Constructible
Modular Radiation Shielding
for Proton Facility Construction
Experience
Veritas Proton Facility Shielding represents the
culmination of years of radiation shielding and
healthcare facility design by Veritas personnel.
With expertise in all aspects of high-energy particle
treatment room shielding and construction, we
are uniquely qualified to innovate proton shielding
and its breakthrough technology.
In-house Ve ritas services include physics, engineering
and architectural support, project management,
manufacturing and installation services.
A Proven Alternative
to Mass-Concrete
Construction
Veritas is the world leader in radiation shielding,
radiation protective door systems, modular room
interiors and pre-packaged foundation kits - all
designed for producing Radiation Protected
C e n t e rs of Excellence.
Documented Effectiveness
Fully-Vetted Engineering
veritas-medicalsolutions.com
100% Guaranteed Attenuation
Increased Speed of Construction
Pre-Engineered Package
Medical Solutions
160 Cassell Road, Harleysville, PA 19438 USA
484-991-8928 888-242-6760 Fax: 484-991-8521
www.Veritas-MedicalSolutions.com
Ve ritas has developed a pre-engineered, modular
package that replaces concrete in the construction of
proton facilities. Incorporating proven Veritas materials -
Replace Mass-Concrete Construction with a
Turnkey Shielding Package that Provides
Single Source Responsibility
shielding, door and interior finish systems, Veritas
provides a fully-shielded facility that can be constructed
300% faster than using concrete. Lab-tested and
proven in a wide range of applications,Ve ritas Modular
Proton Facilities are a proven alternative to timeconsuming mass-concrete construction.
Dry-stacked VeriShieldTM
Modules feature a patentpending sine-wave design
to provide enhanced
attenuation levels. No
other shielding method
provides the blend of
protection, convenience
and affordability of
VeriShield.
Proven Modular Shielding
VeriShieldTM is the world’s premier modular shielding, having
proven its effectiveness in radiation shielding applications around
the globe. Its unique features and proprietary blend of high-Z
aggregates makes ultra-high density VeriShield the perfect
alternative to concrete or other modular shielding materials.
Providing unmatched neutron, photon and particle attenuation,
VeriShield can be incorporated into proton facilities to provide
100% GUARANTEED shielding along with significant space and
time savings.
Perfect for Rapid Proton Facility Construction
Designed to dramatically reduce the time to construct radiationshielded rooms,Veritas has engineered VPACTM, a new preassembled shielding unit that combines individual VeriShield
blocks into a single structural element. The VPACs interlock to
form a solid homogeneous shielding structure, and retain the
inherent radiation attenuation and physical characteristics of
the individual VeriShieldTM modules.
VPACs are quickly craned onto prepared foundations, greatly
simplifying and speeding the overall construction process.
TM
Fully-Vetted Engineering and Physics
Veritas offers single-source responsibility for physics, architectural
support, construction management and structural engineering.
In-house physics capabilities provide the assurance of optimum
shielding design and functionality, along with a 100% guarantee
of shielding effectiveness and integrity.
Using standard construction techniques,Veritas has engineered
a shielding system that can be quickly installed while maintaining
structural strength and the critical tolerances required for the
varying equipment installations.
The engineered shielding system incorporates pre-assembled VPACs,
pre-cast elements and individual VeriShield modules, all designed for
maximum shielding effectiveness and installation efficiency. Each
Veritas proton facility is a pre-engineered turnkey package, fully designed
for specific equipment, not a conglomerate of individual parts.
Structural details of all construction
elements are fully designed and adapted
to individual site conditions as part of
the comprehensive engineering package.
Install over 350 VeriShield blocks per lift.
Simplified installation process - Craned and placed into
position using a minimal-sized crew. No manual handling
of individual blocks - No curing time - Ready immediately
for the next stage of construction.
Integrated bond beams and other structural elements.
Turnkey Veritas packages are
available for all sizes and types
of proton facilities. Included are
physics, engineering, architectural
and structural design services.
Veritas Proton Facilities
feature significantly reduced
loads compared to concrete.
This simplifies foundation and
site preparation, and is beneficial when building in high
water table areas.
Design packages are configured for
specific proton facility concepts.
Maximize Savings and Efficiencies Using Methods and Materials Proven in Linac Construction Around the World
Proven Constructible
Modular Masonry
Structures have been
proven for years.
158’
30’
Maximum Height of High Density Shielding
There is no question that modular masonry construction can be
utilized in proton facilities to replace massive amounts of concrete
shielding.The ability to mobilize and install large quantities of individual
Ve riShield blocks (compara ble to that required by a typical proton
facility) has been proven in multi-room projects such as an 8 room
complex constructed in Dublin, Ireland.
