Radiation safety and quality control in the cyclotron laboratory.

Radiation safety was determined to maintain quality control in the cyclotron laboratory. Based on the results of 438 runs in the Faraday cup (20 microA for 10 min), 20 runs on 18O-water target (40 microA for 2 h) and 10 runs on 18O-gas targets (30 microA for 45 min), we have established that occupationally exposed workers remain 10 +/- 5 times below federal regulatory limits (FRLs) in the cyclotron vault, 30 +/- 8 times below FRL in the radiochemistry laboratory and 200 +/- 10 times below the FRL outside the cyclotron laboratory during beam operation. (The FRL for unrestricted area are <20 microSv in 1 h.) The non-occupationally exposed workers serving in offices in the vicinity of the cyclotron vault within 100 m distance remained 200 times below the FRL irrespective of beam being on or off, suggesting that routine beam operation of 40 microA for 2 h once a day during office hours is safe provided quality control and system performance measures as discussed in this report are strictly maintained.