Review of individual dosimetry techniques and needs analysis

Objectives of the individual dosimetry are multiple; their hierarchization evolved appreciably during the last ten years: optimization is itself, little by little, imposed as a major objective of the worker radioprotection. The admissible maximal limits are going to be lowered of an important factor. The dosimetric objectives that give themselves operators are also greatly reduced year after year. Situations of exposure are very various according to sectors of activity. The new technological processes dragged many new fields of radiations with varied spectrums and dose levels. No detector answers perfectly for the whole of radiation fields. For photons, all existing dosemeters used in routine permit the assessment of Hp according to specifications of norms. For neutrons, no existing technique satisfied norms. The complementary information offered by some dosemeters can be taken into account in the choice of a technique rather than an another one. Tea technical and financial constraints vary according to solutions: a whole dosimetric service understands the dosemeter but also its operating system and management. The passive dosemeters exploitation system is completely different of the active dosemeters'one. Procedures of result validation must be imagined in the second case, in particular the active dosemeters provide an important mass of data of which it will be necessary to select and to validate some before recording them in a centralized system of management. Techniques evolve, in particular those based on electronics: integration techniques permit to consider reasonably in a future of 3 to 5 years the development of dosemeters combining the different functions: X, γ, β and neutron, real time measurement. The regulation should be flexible enough to allow users to choose the best technique adapted to their and to let them the possibility to take in account the evolution coming from the techniques. (authors)