Performance evaluation of a new combination personnel neutron dosemeter

A new combination personnel neutron dosemeter (CPND) has been developed with the aims of having crude neutron spectrometric capability and a higher sensitivity for all neutrons (thermal to 15 MeV). The CPND consists of a Harshaw albedo TLD (two pairs of TLD-600/TLD-700) and two bubble detectors (one BD-100R and one BDS-1500). The performance of the CPND was evaluated by an in situ test in various Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) working radiation fields, by testing with radio-isotopic neutron sources in single-source and multi-source exposure situations, and by participating in ORNL's Fourteenth Personnel Dosimetry Intercomparison Study. The CPND has a unique and valuable feature for a personnel neutron dosemeter: the crude 4-interval spectrometric capability based on the different energy response functions of its detector components. The results of the performance tests show that the new CPND is a very good personnel neutron dosemeter. (author)