Measurements of radiation induced by a spark discharge under laboratory conditions

Terrestrial gamma and neutron flashes can result in considerable radiation exposure of aircraft crew and passengers in their close vicinity. Lightning impulse voltage generators imitate selected stages of natural lightning processes and can serve as a test environment for the development and calibration of detector systems for such short term radiation events. This work presents the results of measurements of absorbed dose using thermoluminescent dosimeters for 400 negative discharges at the lightning impulse voltage generator. The thermoluminescent dosimeter CaSO4:Dy and the combination of lithium-fluoride detectors MTS-6, MTS-7, and MTS-N were used to quantify the photon and neutron components of the radiation field. The detectors were placed in four positions near the generator spark gap. The results confirm the presence of thermal neutrons and photon radiation in two positions at the lightning impulse voltage generator.