UNCERTAINTY EVALUATION FOR MULTIDETECTOR PASSIVE DOSEMETERS USING A TWO-STAGE MEASUREMENT MODEL AND THE MONTE CARLO METHOD.

This paper proposes a method for evaluating the standard uncertainty in the measurements with passive personal dosemeters using a numerical method (Monte Carlo). The paper builds on a previous paper where a two-stage measurement model for passive dosemeters was proposed. This model follows the course of events during the measurement, which also consists of two stages: (1) the exposure of the dosemeter in the workplace where a signal develops in the form of, e.g. electron/hole pairs in solid-state detectors and film or damages to a molecular structure in track films, the latent signal and (2) the evaluation at the service where the latent signal is 'developed' into an observable signal. In this paper, the study is extended to multielement dosemeters that have multiple outputs. The charm of the proposed method is that it needs no mathematical approximations and does inherently include any correlations that may exist between input quantities and, in the case of multiple outputs like Hp(10) and Hp(0.07), between these outputs.

Measurement models for passive dosemeters in view of uncertainty evaluation using the Monte Carlo method.

Two measurement models for passive dosemeters such as thermoluminescent dosemeter, optically stimulated luminescence, radio-photoluminescence, photographic film or track etch are discussed. The first model considers the dose evaluation with the reading equipment as a single measurement, the one-stage model. The second model considers the build-up of a latent signal or latent image in the detector during exposure and the evaluation using a reader system as two separate measurements, the two-stage model. It is discussed that the two-stage model better reflects the cause and effect relations and the course of events in the daily practice of a routine dosimetry service. The one-stage model will be non-linear in crucial input quantities which can give rise to erroneous behavior of the uncertainty evaluation based on the law of propagation of uncertainty. Input quantities that show an asymmetric probability distributions propagate through the one-stage model in a physically not relevant way.

Removing spurious signals from glow curves using an optimal Wiener filter.

During readout, the signal of the TLD is occasionally polluted with spurious signals. These most often take the shape of a spike on the glow curve. Often these spikes are only a few milliseconds wide but can have a height that significantly influences the outcome of the dose evaluation. The detection of spikes relies generally on comparing the raw glow curve with a smoothed version of it. A spike is detected when the height of the glow curve exceeds that of the smoothed curve, using criteria based on the absolute and relative differences. The procedure proposed is based on smoothing by an optimal Wiener filter, which is, on its turn, based on Fourier analysis for which numerically very efficient methods are available. Apart from having easy to understand tuning parameters, an attractive bonus is that, with only little additional computational effort, estimates of the position of peak maxima are found from second and third derivatives: a useful feature for glow curve quality control.

The new EC technical recommendations for monitoring individuals occupationally exposed to external radiation.

The purpose of the European Commission technical recommendations (TR) for monitoring individuals occupationally exposed to external radiation is to provide guidance on those aspects of the implementation of the European Union Parliament and Council Directives directly related to individual monitoring of external radiation, and to encourage harmonisation thereof. They are mainly aimed at the management and staff of IM services but also at manufacturers, laboratories supplying type-testing services, national authorities trying to harmonise approval procedures, and government bodies to harmonise regulations and guidance. The TR main topics are: objectives and aims of IM for external radiation; dosimetry concepts; accuracy requirements; calibration, type testing and performance testing; approval procedures; quality assurance and quality control; and dose record keeping. Attention is paid to particular aspects, such as wide energy ranges for the use of personal dosemeters, pulsed fields and non-charged particle equilibrium; and use of active personal dosemeters. The TR give proposals towards achieving harmonisation in IM and the eventual mutual recognition of services and of dose results.

Developments in uncertainty analysis for individual monitoring.

Uncertainty analysis is an important part of the quality management programme of an individual monitoring service. Evaluating the uncertainty in measurement is quantifying the quality of measurement. This is emphasised by the recent publication of documents and standards that give guidance on how to perform such an analysis. This paper discusses some aspects of this guidance using a hypothetical dosemeter as an example. It is argued that for personal dosemeters with possibly large uncertainties caused by the energy and angle dependence of the response, the numerical method for the propagation of distributions as described in the Supplement 1 to the 'Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement' is the preferred method.

Calculation of the indoor gamma dose rate distribution due to building materials in the Netherlands.

