Eye lens dose monitoring in the UK nuclear industry using active personal dosemeters.

The reduction of the dose limit for eye lens from 150 to 20 mSv yr-1 must be implemented by EU member states by February 2018. Consequently, there is a requirement for all employers engaged with work with ionising radiation to have appropriate monitoring arrangements in place by this date to demonstrate that they can meet this new limit for all workers. Eye lens dose is conventionally monitored by specific dosemeters worn near the eye. However, it is usually impractical for these dosemeters to be worn at all times in the workplace which can lead to problems accounting for any periods of work when an eye lens dosemeter has not been worn. The Berkeley Approved Dosimetry Service provides a monitoring service for 22 nuclear sites in the UK using active personal dosemeters (APDs) for measuring H p(10) and H p(0.07). TLDs for extremity and eye are also issued as appropriate for the working conditions. An analysis of the data from 2007 to 2016 concludes that the values for H p(0.07) as monitored indirectly by APDs worn on the trunk are comparable to the values assessed by specific H p(3) eye TLDs. This paper sets out evidence that compliance with the 20 mSv dose limit for the eye lens can be demonstrated using routine issue APDs although specific eye TLDs may still be required to meet international guidance for non-uniform workplace fields. This evidence supports the recent statement from International Radiation Protection Association that 'for the nuclear industry and other non-medical sectors the use of a whole body dosimeter is considered likely to be sufficient for the majority of workers'.

THE RESULTS OF THE EURADOS INTERCOMPARISON IC2014 FOR WHOLE-BODY DOSEMETERS IN PHOTON FIELDS.

The European Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) first started performing international intercomparisons for whole-body dosemeters for individual monitoring services in 1998. Since 2008, these whole-body intercomparisons have been performed on a regular basis. In this latest intercomparison (IC2014), 96 monitoring services from 35 countries (mostly European) participated with 112 dosimetry systems. Unlike in the previous intercomparisons, the whole registration, communication and data exchange process was handled by a new on-line platform. All dosemeter irradiations were carried out in the Seibersdorf accredited dosimetry laboratory. The irradiation plan consisted of nine irradiation setups with five different photon radiation qualities (S-Cs, S-Co, RQR7, W-80 and W-150) and two different angles of radiation incidence (0° and 60°). The paper describes and analyses the individual results for the personal dose equivalent quantities Hp(10) and if requested, Hp(0.07), for all participating systems and compares these results with the ISO 14146 'trumpet curve' performance criteria. The results show that 100 systems (89 % of all systems) do fulfil the general ISO 14146 performance criteria. This paper gives an overview on the performance of the participating individual monitoring services and the influence of the dosemeter type on the observed response values.

EURADOS PROGRAMME OF INTERCOMPARISONS FOR INDIVIDUAL MONITORING SERVICES: SEVEN YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE PLANS.

In 2008 the European Radiation Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) started a new programme of intercomparisons for individual monitoring services (IMS). The aim was to provide the possibility to IMS in Europe to participate in dosimetry intercomparions with regular time intervals with all types of dosemeter systems that are used routinely to monitor workers for exposure to external radiation. A self-evaluation of the programme shows that, apart from a few problems encountered, the programme can be judged as fit for its purpose. The results of a questionnaire among the participants support this conclusion. The conclusions encourage EURADOS to continue this programme of self-sustained intercomparisons for IMS.

Results of the EURADOS extremity dosemeter intercomparison 2009.

This paper presents the results of an intercomparison for extremity dosemeters organised by the European radiation dosimetry group in 2009. In total, 59 systems were tested during this exercise including ring, stall and wrist dosemeters. A total of 1652 dosemeters were irradiated in the selected fields of photons and beta radiation qualities on appropriate phantoms (ISO finger and pillar phantom) in the dose quantity H(p)(0.07). All irradiations were carried out in selected accredited reference dosemetry laboratories (Seibersdorf Laboratories, Austria and IRSN, France). The results show that, especially at low-energy beta radiations ((85)Kr) and for beta irradiations with large angles of incidence (60°), many tested systems show pronounced under responses. On the other hand, for photon irradiations down to energies of 16 keV most systems showed good results. A participants meeting was held at IM2010 with discussion on both general aspects of this intercomparison and specific problems.

EURADOS self-sustained programme of intercomparisons for individual monitoring services.

Within EURADOS working group 2, a system for self-sustained intercomparisons for individual monitoring services for external radiation was developed. With the intercomparison results, the participants can show compliance within their quality management system, compare their results with those from other participants and develop plans for improvement of their system. The costs of the exercises are covered by the participants fees. In this programme, the first intercomparison exercise for whole-body dosemeters has been executed in 2008 with 62 participating dosimetry systems from participants across Europe. In general, film systems show the largest deviations, although the results of some participants indicate that it is possible to achieve results with a film system with similar quality as for thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) systems. A second intercomparison has been organised for extremity dosemeters in 2009. For 2010 it is planned to organise a second intercomparison for whole-body dosemeters.