Test of the performance of personnel dosimeters. [Comparison and evaluation of 4 performance standards]

In view of the evolution of personnel dosimeters and the variety of performance standards existing today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently became interested in amending its regulations to require that personnel dosimeters used by its licensees meet specified levels of accuracy that would be verified by independent testing. The amendment being considered by NRC might also be adopted by the Energy Researh and Development Administration (ERDA), and BRH would encourage individual states to follow suit. In 1976, therefore, NRC asked Battelle-Northwest to conduct a study to compare and evaluate the four existing performance standards, using the data that had been collected according to the ANSI Standard's guidelines in 1974. Based on the evaluation of the four standards, it was hoped that additional conclusions could be drawn about the current level of accuracy in personnel dosimeters and processing services. The test standards used include two designed for application to film dosimeters (the ANSI and NSF-16 Standards), one designed for thermoluminescense dosimeters (the TLD Standard), and one that can be applied to personnel dosimetry performance (the HPSSC Standard). Results of the study are presented. (WHK)