MATERIAL ACTIVATION AND RADIOLOGICAL HAZARDS IN PARTICLE ACCELERATORS

Particle accelerators used in research, medicine, and industry generate secondary radiation fields that induce radioactivity in structural components, shielding materials, coolant systems, air, soil, and groundwater. Understanding the production mechanisms, radionuclide inventories, and radiological consequences of induced radioactivity is essential for facility design, personnel dose management, environmental protection, and decommissioning planning. The current work provides a comprehensive analysis of the principal sources of induced radioactivity at modern accelerator facilities, covering the relevant nuclear reaction channels (thermal neutron capture, threshold reactions, and spallation), key radionuclides and their half-lives, saturation and decay kinetics, depth-dependent activation profiles in shielding, environmental migration pathways, and state-of-the-art Monte Carlo simulation approaches. Updated data from FLUKA, PHITS, MCNP, and Geant4 studies at major facilities worldwide are synthesized. The paper is intended to serve as a reference for accelerator physicists, radiation protection officers, medical physicists, and environmental scientists.

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