Typical working heights of 17’ represent more than half the required
height of a proton facility. The construction of additional proton
shielding height poses no problem through the utilization of VPAC
units which are craned into position and require minimal scaffolding.
Additional Height Necessary with Proton Facility Shielding
Working Area
Height of
Typical Linac
Shielding
Ground Level
Area of
Normal
Concrete
Linac Section 1
Proton Section 1
Transmission curves VeriShield
V1,V2,V3 and concrete.
Proven Attenuation
To assess the viability of using VeriShield modules in the construction
and shielding of proton thera py facilities, the neutron attenuation of
a range of Ve riShield compositions has been tested.The testing was
performed using a 230 MeV proton synchrotron at the MIT Bates
laboratory. Shielding barri e rs made of varying compositions and
laye rings of materials were tested.
The results show that VeriShield provides
superior attenuation when compared to
concrete.The results also suggest that
shielding thicknesses can be reduced
through a suitable choice of material
layering.The s u p e rior attenuation and
laye ring possibilities offered by VeriShield
allow the wall thicknesses and overall
footprint of proton shielding to be
significantly reduced.The positive results
of this testing allow the construction
of the world's first direct-entry door
system for shielded proton rooms.
200 MeV
230 MeV
Proven Construction Speed
Carefully engineered
shielding designs,
incorporating varying
layers and types of
VeriShield modules,
provide 100% guaranteed attenuation in a
space-saving package.
Typical concrete proton facilities require more than two million
lbs. of rebar - massive formwork - on-site QA testing - and
approx. 17,500 cubic yards of concrete (or 1,936 time-sensitive
concrete truck deliveries). In addition, 350,000 cubic feet of
earth must be excavated for foundations - more than 14,000
truckloads.This can equate to years of construction.
Ve ritas can cut this time to months. High-density modules and
efficient designs result in thinner shielding thicknesses with a
corresponding reduction in ove rall loads and foundation
requirements. Rebar, extensive excavations and thousands
of truckloads of materials are eliminated.
Ve riShield materials are unloaded and placed as soon
as they arrive on site and can be scheduled as needed
since the shielding is not a critical path element.
A proton facility requiring approx. 700,000 individual
Ve riShield modules can be constructed in 10-16 weeks.
Timeline for
Typical Five Room Facility
Approx. 10-16 weeks
Approx. 5-7 weeks
Physics
Design
Engineering
Cut Months off the
Construction Schedule
with a Pre-Engineered
Packaged System
Site
Preparation
Client Responsibility
Not part of Veritas
Scope of Work.
Delivery - Installation
Approx. 5-8 weeks
Door Installation
Interiors Installation
Removal/Reinstallation
of roof shielding for machine
installation scheduled
when appropriate.
Installation speed can be greatly increased
through the use of pre-assembled VPAC units
and just-in-time delivery schedules.
Build 300% Faster
and more than 30% Smaller
Eliminate Inefficient Maze Entry
Simplify Design and Construction
by Using a Modular System that
Includes Physics and Fully-Vetted
Engineering
Space Savings
Typical Sequence of events
A broad outline of the sequence of events and interactions
between Veritas, the equipment supplier and the facility project
team as it applies to the rigging, installation, assembly and testing
aspects of a Veritas Five Room Proton Facility package.
Schedule
Design Development - Approximately 5-7 weeks from initial authorization to proceed and contract execution. Design development
will include structural design of vaults walls, ceiling support systems,
physics design of complete proton facility and related radiation
rooms directly related to the cyclotron and particle delivery system.
Material Procurement and Manufacturing - The procurement and
manufacturing phase will take approximately 10 weeks to complete
material manufacturing. Manufacturing of doors and dri ve systems
require 14 weeks of production time plus 2 weeks of testing and
inspection, c o n c u rrent with materials manufacturing.
Site Mobilization and Shipping - may overlap production by 4 weeks.
Site installation can begin as early as 8 weeks after authorization to
commence design work. This assumes site readiness and adequate
site storage is available.
Installation/Construction - actual onsite installation start will be
governed by design, construction and curing of footings/foundations.
Installation/construction will typically take 10-16 weeks to complete
construction of major shielding.
Typical Material Quantities
Veritas estimates the shielding will consist of approximately
750,000 VeriShield block modules, 200 tons of steel and related
support structure,6 Direct Entry Doors , in addition to steel reinforcing
bar, onsite mortar and grout and other related construction materials.
Procurement and Manufacturing Production
Veritas generally has approximately 20-40% of the material that
would be needed based on the above estimates to complete the
procurement production phase. Additional quantities would be
produced by dedicated production at the rate of 70,000 units
per week.
