Whole Body Counters/CONTENTS

1 SENSITIVE DETECTORS

2 THE GENEVA COUNTER

8 THE LIQUID SCINTILLATION COUNTER

10 POTASSIUM-40 IN HUMAN BODIES

13 CRYSTAL COUNTERS

15 THE RADIUM STORY

17 A NEW BODY CONTAMINANT

21 PROTECTION OF LABORATORY PERSONNEL

24 SPECIAL USES

31 CONCLUSION

34 SUGGESTED REFERENCES

THE COVER

This smiling youngster in the chute of a large whole body counter has just emerged from the opening (beyond her feet) of a hollow tank of scintillation liquid, where she lay while the radioactivity in her body was being “counted.” In a minute she will step into her slippers (on the ramp, right) and be ready for play. The sensitive, heavily shielded radiation-detecting equipment shown has many uses that are described in this booklet.

THE AUTHORS

John H. Woodburn teaches chemistry at Walter Johnson High School in Rockville, Md. In the past he taught at Michigan State University, Illinois State Normal University, and Johns Hopkins University. He received his A.B. from Marietta College, his M.A. from Ohio State University, and his Ph. D. from Michigan State University. He is the author of the book Radioisotopes (J. P. Lippincott 1962), which is a student’s introduction to this subject.

Frederick W. Lengemann is associate professor of radiation biology at New York State Veterinary College, Cornell University. He received his B.S. and M.N.S. from Cornell and his Ph. D. from the University of Wisconsin. He has been research associate in radiation biology and assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee and formerly was a biochemist with the Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Biology and Medicine.

1

Whole Body Counters

By JOHN H. WOODBURN and FREDERICK W. LENGEMANN