Dose estimation by ESR on tooth enamel from two workers exposed to radiation due to the JCO accident.

ESR dosimetry is useful to estimate the external dose for the general population as well as for occupational workers in a nuclear emergency. Three teeth were extracted from two exposed workers (A and B) related to the JCO criticality accident. Tooth enamel was carefully separated from other tooth parts and subjected to ESR dosimetry. Doses equivalent to the gamma-ray dose of 60Co were estimated as follows: for worker A, the buccal and lingual sides of the eighth tooth in the upper right side, 11.8 +/- 3.6 and 12.0 +/- 3.6 Gy, respectively; for worker B, the buccal and lingual sides of the fourth tooth in the upper right side and the fifth tooth in the upper left side, 11.3 +/- 3.4 and 10.8 +/- 3.3 Gy, 11.7 +/- 3.5 and 11.4 +/- 3.4 Gy, respectively. The estimated doses were found to be similar and not dependent on the tooth positions, whether the buccal or lingual sides in each tooth.