02 × 10–4 1.24 × 10–4 1.20 × 10–4

/ 163
150 2.87 × 10–4 2.74 × 10–4 1.20 × 10–4 1.13 × 10–4
 164 / APPENDIX B
TABLE B.5a—TVLs in concrete (centimeters) for patient-scattered radiation at various scatter angles, based on Figures 10 and
15 in NCRP Report No. 49 (NCRP, 1976). Values are valid for shielding design purposes and are conservatively safe in nature.a

Scatter TVL (cm)

Angle
(degrees) Co-60 4 MV 6 MV 10 MV 15 MV 18 MV 20 MV 24 MV

15 22 30 34 39 42 44 46 49

30 21 25 26 28 31 32 33 36

45 20 22 23 25 26 27 27 29

60 19 21 21 22 23 23 24 24

90 15 17 17 18 18 19 19 19

135 13 14 15 15 15 15 15 16
a 60
Values derived from NCRP (1976) for Co and 6 MV, and from Abrath et al. (1983) for 18 MV. Extrapolation to 24 MV was accomplished
by comparison to primary TVLs.
 TABLE B.5b—TVL1 and TVL2 in lead (centimeters) for patient-scattered radiation at various scatter angles
(based on Nogueira and Biggs, 2002).a

4 MV 6 MV 10 MV
Scatter Angle
(degrees)

B. SUPPORTING DATA (TABLES)

TVL1 (cm) TVL2 (cm) TVL1 (cm) TVL2 (cm) TVL1 (cm) TVL2 (cm)

30 3.3 3.7 3.8 4.4 4.3 4.5

45 2.4 3.1 2.8 3.4 3.1 3.6

60 1.8 2.5 1.9 2.6 2.1 2.7

75 1.3 1.9 1.4 1.9 1.5 1.9

90 0.9 1.3 1.0 1.5 1.2 1.6

105 0.7 1.2 0.7 1.2 0.95 1.4

120 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.8 1.4

/ 165
a
Biggs, P.J. (2005). Personal communication (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston). Update of values in Nogueira and Biggs (2002).
 166 / APPENDIX B
TABLE B.6—Mean energy (million electron volts) of patient-scattered radiation as a function of scatter angle and endpoint
energy (adapted by McGinley, 2002 from Taylor et al., 1999).

Scatter Angle (degrees)

Endpoint
Energy (MV)
0 10 20 30 40 50 70 90

6 1.6 1.4 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.2

10 2.7 2.0 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.2

18 5.0 3.2 2.1 1.3 0.9 0.6 0.4 0.3

24 5.6 3.9 2.7 1.7 1.1 0.8 0.5 0.3

 B. SUPPORTING DATA (TABLES) / 167

TABLE B.7—TVLs for leakage radiation in ordinary concrete

(suggested values in centimeters).a

Endpoint Energy (MV)b TVL1 (cm) TVLe (cm)

4 33 28

6 34 29

10 35 31

15 36 33

18 36 34

20 36 34

25 37 35

30 37 36

Co-60 21 21
a
Data for TVL1 and TVL2 are based on a conservatively safe adaptation of the
90 degrees (80 to 100 degrees) values of Nelson and LaRiviere (1984) and graph-
ical extrapolations to 4 MV and 30 MV. NCRP Report No. 49 (NCRP, 1976) val-
ues used for 60Co.
b
Endpoint energy based on values from Cohen (1972).
168 / APPENDIX B

TABLE B.8a—Differential dose albedo (wall-reflection coefficient). Multiply

each table entry by 10–3 (e.g., the entry 3.4 means 3.4 × 10–3). Normal
incidence on ordinary concrete, for bremsstrahlung and monoenergetic
photons.a

0 Degree Angle of Reflection or Scatter (degrees) from Concrete

Incidence (measured from the normal)

