Radiation

Monitoring
Introduction

The aim of personnel monitoring program is outlined in

radiation protection rules-1971, which was commissioned
by the Govt of India, under the atomic energy act 1962.
AIMS

 Monitor and control individual doses in order to

ensure compliance with the stipulated dose limits.
 Report and investigate over exposures and
recommend necessary remedial measures urgently.
 Maintain life-time cumulative dose records of the
users of the service
Two kinds of radiation monitors used for
medical purposes :
Survey monitors

Personal monitors
Personnel monitoring

 Requirement for personnel monitoring

 Whenever radiation workers are likely to risk receiving
10% or more of the annual occupational effective dose
limit.
Purpose of personnel dosimeter

 Determine occupational exposure by detecing and

measuring the quantity of ionizing radiation to
which the dosimeter has been exposed over a
period of time
 Placement of personnel dosimeter

During routine radiographic procedures

Records only the exposer received in the are
where it is worn.
When a protective apron is not being used
Front of the body at collar level to approximate
the location of maximal radiation dose to the
thyroid and head and neck.
When a protective apron is
worn

 Dosimeter should be worn outside

the apron at collar level on the
anterior surface of the body.
 Approximate the location of
maximal radiation dose to the
thyroid and head and neck.
Secondary monitor when a protective apron is
worn
worn beneath a wraparound –style apron at waist level to
monitoring the approximate equivalent dose.
As a monitor for the embryo – fetus
 primary dosimeter worn at collar level
 Secondary monitoring device to record the
radiation dose to the abdomen during gestation.
Personnel dosimeters

Characteristics
 Lightweight and easy to carry.
 Dosimeter must be able to detect and record both
small and large exposer.
 Outside influences such as very warm weather
,humidity and ordinary mechanical shock should
not effect performance of the instrument.
 Inexpensive.
Types

 Film badge
 Extremity dosimeter (TLD ring badge).
 Optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeter.
 Pocket ionization chamber (pocket dosimeter)
 Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD).
 FILM BADGE
metal filters
plastic filter open windows
Al/cu

detects beta, gamma, X Ray

film

open window Plastic film holder-

 Principle
Penetrating radiation cast a faint shadow of the filters
on the processed dosimetry film.

Density of the image cast by the filters permits

estimation of the energy of the radiation.

Direction from which the radiation reached the film can

be estimated from the appearance of the filter shadows
imaged on the processed film.
 Radiation detection
Can detect amount of exposure-

 Excessive scattered radiation- relatively fuzzy image

 Single exposure from primary beam- sharply defined image.

Doses from 0.1 mSv(10mrm) - 5000 mSv(500rem) are

detected & will be reported

Densitometer is used to measure the density of the film.

 Function of the control badge

 Monitoring company supplies a control badge with a batch of film

badges.

 It serves as a basis of comparison with the remaining film.

 Density of the control film should be zero after processing

 To ensure that false reading are not recorded due to external

radiation exposure during transportation
 Advantages
&
DISADVANTAGE of film badge
 Reasonably economical
 Can be used to monitor x-radiation, gamma radiation
 Film badge can discriminate between the type of radiation
 Mechanical integrity

 Disadvantage- temperature & humidity extremes can cause

fogging of the dosimetry film over long period of time
 Optically Stimulated
Luminescence(OSL) dosimeter

1 cm
Captures” information in an Aluminum Oxide
matrix ( Al2O3)
Releases information by laser stimulation
Can be reread after processing
Durable

OSL dosimeters can be worn for up

to 1 year, but common practice is to
wear it for two months.
 OSL
 3 diff filters are used-
 Aluminum
 Tin
 Copper
 Each filter blocks a portion of the radiation sensitive
aluminum oxide OSL, causing a different degree of
attenuation for any radiation striking the badge.
 Sensitivity
Type of X-ray & Beta Neutrons
radiation gamma rays particles

Energy range
5keV -40 keV 150 keV-10 Mev 40keV- 35 Mev

Dose
1mrem- 1000rem 10mrem- 20mrem-25rem
measurement 1000rem
range

Increased sensitivity of the OSLDs makes it ideal

for monitoring
employees working in low radiation environment & for
radiation workers
Thermoluminescent Dosimeter

TLD
 Thermoluminescent Dosimeter

This light free device usually contains a crystalline form

of lithium fluoride(LiF), which functions as a sensing
material of the TLD.
Thermoluminescent Dosimeter

A TLD card essentially consists of

three CaSO4: Dy-Teflon TLD discs
(13.3mm dia x 0.8 mm thick)
mechanically clipped over three
symmetrical circular holes each of
diameter 12 mm, on a nickel plated
aluminum plate
(52.5mmx29.9mmx1mm).
 Principle

