CCC-0522 VARSKIN-3. (Abstract last modified 22-MAY-2008)
1.
NAME OR DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM - VARSKIN-3. 2.
COMPUTER FOR WHICH THIS PACKAGE IS DESIGNED -
To request or retrieve programs click on the one of the active versions below.
A password and special authorization is required. Explanation of the status codes.
Machines used:
Package-ID Orig.Computer Test Computer
CCC-0522/04 PC Windows
3.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM OR FUNCTION - 4.
METHOD OF SOLUTION - 5.
RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS - See the User Manual for details. 6.
TYPICAL RUNNING TIME - 7.
UNUSUAL FEATURES OF THE PROGRAM - 8.
RELATED AND AUXILIARY PROGRAMS - 9.
STATUS 10.
REFERENCES - 11.
MACHINE REQUIREMENTS - VARSKIN 3 was tested at RSICC on a Pentium IV running Windows XP with Service Pack 2.0. 12.
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE(S) USED - 13.
OPERATING SYSTEM UNDER WHICH PROGRAM IS EXECUTED - VARSKIN 3 was developed under the Windows operating system on personal computers. Microsoft Visual Basic 6 (for the user interface) and Lahey Fortran 7.1 compilers were used to create the executables which are included in the package. 14.
OTHER PROGRAMMING OR OPERATING INFORMATION OR RESTRICTIONS - 15.
NAME AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORS - 16.
MATERIAL AVAILABLE - 17.
CATEGORIES - Keywords: BETA-RAY, CONTAMINATION, ENERGY DEPOSITION, KERNELS, RADIATION DOSES
Program-name Package-ID Status
VARSKIN/MOD1 CCC-0522/01 Obsolete
VARSKIN-2 CCC-0522/02 Obsolete
VARSKIN 3 V.2.2.0 CCC-0522/03 Obsolete
VARSKIN 3 V3.0.1 CCC-0522/04 Arrived
VARSKIN 3 calculates the radiation dose (gamma and beta) to skin from radioactive contamination of skin or protective clothing. This release, VARSKIN 3 Version 3.0.1, contains several corrections and enhancements and is a modification of the previous VARSKIN 3 Version 2.2.0 release, which was based on VARSKIN MOD 2. The new code is significantly easier to learn and use than VARSKIN Mod 2 and includes numerous corrections and enhancements that are noted in the User Manual. The default area for skin dose calculations was changed to 10 cm2 to conform to recent regulatory guidance. The Backscatter correction and gamma dose models were upgraded. The input data file for VARSKIN Mod 2 was modified to reflect current physical data, to include the contribution to dose from internal conversion and Auger electrons, and to reflect a correction for low-energy electrons. In addition, the computer code SADDE (Scaled Absorbed Dose Distribution Evaluator) Mod 2, is incorporated into Varskin 3, thus eliminating the need for additional input from the user.
VARSKIN3 calculates the dose to 10 cm2 as a default for comparison to the 50 rad limit and also contains the capability of calculating the dose to other areas, including 1 cm2, to evaluate an exposure against the eye dose limit. The dose is computed at any depth in skin or in a volume of skin from point, disk, cylindrical, spherical, slab (rectangular), and syringe sources. Doses from multiple sources can be computed. A help file that includes all of the information from the NUREG document in addition to a tutorial has also been added to the code package.
VARSKIN 3 uses improved algorithms for calculating skin dose that take advantage of the increased power of modern personal computers that improve the overall accuracy of the calculations. Source density is reset to 0.001 g/cm3 when point and 2-D models are used for calculations. The backscatter correction model has been expanded to include 3-D sources and is applied regardless of the dose-averaging area. The minimum distance between the source and target was reduced from 0.27 micro-meter to a value of 0.01 micro-meter. Sixty radial dose calculation points are used on the target area instead of 26 points used in VARSKIN Mod 2. Once the 60-point distribution is calculated, the distribution is evaluated at 10,000 points to increase the reliability of the calculation. VARSKIN 3 evaluates the dose at 50 depths for volume-averaged doses instead of 20 points. Once the 50 point distribution is calculated, the distribution is evaluated over 10,000 points to increase the accuracy and eliminate oscillating results. VARSKIN 3 calculates the backscatter correction factor at each of the 50 depths in the volume averaged dose distribution. In VARSKIN 3, the capability of adding multiple radionuclides was eliminated and a more accurate method of creating library files was incorporated. An improved gamma dose model was incorporated into VARSKIN 3 that calculates the gamma dose to any area up to 10 cm2. BETADATA.DAT is no longer used as the input file for VARSKIN 3. Each user builds a library that contains only the radionuclides of interest to that user. The new data files contain physical data for the average energy, maximum energy, and yield based on data generated by the computer code NUCDECAY (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1995), which uses data published in ICRP 38 (1983). Further information in the library files includes data for gamma dose calculations and contributions from internal conversion and Auger electrons.
Run times for VARSKIN 3 vary from a few seconds to several minutes. The code is interactive.
SADDE-MOD1 (see CCC-0517): Input generator for VARSKIN to calculate the scaled absorbed dose distribution for any isotope, including emissions by daughter isotopes. This allows the user to calculate beta skin dose with more ease and accuracy.
CCC-0522/01: 25-JUN-1993 Obsolete
CCC-0522/02: 22-MAY-2008 Obsolete
CCC-0522/03: 29-JAN-2007 Obsolete
CCC-0522/04: 22-MAY-2008 Masterfiled Arrived
- R. J. Traub, W. D. Reece, R. I. Scherpelz, and L. A. Sigalla:
Dose Calculation for Contamination of the Skin Using the Computer Code VARSKIN," NUREG/CR-4418, PNL-5610, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (August 1987).
- J. W. Poston and D. M. Busche:
Software Review: VARSKIN-MOD1, Health Physics 58(5), 665.
- W. D. Reece, S. Miller, and J. Durham:
SADDE (Scaled Absorbed Dose Distribution Evaluator), NUREG/CR-5276, PNL-6761 (January 1989).
- J. S. Durham:
Errata for NUREG/CR-5873, VARSKIN MOD 2 and SADDE MOD 2: Computer Codes for Assessing Skin Dose from Skin Contamination, Health Physics Society's Newsletter, 10, 31-32 (October 1994).
- J. S. Durham:
Further Errata for NUREG/CR-5873, VARSKIN MOD 2 and SADDE MOD 2, Health Physics Society's Newsletter, 12, 18 (December 1994).
CCC-0522/04:
- J. S. Durham:
VARSKIN 3: A Computer Code for Assessing Skin Dose from Skin Contamination,
NUREG/CR-6918 (2006)
CCC-0522/04: FORTRAN VISUAL BASIC
Varskin 3 is not designed for installation on a network. Attempts to install the code on a network have been unsuccessful at the RSICC.
QA documents and source files are included on the distribution CD but will not be copied to the hard drive by the installer.
Contributed by:
Radiation Shielding Information Center
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U. S. A.
Developed by:
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, Southwest Research Institute,
San Antonio, Texas, U. S. A.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U. S. A.
CCC-0522/04:
Fortran and Basic source files
Windows executables
Built-in data libraries
On-line help
Electronic documentation
- G. Radiological Safety, Hazard and Accident Analysis