Source 0 30 45 60 75

30 MV 3.0 2.7 2.6 2.2 1.5

24 MV 3.2 3.2 2.8 2.3 1.5

18 MV 3.4 3.4 3.0 2.5 1.6

10 MV 4.3 4.1 3.8 3.1 2.1

6 MV 5.3 5.2 4.7 4.0 2.7

4 MV 6.7 6.4 5.8 4.9 3.1

Co-60 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 3.8

0.5 MeV 19.0 17.0 15.0 13.0 8.0

0.25 MeV 32.0 28.0 25.0 22.0 13.0

a
Table values are based on evaluation of the data from the following sources:
Figures 49 and 50b in IAEA (1979), Lo (1992), and Figure 4.14(b) in NCRP
(2003). The available data in the references noted were put on a common graph
and conservatively safe values were selected. However, there are large uncer-
tainties (on the order of ±50 %) in albedo values due to both the calculations and
the interpolations.
 B. SUPPORTING DATA (TABLES) / 169

TABLE B.8b—Differential dose albedo (wall reflection coefficient). Multiply

each table entry by 10–3 (e.g., the entry 4.8 means 4.8 × 10–3). 45 degree
angle of incidence, ordinary concrete, for bremsstrahlung and
monoenergetic photons.a

45 Degree Angle of Reflection or Scatter (degrees) from Concrete

Incidence (measured from the normal)

Source 0 30 45 60 75

30 MV 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.0 3.0

24 MV 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.7 3.4

18 MV 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.3 4.0

10 MV 5.1 5.7 5.8 6.0 6.0

6 MV 6.4 7.1 7.3 7.7 8.0

4 MV 7.6 8.5 9.0 9.2 9.5

Co-60 9.0 10.2 11.0 11.5 12.0

0.5 MeV 22.0 22.5 22.0 20.0 18.0

0.25 MeV 36.0 34.5 31.0 25.0 18.0

a
Table values are based on evaluation of the data from the following sources:
Figures 49 and 50b in IAEA (1979) and Figure 4.14(b) in NCRP (2003).
The available data in the references noted were put on a common graph and
conservatively safe values were selected. However, there are large uncertainties
(on the order of ±50 %) in albedo values due to both the calculations and the
interpolations.
170 / APPENDIX B

Table B.8c—Differential dose albedo (wall-reflection coefficient). Multiply

each table entry by 10–3 (e.g., the entry 5.5 means 5.5 × 10–3). Normal
incidence on iron, for bremsstrahlung.a

0 Degree Angle of Reflection or Scatter (degrees) from Iron (measured

Incidence from the normal)

Source 0 30 45 60 75

30 MV 5.5 4.7 4.4 3.8 2.3

18 MV 5.1 4.5 4.3 3.8 2.4

10 MV 5.0 4.5 4.3 3.9 2.5

6 MV 5.5 4.9 4.7 4.2 2.8

4 MV 6.0 5.4 5.1 4.8 3.1

a
Table values are based on evaluation of the data from the following sources:
Figure 50c in IAEA (1979), Lo (1992), and Figure 4.14(c) in NCRP (2003).
The available data in the references noted were put on a common graph and
conservatively safe values were selected. However, there are large uncertainties
(on the order of ±50 %) in albedo values due to both the calculations and the
interpolations.

TABLE B.8d—Differential dose albedo (wall-reflection coefficient). Multiply

each table entry by 10–3 (e.g., the entry 6.6 means 6.6 × 10–3). 45 degree
incidence on iron, for bremsstrahlung.a

45 Degree Angle of Reflection or Scatter (degrees) from Iron (measured

Incidence from the normal)

Source 0 30 45 60 75

30 MV 6.6 6.5 6.3 5.5 4.6

18 MV 6.5 6.4 6.2 6.0 5.6

10 MV 6.1 6.8 7.1 7.2 7.2

6 MV 6.0 7.0 8.5 9.0 9.5

4 MV 7.1 8.1 10.0 10.6 11.5

a
Table values are based on evaluation of the data from the following sources:
Figure 50c in IAEA (1979) and Figure 4.14(c) in NCRP (2003). The available
data in the references noted were put on a common graph and conservatively
safe values were selected. However, there are large uncertainties (on the order of
±50 %) in albedo values due to both the calculations and the interpolations.
 B. SUPPORTING DATA (TABLES) / 171

TABLE B.8e—Differential dose albedo (wall-reflection coefficient). Multiply

each table entry by 10–3 (e.g., the entry 3.5 means 3.5 × 10–3). Normal
incidence on lead for bremsstrahlung.a