Same
Interior
Room
Sizes
Product Marking, Identification and Storage - All materials produced
would be clearly delineated and tagged at the Veritas Facilities at the
moment the product is produced for the client. All materials are
available for inspection at any time given 24 hours advance notice.
Materials may be delivered to the site as produced if site can accommodate continuous shipments, or can be stored at Veritas facilities at
no additional charge unless the project becomes excessively delayed
at which point storage handling costs may be incurred
Typical Veritas
Responsibilty Matrix
Veritas shall provide drawings and other
materials to verify required and minimum
dimensions and other equipment vendor
specified requirements.The matrix provides
a guideline showing Veritas responsibilities
throughout a typical proton facility
construction project.
Item
Client
Veritas
Designate a primary contact to coordinate all communications and interactions during planning, construction
and installation phases.
X
X
Provide current and accurate schedule information
X
X
Calculation and design for radiation shielding in compliance
with all local, state and federal requirements for patient
and employee safety, and environmental protection.
X
Provide detailed space requirements
- Vault layout and required dimensions
- Equipment locations
- Workspaces
- Installation and maintenance access
X
Architectural drawings for the facility, including staging
and installation path layouts.
X
Conformance review of architectural base plan against
equiment supplier requirements.
X
X
Development of design and construction drawings.
X
X
Review all shop and coordination drawings for
mechanical, electrical and plumbing.
X
X
Conformance review of construction plan against
equipment supplier requirements.
X
Execute all aspects of shielding construction.
- Walls, floors, ceilings, access hatch
- Defined and clear rigging path
- Secure storage for tools and equipment
- Operational, tested, certified crane equip.
X
Positioning and installation of embeds during
construction.
X
Provision and installation of anchors for equipment
attachment and for all temporary attachments and
fixtures for rigging and installation.
X
Provision of all shielding equipment and services.
X
Oversight of shielding rigging and placement operations.
X
Closing and filling access hatch after equipment rigging.
X
Provision of design requirements for the dismountable
panel wall systems in treatment room.
X
Provision and installation of the treatment room side
wall frames and dismountable wall panels.
X
Provision and completion of ceiling, lighting and
ventilation in the ceiling of the treatment room after
system preliminary testing.
X
Provision and installation of all casework.
X
Provision of all equipment necessary for Veritas
shielding verification tests.
X
Eliminate Entry Mazes - Save Space and Reduce Costs
Direct-Entry Proton Doors
Turnkey Interior Packages
Ve ritas Shielded Doors have set the standard for
radiation-protective entry doors.Their innovation and
performance is unmatched in the industry. Now, with the
development of a unique bi-parting door system,Ve ritas
can offer the world’s first direct entry proton door system.
As an additional service,Veritas manufactures and provides
a complete room interior finish package that includes
everything needed to complete a room (except m a c h i n e
and machine-related utilities, systems and software).
Designed to meet client requirements and specific to
individual equipment, each Veritas interior includes:
- Unique Veritas Modular Wall Panel System - removable
panel system providing design flexibility and access to
services located behind the walls
- Audio/CCTV hookups
- Ceiling and Flooring Systems
- Finish Hardware
- Lighting and Electrical
- Casework, Sinks and Storage
- Graphics and Ceiling treatments
The exceptional attenuation properties of Ve riShield allow
the construction of a door system that can replace the
need for thick, space-consuming maze entry. Veritas Shielded
Doors simplify the room layout and minimize overall space
requirements.
O p e rated by an advanced electro-magnetic linear dri ve and
computer interface, the Ve ritas Bi-Parting Door System is
maintenance-free and provides reliabl e, problem-free operation. Redundant safety systems ensure personnel safety
and, in the event of a power failure or other system m a lfunction, the system allows the door to be opened manually
without fear of dri ve damage or the entrapment of personnel
within the room.
Veritas offers a variety of
door configurations for
proton facilities that can
be designed to meet project
requirements.They include
dual swing doors, single
sliding door, bi-parting
sliding doors and a unique
rotational entryway specifically designed for incorporation into very thick
concrete walls.
Reliable, Trouble-Free Operation
Protective safety doors, located both
inside and outside the room, feature your
choice of finishes and/or graphic image.
These optional safety doors are
independent of the shielded doors and
prevent access during door movement.
The World’s first bi-parting direct entry proton door
system has been installed at Tennessee’s first proton treatment facility,The Provision Center for Proton Therapy, a
90,000-square-foot facility with five treatment rooms.
These systems will allow the entire look of the room to be
changed and easily updated year to year or as frequently as
desired, maintaining virtually dust free conditions.
A comprehensive pre-engineered solution,Veritas interiors
deliver a modular room design package that can cover
every inch of your facility.