In this study, a model to determine the indoor absorbed dose rate in air due to building materials is applied to a representative set of 1336 Dutch dwellings of which the areas occupied by the various kinds of building material are well documented. Using a Monte Carlo method, the building material and housing data are combined with activity concentrations and densities of 90 samples of building material. From (100,000) repeated calculations according to the model, the distribution of the absorbed dose rate in Dutch livings is computed. The outcomes are compared with those of earlier national measuring campaigns on the indoor dose rate. When corrected for cosmic and terrestrial radiation, a similar distribution of the indoor dose rate is found with an average value within 5% of that found by measurements. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the three most influential input parameters of the model are the density and thickness of the construction parts, the presence of doors and windows and attenuation by the inner cavity wall.

Evaluating the uncertainty in measurement of occupational exposure with personal dosemeters.

In the 1990 Recommendations of the ICRP it is stated that an uncertainty in a dose measured with a personal dosemeter under workplace conditions of a factor 1.5 in either direction 'will not be unusual'. In many documents similar to the EU Technical recommendations, the IAEA Safety Guides and papers in scientific journals, this statement is understood to be a basis for developing type-test criteria and criteria for the approval of dosimetric systems. The methods for evaluating the standard uncertainty as proposed in the above mentioned documents and in national and international standards use an approach that is based on the Law of Propagation of Uncertainties (LPU). This approach needs a number of assumptions, the validity of which cannot easily be verified for personal dosemeters. The current paper presents a numerical method based on Monte Carlo simulation for the calculation phase of the evaluation of uncertainties. The results of applying the method on the type-test data of the NRG TL-dosemeter indicate that the combined standard uncertainty estimated using the LPU approach might well not be realistic. The numerical method is simple and can be precisely formulated, making it suitable for being part of approval or accreditation procedures.

Scanning an individual monitoring database for multiple occurrences using bi-gram analysis.

Maintaining the integrity of the databases is one of the important aspects of quality assurance at individual monitoring services and national dose registers. This paper presents a method for finding and preventing the occurrence of duplicate entries in the databases that can occur, e.g. because of a variable spelling or misspelling of the name. The method is based on bi-gram text analysis techniques. The methods can also be used for retrieving dose data in historical databases in the framework of dose reconstruction efforts of persons of whom the spelling of the name as originally entered, possibly decades ago, is uncertain.

Uncertainties in personal dosimetry for external radiation: a Monte Carlo approach.

This paper explores the possibilities of numerical methods for uncertainty analysis of personal dosimetry systems. Using a numerical method based on Monte Carlo sampling the probability density function (PDF) of the dose measured using a personal dosemeter can be calculated using type-test measurements. From this PDF the combined standard uncertainty in the measurements with the dosemeter and the confidence interval can be calculated. The method calculates the output PDF directly from the PDFs of the inputs of the system such as the spectral distribution of the radiation and distributions of detector parameters like sensitivity and zero signal. The method can be used not only in its own right but also for validating other methods because it is not limited by restrictions that apply to using the Law of Propagation of Uncertainty and the Central Limit Theorem. The use of the method is demonstrated using the type-test data of the NRG-TLD.

On the assessment of the performance of personal dosemeters and individual monitoring services.

Based on recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, recommendations and requirements on the performance of dosimetric systems and individual monitoring services have been formulated in national and international standards and other documents of relevance. Although these all have essentially the same aim, the formulated criteria and the guidance given vary. Using the individual monitoring service of NRG in Arnhem and its thermoluminescence dosemeter as an example, the current paper reviews a number of ways to estimate the uncertainty in dose assessments and compares the criteria given in recommendations and standards. An attempt is made to contribute to some convergence of recommendations and requirements on aspects of dosimetric performance.

Thermoluminescence glow curve deconvolution and its statistical analysis using the flexibility of spreadsheet programs.

Analysing thermoluminescence glow curves involves the solving of a system of non-linear equations. These equations are either differential equations that must be solved numerically or functional approximations for their solution. The current paper presents software with the functions needed for the study of glow curves that is not a stand-alone computer program but an extension of MS Excel. It supplies functions that solve the general one trap model for the thermoluminescence process without the use of approximating functions. Combined with the Solver utility of Excel this gives a very flexible system for the analysis of glow curves. Functions for analysing the statistics of the deconvolution results are included.

Individual monitoring for internal exposures in Europe: conclusions of an EURADOS action.

Once the EC Directive 96/29 has been implemented into national regulation across Europe, the coordination of dosimetry laboratories for the monitoring of occupational exposures becomes the principal aim to achieve. Within this framework the European Radiation Dosimetry Group, EURADOS, carried out an Action on 'Harmonisation of Individual Monitoring' (2000-2004) to promote coordination in the field of individual monitoring of occupational exposures throughout Europe. With reference to internal exposures, the main aims were the completion of a catalogue of internal dosimetry services and an inventory of methods and techniques used for individual monitoring at European internal dosimetry facilities. At the end of this EURADOS Action, a report was published in Radiation Protection Dosimetry in 2004. The information collected related to various topics: the equipments used for the measurement of internal exposures, calibration and sensitivity data, the methods applied for the assessment of internal doses, Quality Control procedures, Quality Assurance Programmes in the facilities and legal requirements. The information to be presented here will give a general overview of the actual status of individual monitoring for internal exposures in Europe.

