Individual dosimetry and calibration

In 1996, the Dosimetry and Calibration Section was, as in previous years, mainly engaged in routine tasks: the distribution of over 6000 dosimeters (with a total of more than 10,000 films) every two months and the calibration of about 900 fixed and mobile instruments used in the radiation survey sections of RP group. These tasks were, thanks to an experienced team, well mastered. Special efforts had to be made in a number of areas to modernize the service or to keep it in line with new prescriptions. The Individual Dosimetry Service had to assure that CERN's contracting firms comply with the prescriptions in the Radiation Safety Manual (1996) that had been inspired by the Swiss Ordinance of 1994: Companies must file for authorizations with the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health requiring that in every company an 'Expert in Radiation Protection' be nominated and subsequently trained. CERN's Individual Dosimetry Service is accredited by the Swiss Federal Authorities and works closely together with other, similar services on a rigorous quality assurance programme. Within this framework, CERN was mandated to organize this year the annual Swiss 'Intercomparison of Dosimeters'. All ten accredited dosimetry services - among others those of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen and of the four Swiss nuclear power stations - sent dosimeters to CERN, where they were irradiated in CERN's calibration facility with precise photon doses. After return to their origin they were processed and evaluated. The results were communicated to CERN and were compared with the originally given doses. A report on the results was subsequently prepared and submitted to the Swiss 'Group of Experts on Personal Dosimetry'. Reference monitors for photon and neutron radiation were brought to standard laboratories to assure the traceability of CERN's calibration service to the fundamental quantities. For photon radiation, a set of ionization chambers was calibrated in the reference field at PSI in Villigen (CH) in March, whereas an improved rem counter was brought to the PTB in Braunschweig (D) to expose it to various neutron source radiations in one of the best neutron calibration facilities in the world