Uncertainties in the estimation of radiation-damage parameters

The evaluation of radiation embrittlement and the determination of safety limits requires the knowledge of uncertainties in the estimation of radiation exposure parameters like flux greater than 1.0 MeV or dpa of iron. Least squares adjustment methods can be used for the estimation of the exposure parameters and their undertainties. It is of interest to determine how the uncertainties are influenced by the input data, in particular, the selection of dosimeters for the determination of exposure parameters. This investigation is simplified by the fact that in least squares methods the output uncertainties depend primarily on the input uncertainties and very little on the measured values themselves. Thus, the expected uncertainties can be determined without actually making measurements. In this paper, uncertainties for exposure parameters are calculated for a variety of foil sets. The consequences of this investigation for surveillance dosimetry are discussed