SESAME: A NEW TOOL FOR THE NUMERICAL DOSIMETRIC RECONSTRUCTION OF A RADIOLOGICAL ACCIDENT CAUSED BY AN EXTERNAL SOURCE. APPLICATION TO THE ACCIDENT IN CHILE IN

In the event of a radiological accident caused by a n external source, estimating the dose distribution in the victim's body is a relevant ind icator in assessing biological damage from this exposure. This dose distribution can be assess ed by physical dosimetric reconstruction methods. Physical dosimetric reconstruction can be achieved using experimental or numerical techniques. This article presents the laboratory-de veloped SESAME tool specific to dosimetric reconstruction of a radiological acciden t through numerical simulations, which combines voxel geometry and the radiation-material interaction MCNP(X) Monte Carlo computer code. The experimental validation of the t ool in photonic field and its application to a radiological accident in Chile in December 2005 a re also described.