Complete Your Rooms with
Designer-Quality Interiors,
In Half the Time of StickBuilt Room Finishes
We created a unique modular
wall panel system which allows
quick, cost-effective installation;
convenient access to electrical
wiring and other elements housed
behind your walls; and the ability
to easily make adjustments to
your room setup.
Radiation Protection Guidance
Proven Shielding Effectiveness
The Ve ritas shielding package incorporates unique radiation shielding
to attenuate the high and low energy neutrons associated with
proton therapy.
In-House Veritas Physics Design
and Review
Veritas Testing Program
The VeriShieldTM family of modular shielding materials has seen
extensive use in shielding medical linear accelerator rooms, most
commonly in the form of VeriShield V-250 and VeriShield V-300
modules.To confirm the viability of using VeriShield modules in
the construction and shielding of proton therapy facilities, the
neutron attenuation of a range of VeriShield compositions has
been tested.The tests were performed using a proton synchrotron
at the MIT Bates laboratory at beam energies up to 230 MeV.
Shielding barriers made of varying compositions and layerings of
VeriShield were tested, as well as standard density concrete.
Outperforms Concrete
Designed for Effectiveness
and Efficiency
VeriShield Proton shielding designs are based on the Veritas testing profram and use these typical parameters:
• Workload (W): 40,000 cGy/wk (2 x 106 rad/yr).
• Permissible dose (P): Public: 20 uSv/wk (2 mR/wk), Controlled 100 uSv/wk (10 mR/wk)
• The Neutron Dose Yield (Y): 0.06% REM m2/proton rad (6 x 10-4 REM m2/rad).
• The Utilization factor (U): 1/4 for straight down, 1/4 for straight up, 1/2 towards Far/Outside Wall.
• The Occupancy factor outside the barrier (T): Depends on location.
VeriShield modules come in 2.5" or 5" block sizes so barrier thicknesses are rounded up to the nearest 2.5"
increment. Comparison of typical concrete thicknesses with Verishield barrier thicknesses for the walls and
ceiling of a typical proton treatment vault are given in Table 1.
Transmission curves VeriShield
V1,V2,V3 and concrete.
Results demonstrate that VeriShield provides superior attenuation
when compared to concrete, and also that shielding thicknesses
can be reduced through a layering of different VeriShield materials.
The superior attenuation and layering possibilities offered by
VeriShield a l l ow the wall thicknesses and overall footprint of
proton shielding to be signifcantly reduced.
Testing has shown that the neutron attenuation performance of
different shielding materials depends on their relative position
within the shielding barrier.This is a result of the neutron energy
spectrum being differently attenuated as a function of both materi al
thickness and composition. Based upon these results, the design
option exists to position the shielding barriers and optimize the
choice of materials so as to improve the overall attenuation for
a given total shielding thickness.
200 MeV
The Veritas shielding design can employ different VeriShield
materials positioned to ensure that each material preferentially
attenuates the neutron energies present at that depth within
the barrier.The result is a shielding barrier that provides the
necessary attenuation but with a thickness that is much less
than the equivalent concrete barrier.
Comparison to concrete
Tests confirm that VeriShield provides greater attenuation than
that provided by the same thickness of concrete for a range of
energies.VeriShield out-performed concrete most significantly for
barrier thicknesses over 30" and for beam energies around 200
MeV.This energy range coincides with the typical therapeutic
range employed in proton therapy.Testing confirms that proton
center shielding constructed from VeriShield will require thinner
barriers compared to concrete.
230 MeV
Rather than designing all barriers to full occupancy controlled, a more realistic design takes into account the
occupancy and permissible dose limits of the areas around the room.The following thicknesses would be
appropriate for a vault with low occupancy outdoor space beyond the Outdoor Wall and Ceiling.
Constructible
Modular Radiation Shielding
for Proton Facility Construction
Experience
Veritas Proton Facility Shielding represents the
culmination of years of radiation shielding and
healthcare facility design by Veritas personnel.
With expertise in all aspects of high-energy particle
treatment room shielding and construction, we
are uniquely qualified to innovate proton shielding
and its breakthrough technology.
In-house Ve ritas services include physics, engineering
and architectural support, project management,
manufacturing and installation services.
A Proven Alternative
to Mass-Concrete
Construction
Veritas is the world leader in radiation shielding,
radiation protective door systems, modular room
interiors and pre-packaged foundation kits - all
designed for producing Radiation Protected
C e n t e rs of Excellence.
Documented Effectiveness
Fully-Vetted Engineering
veritas-medicalsolutions.com
100% Guaranteed Attenuation
Increased Speed of Construction
Pre-Engineered Package
Medical Solutions
160 Cassell Road, Harleysville, PA 19438 USA
484-991-8928 888-242-6760 Fax: 484-991-8521
www.Veritas-MedicalSolutions.com