[en] A personnel neutron dosimeter based on a CR-39 plastic track detector registering recoil protons has been developed. The sensitivity, energy response, angular dependence and fading characteristics have been measured. The sensitivity to AmBe neutrons is 22.7 tracks cm^-2 mrem^-1. The energy response was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. It was determined that neutrons having energies as low as 144 keV can be detected. The energy response curve (tracks cm^-2 mrem^-1) is uniform to within 30% between 0.2 and 20 MeV. However, at energies outside this interval, considerably larger departures from uniformity exist. The in-air sensitivity decreases as the neutron direction changes from perpendicular to glancing incidence. The sensitivity at glancing incidence is less than 5% of that at perpendicular incidence. Fading studies show that the dosimeter is stable at room temperature over periods of months. Background distribution studies show that the lower limit of detection is approximately 10 mrem for a spectrum of AmBe neutrons. (author)