Aspects of harmonisation of individual monitoring for external radiation in Europe: conclusions of a EURADOS action.

Following the publication of the EU Council Directive 96/29, EURADOS coordinated two working groups (WGs) for promoting the process of harmonisation on individual monitoring of occupationally exposed persons in Europe. An overview of the major findings of the second WG is presented. Information on the technical and quality standards and on the accreditation and approval procedures has been compiled. The catalogue of dosimetric services has been updated and extended. An overview of national regulations and standards for protection from radon and other natural sources in workplaces has been made, attempting to combine the results from individual monitoring for external, internal and workplace monitoring. A first status description of the active personal dosemeters, including legislative and technical information, and their implementation has been made. The importance of practical factors on the uncertainty in the dose measurement has been estimated. Even if a big progress has been made towards harmonisation, there is still work to be done.

Thermoluminescent detectors applied in individual monitoring of radiation workers in Europe--a review based on the EURADOS questionnaire.

Among the activities of EURADOS Working Group 2 formed by experts from several European countries is the harmonisation of individual monitoring as part of radiation protection of occupationally exposed persons. Here, we provide information about thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) applied by the European dosimetric services and the dosimetric characteristics of dosemeters in which these detectors are applied. Among 91 services from 29 countries which responded to the EURADOS questionnaire, 61 apply dosemeters with TLDs for the determination of personal dose equivalent H(p)(10) for photons and beta radiation, and 16 services use TLDs for neutron albedo dosemeters. Those most frequently used are standard lithium fluoride TLDs (mainly TLD-100, TLD-700, Polish MTS-N and MTS-7, Russian DTG-4), high-sensitive lithium fluoride (GR-200, MCP-N) and lithium borate TLDs. Some services use calcium sulphate and calcium fluoride detectors. For neutron dosimetry, most services apply pairs of LiF:Mg,Ti TLDs with (6)Li and (7)Li. The characteristics (energy response) of individual dosemeters are mainly related to the energy response of the detectors and filters applied. The construction of filters in dosemeters applied for measurements of H(p)(10) and their energy response are also reviewed.

Dose assessment of aircraft crew in The Netherlands.

As the operator of the National Dose Registration and Information System, NRG has implemented a system for radiation exposure monitoring for the Dutch airlines. The system is based on the use of computer generated flight plans together with dose calculations using the CARI-6M program. Before installing the system a study was performed to estimate the uncertainty in the assessment of the annual dose of the crew members. It was concluded that the proposed system complies with international recommendations on the uncertainty in dose assessments in individual monitoring and that the operational costs of the system are low.

Harmonisation (legal, dosimetric, quality aspects) of individual monitoring, and integration of monitoring for external and internal exposures (EURADOS Working Group).

The EURADOS Working Group II on 'Harmonisation of individual monitoring' consists of experts from almost all EU Member States and Newly Associated States (NAS), involved in tasks related to the assessment of doses for internal and external radiation. The final objective is to achieve harmonisation in individual monitoring for occupational exposures. Sub-group 2 activities are focused on investigating how the results from personal dosemeters for external radiation and workplace monitoring and from monitoring for internal exposure can be combined into a complete and consistent system of individual monitoring. Three questionnaires were prepared, covering 'Individual monitoring of external radiation' (Questionnaire 1), 'Internal exposure' (Questionnaire 2) and 'Natural sources of radiation at the workplace' (Questionnaire 3). With the agreement of a 'contact-person', selected in each country, the distribution of the three EURADOS 2002 questionnaires was carried out by e-mail among the dosimetry facilities of 28 European countries. The preliminary results of these actions are presented here.

The zero signal and glow curves of bare LiF:Mg,Ti detectors in a hot gas TLD system.

The uncertainty in very low doses measured with TLDs is partly caused by the uncertainty in the zero signal of the detector. A mathematical model for the thermodynamics of TLD heating and the zero signal in a hot gas reader with constant gas temperature is presented. The major component of the heating is described as diffusion limited conductive heating, the major component of the zero signal is black body radiation from the hot TLD. The parameters in the model were determined from the glow curves recorded at five different gas temperatures. The model explains the shape and statistics of a zero signal glow curve and can be used in the quality control of non-irradiated TLDs before calibration irradiation and readout.