 When irradiated some of the electrons in the crystalline lattice

structure of LiF molecule absorb energy and are excited to
higher energy levels .
 when LiF passes through a special heating process they receive
enough energy to rise above their present locations into a
region called “conduction band.”
 electrons return to their normal state with the emission of
energy in the form of visible light.
 Emitted energy is equal to the difference between the electron
binding energy of the two orbital levels involved.
 TLD analyzer

 Measures the amount of

ionizing radiation to which
a TLD badge has been
exposed.
 First by heating the
crystal to free the
trapped electrons & then
recording the amount of
light emitted by the
crystals.
 Advantages of TLD over film
badges
 Exposure as low as 1.3x 10-6 C/kg(5mR) can be measured
precisely.
 Humidity, pressure & normal temp. changes do not affect the
TLD.
 TLD can be worn for 3 months of longer time period then film
badges.
 No possible fogging.
 TLD crystal can be reused after obtaining the readings.
 Disadvantage of TLD

 Can be read only once.

 Readout process destroys the stored

information.

 Necessity of using calibrated dosimeters with

TLDs because the calibrated dosimeters must
be prepared and read with each group of TLDs
when they are processed.
RADIATION SURVEY INSTRUMENTS
FOR AREA MONITORING
 Area monitoring

When contact with ionization radiation , survey

instrument respond to the charges particles that
are produced because radiation interacts with and
ionizes the gas in the detector
Types of survey instruments

 Ionization chamber-types survey meter (cutie pie).

 Proportional counter.

 Geiger-Muller (GM) detector.

 IONIZATION CHAMBERS- Type
Survey Meter (Cutie Pie)
 Both a rate meter device (measure exposer rate) used
for area surveys and accurate integrating or cumulative
exposure instrument.
 Simplest of all gas-filled radiation detectors.
 Used for detection or measurement of ionizing
radiation.
 Can be designed in many shapes and sizes with
different gas fillings.
 Operates in voltage mode.
CONSTRUCTION:

 Constructed to measure charge from the number of ions

within a medium.
 Consists of a gas-filled enclosure between two conducting
electrodes i.e a positive and negative electrode.
 May be parallel plates or coaxial cylinders.
 In some cases, one of the electrodes may be the wall of the
vessel itself.
 The gas is usually air (measurement of gamma ray
exposure).

 Other gases which may be used include the inert gases

such as Ar, He, Xe and their like.

 Pressure often 1 atmosphere. Higher pressure may be

used at times to increase the sensitivity.
 Operation

Chamber is exposed to radiation

Ion pairs are formed.

Collected by electrodes.

Electrons are allowed to flow

through an external circuit.

Average rate of energy dissipation

measured
Disadvantage:
 Principle disadvantage of ionization chambers is their
inefficiency.
 Because of the gases involved having relatively low
density as compared to solids, the X-ray photons just
pass through the chamber undetected.
Proportional counter
 It Is generally used in a laboratory setting to
detect alpha and beta radiation and small amount
of other types of low level radioactive
contamination.
 Proportional counter can discriminate between
alpha and beta particles.
 Alpha radiation travels only a short distance in air.
 Proportional counter must hold the unit probe
close to the surface of the object being surveyed
to obtain an accurate reading of the alpha
radiation emitted by the object.
 Geiger–Muller counter

 Designed for maximum gas amplification effect.

 Consists of a cylinder cathode with fine wire anode along its
axis.
 Entrance window
 The device is filled with a special mixture of gases (typically
argon + quenching gas)at a pressure of about 10cm Hg.
 The Geiger counter is operated at a high applied voltage(500-
1500V).

 Mostly used in survey meters for radiation protection purposes.

 Geiger counters are available in many different forms namely ,

gamma counter , beta counter , end window counter and gas flow
counters.
 Gamma ray enters and ionization occurs

The accelerating electrons causes excitation of gas molecules

through collisions

These gas molecules return to ground state by the emission of

photons at UV wavelengths.

UV photons interacts with the cathode surface by photoelectric

absorption

Another electron is released.

 Electrons are quickly collected and positive ions are not

Avalanche ionization is propagated

Avalanche is terminated when positive ions reduce the effective

electric field around the anode.

Thus a large amplification of the charge liberated by the

incident electron is obtained.
USED

 Contamination control in nuclear medicine lab.

 As portable survey instrument ,used to detect the

presence of radioactive contamination on work
surface and radioactive material.

 Not particularly used for dosimeters…

Advantage

• Responds to individual photons , beta or alpha

particles & can detect single disintegration of an
atom.
Disadvantages;

 Low detection efficiency for gamma rays & x-rays

 Inability to distinguish between radiation events

of different energies .
Thank you