0 Degree Angle of Reflection or Scatter (degrees) from Lead (measured

Incidence from the normal)

Source 0 30 45 60 75

30 MV 3.5 3.0 2.7 2.4 1.5

18 MV 3.9 3.4 3.2 2.8 1.8

10 MV 4.5 3.9 3.6 3.2 2.2

6 MV 5.0 4.5 4.2 3.8 2.6

4 MV 5.9 5.2 4.7 4.2 3.0

a
Table values are based on evaluation of the data from the following sources:
Figure 50d in IAEA (1979), Lo (1992), and Figure 4.14(d) in NCRP (2003).
The available data in the references noted were put on a common graph and
conservatively safe values were selected. However, there are large uncertainties
(on the order of ±50 %) in albedo values due to both the calculations and the
interpolations.

TABLE B.8f—Differential dose albedo (wall-reflection coefficient). Multiply

each table entry by 10–3 (e.g., the entry 4.1 means 4.1 × 10–3). 45 degree
incidence on lead, for bremsstrahlung.a

45 Degree Angle of Reflection or Scatter (degrees) from Lead (measured

Incidence from the normal)

Source 0 30 45 60 75

30 MV 4.1 4.2 4.1 3.7 3.2

18 MV 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.5

10 MV 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.9 5.8

6 MV 6.5 6.8 7.0 7.3 7.8

4 MV 6.5 7.6 8.3 8.6 9.0

a
Table values are based on evaluation of the data from the following sources:
Figure 50d in IAEA (1979) and Figure 4.14(d) in NCRP (2003). The available
data in the references noted were put on a common graph and conservatively
safe values were selected. However, there are large uncertainties (on the order of
±50 %) in albedo values due to both the calculations and the interpolations.
TABLE B.9—Neutron dose equivalent (H0) at 1.41 m from the target per unit absorbed dose of x rays at the isocenter (mSv Gy–1)

172 / APPENDIX B
and total neutron source strength (Qn) emitted from accelerator head. A graph of Qn as a function of nominal endpoint energy
for the data in Table B.9 is presented in Figure B.1.

Endpoint Energy (MV) H0 Qn

Vendor Model Using Reference

Neutrons per gray
Nominal AAPM mSv / Gy
(× 1012)
(1983)

Varian 1800 18 16.6 1.02 – 1.6 1.22 McGinley (2002)

1800 15 0.79 – 1.3 0.76 McGinley (2002)
1800 10 0.04 0.06 McGinley (2002)
2100Ca 18 0.96 Followill et al. (2003)
2100Ca 18 0.87 Followill et al. (2003)
2300CD 18 0.95 Followill et al. (2003)
2500 24 0.77 Followill et al. (2003)
Siemens KD 20 16.5 1.1 – 1.24 0.92 McGinley (2002)
MDa 15 0.17 — McGinley (2002)
MD2 10 0.08 Followill et al. (2003)
a
MD 15 0.2 Followill et al. (2003)
KD 18 0.88 Followill et al. (2003)
 Primus 10 0.02 Followill et al. (2003)
Primusa 15 0.12 Followill et al. (2003)
a
Primus 15 0.21 Followill et al. (2003)
a
Philips/Electa SL25 25 22 2.0 2.37 McGinley (2002)
SL20 20 17 0.44 0.69 McGinley (2002)
SL20 18 0.46 Followill et al. (2003)
SL25 18 0.46 Followill et al. (2003)

B. SUPPORTING DATA (TABLES)

a
SL25 25 1.44 Followill et al. (2003)
GE Saturne41 12 11.2 0.09 0.24 McGinley (2002)
Saturne41 15 12.5 0.32 0.47 McGinley (2002)
a
Saturne43 18 14.0 0.55 1.50 McGinley (2002)
a
Saturne43 18 1.32 Followill et al. (2003)
Saturne43 25 18.5 1.38 2.4 McGinley (2002)
a
Two separate units of the same model and nominal endpoint energy.

/ 173
 174 / APPENDIX B
Fig. B.1. Graph of neutron source strength (Qn) (neutrons per gray of x-ray absorbed dose at isocenter) as a function of
nominal endpoint energy for data presented in Table B.9.