DCAL Software and Resources

DCAL is designed for use on a personal computer or scientific work station by users with experience in scientific computing and computational radiation dosimetry. DCAL has been used to support EPA dose calculations since the early 1990s, with each subsequent version improving on the previous. The next version of DCAL is under development.

DCAL consists of a series of computational modules driven by a user interface. DCAL may be used either in an interactive mode designed for evaluation of a specified exposure case or in a batch mode that allows non-interactive, multiple-case calculations. DCAL is intended for experienced users with knowledge of computational dosimetry.

Hardware Requirements

• PC with Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/7/10 operating systems
• 30 MB hard drive storage space (additional space needed for files generated during DCAL use)

Note: Validation & Verification for DCAL Code used in Federal Guidance Report No. 13 can be viewed in the FGR-13 Quality Assurance Efforts document available below. This release of the DCAL system includes the nuclear decay data from ICRP Publication 107. As a result, risk coefficients generated by this version of DCAL may not be identical with those listed in FGR 13, though differences should be negligible in most cases.

DCAL Version 9.4.0 (EXE) (exe) (15.09 MB)

User's Guide to the DCAL System (pdf) (1.01 MB, August 2006)
This report serves as a user’s manual for the first release of the Dose and Risk Calculation software, DCAL. DCAL consists of a series of computational modules, driven in either an interactive or a batch mode, for the computation of dose and risk coefficients.

Estimating Radiogenic Cancer Risks (pdf) (271.95 KB, June 1994, 402-R-93-076)
This document presents a revised methodology for EPA's estimation of cancer risks due to low-LET radiation exposures. It was developed using information that became available after the publication of "Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation III" (BEIR III), especially new information on the Japanese atomic bomb survivors.

Estimating Radiogenic Cancer Risks Addendum: Uncertainty Analysis (pdf) (278.42 KB, May 1999, 402-R-99-003)
In this document, a methodology is developed for estimating the uncertainties in the EPA risk projections published in the 1994 report, "Estimating Radiogenic Cancer Risks."

Federal Guidance Report No. 13: Cancer Risk Coefficients for Environmental Exposure to Radionuclides (pdf) (11.11 MB, September 1999, 402-R-99-001)

FGR-13 Quality Assurance Efforts (pdf) (1020.44 KB)
This document briefly summarizes some of the quality assurance efforts undertaken with respect to the computation of the cancer risk coefficients of Federal Guidance Report 13.