Ideal beta personnel dosimeter

An attempt is made to characterize the ideal beta personnel dosimeter. An ideal personnel dosimeter for monitoring exposure to ionizing radiation would have the following characteristics: uniform 4π sensitivity to the specified radiation(s); no fading of stored dose information under adverse temperature and humidity conditions; insensitive to photons of approximately 5 keV energy or less; no self-irradiation; linear dose-response relationship; response is independent of doserate; physically small and lightweight with no significant protuberances; impervious to attempts by inquisitive radiation workers to find out what is inside; single dosimeter sensitive element which is readily accessible to authorized personnel; easily attached, highly visible, well-protected identification label; easily attached to the radiation worker; and capable of being uniformly mass-produced at a low cost. An ideal beta personnel dosimeter would have the following three additional characteristics: insensitive to alpha, gamma and neutron radiations; insensitive to beta radiation while not being worn to monitor occupational exposure; and beta dose can be readily, precisely and accurately determined as a function of depth in tissue from 0.07 cm to 1 cm. This author has serious doubts that one ideal beta dosimeter would satisfy all users, so that practical limitations enter into the design specifications at the outset. An expanded analysis of each of the criteria, with emphasis upon the latter three, as well as a particular beta personnel dosimeter design incorporating many of these criteria, applicable to numerous beta environments, will be presented in the full paper