Abstract
The MinPET project aims to locate diamonds within kimberlite by activating
carbon within kimberlite, then using Positron Emission Tomorography (PET) to image carbon density.
Although calculations suggest that long-term activation is not significant, modelling is required
to determine the dose received by workers operating close to recently activated material at
different positions within a hypothetical MinPET sorting unit. Two modelling techniques are
deployed to investigate received dose. The first is a full simulation of energy absorbed, using the
CERN Geant4 particle tracking toolkit. The results for this are validated against a numerical
computation of the attenuation of outgoing radiation. The result is a set of 3-dimensional dosage
maps. These can be used to set guidelines around where and for how long workers could operate, and
to identify areas that need additional radiation shielding. The techniques developed are not
limited to MinPET, and could prove useful for any situation requiring the simulation of dose
received by workers operating near radioactive material.