Quality control and reliability of reported doses

Results of performance tests verifying the dosimetric properties of dosimetric systems are published in various reports (e.g. IAEA and EURADOS). However, there is hardly any information in the open literature relating to the uncertainty in a dose measurement or in the annual dose, which is increased by failure of the evaluation or data management system, damage of the dosemeter itself or by the loss of dosemeter. In this article, an attempt is made to estimate the importance of the above-mentioned conditions. This is achieved by sending questionnaires to about 200 approved dosimetric services in Europe. In total 88 questionnaires were returned and analysed. In the questionnaires, the frequency of occurrence of the various error conditions were investigated. Participants were also asked to evaluate the impact of the error condition from a dosimetric point of view and what countermeasures are taken. The article summarises all responses and compares different sources of errors according to their impact on the uncertainty of the resulting dose and gives a comprehensive overview on quality control actions and reliability on reported doses from European dosimetric services. (authors)