Retrospective Dosimetry: Preliminary Use of the Single Aliquot Regeneration (SAR) Protocol for the Measurement of Quartz Dose in Young House Bricks

In retrospective dosimetry, the total dose absorbed by some pre-existing dosemeters such as house bricks or tiles, is used to derive the dose to the population arising from a nuclear accident. This paper uses the newly developed SAR protocol to determine the total dose in young house bricks from the vicinity of the Chernobyl reactor site and from Roskilde, Denmark. For these samples, it is shown that high precision (γ1%) on the mean estimates of total dose can be achieved with γ20 independent measurements. The SAR total dose estimates of two Danish house bricks agree with the expected values based on their known age and confirms the absolute accuracy of the SAR method. It is concluded that a γ18 mGy fallout dose component can be detected on a background of γ100 mGy; this detection limit is controlled by uncertainties in the natural dose rate measurement rather than in the estimation of total dose. (author)