Comparison of the air kerma standards of the IAEA and the BIPM in mammography x-rays

The Dosimetry Laboratory of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Seibersdorf, Austria, calibrates reference standards in mammography x-ray beams for IAEA/WHO SSDL Network members (more than 80 laboratories worldwide). As a signatory of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA), the IAEA laboratory maintains a Quality Management System (QMS) complying with ISO 17025 and requires updated 'supporting evidence' for its dosimetry calibration and measurement capabilities (CMC), first published in Appendix C of the CIPM MRA key comparison database in 2007. For this purpose, an indirect comparison has been made between the air kerma standards of the IAEA and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) in the mammography x-ray range from 25 kV to 35 kV, using as transfer instruments two thin-window parallel-plate ionization chambers belonging to the IAEA. The IAEA and BIPM standards for mammography x-rays are shown to be in agreement within the standard uncertainty of the comparison of 5.5 parts in 103. This agreement can be used to support the calibration and measurements capabilities of the IAEA listed in Appendix C of the key comparison database. (authors)