Fourth Intercomparison of Personal Dosemeters used in US Department of Energy Accelerator Facilities

Abstract

Personal neutron dosemeters from seven US Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories were mailed to the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) and irradiated using the well-characterised CERN reference radiation facility (CERF). Neutron dose equivalents determined using the DOE personal dosemeters have been compared to the reference dose equivalent as determined using a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC). In the 0.5 to 5 mSv dose equivalent range, the comparison of results suggests that the neutron personal dosemeters in use at DOE facilities are capable of estimating dose equivalents for high energy neutrons to within a factor of at least 2 or 3. If a field-specific calibration factor is used to correct the dose equivalent responses, the agreement with the reference dose equivalent for these dosemeters can be improved to better than about 25 to 65%. Suggestions for future intercomparison studies and methods of improving personal dosimetry at accelerator facilities are discussed.