Distortion of neutron field during mice irradiation at Kinki University Reactor UTR-KINKI

A dosimetry study of mice irradiation at the Kinki University nuclear reactor (UTR-KINKI) has been carried out. Neutron and gamma-ray doses at the irradiation port in the presence of 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 mice were measured using the paired chamber method. The results show that neutron dose is reduced with increasing numbers of mice. In the six-mice irradiation condition, neutron dose is about 15% smaller compared to a case where no mice were placed in the irradiation port. To investigate the distortion of the neutron spectrum during mice irradiation at UTR-KINKI, a Monte Carlo calculation using the MCNP4C code has been carried out. The measured variation in dose with respect to the total mouse mass was closely reproduced by the calculation results for neutron and gamma-ray dose. Distortion of the neutron spectrum was observed to occur between 1 keV and 1 MeV.