Age-dependent protection quantities for external photon irradiation.

The age-dependent conversion coefficients of the protection quantities, the equivalent dose and the effective dose defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), are obtained. A Monte Carlo computer code and the age-dependent hermaphrodite mathematical phantoms of six age groups: newborn, 1, 5, 10, 15 years old and adult are used for the evaluation. Twenty-three photon source energies from 10 keV to 10 MeV and six kinds of irradiation geometries: AP, PA, RLAT, LLAT, ROT, and ISO are chosen in the calculation. The evaluated conversion coefficients for the adult are compared with those in ICRP Publication 74 with good agreement. The conversion coefficients of the equivalent dose and the effective dose increase while the age of the phantom decreases, but with some exceptions for the AP irradiation geometry under certain conditions.