No abstract

Thick walled cavity ionization chambers are used by primary standard laboratories as primary air kerma standards in 137Cs and 60Co gamma-rays. Application of the cavity theory requires correction for the effects of photon attenuation and scattering in the chamber walls. For more than a decade there have been intensive discussions about the validity of wall correction factors determined by more traditional extrapolation methods versus those calculated by Monte Carlo methods. For existing primary standards the alternative methods lead to results that differ by up to 50% of the correction itself. This report presents both experimental and theoretical results which strongly support the validity of calculated wall correction factors. Moreover, it is demonstrated that, in selected cases, the application of a linear extrapolation method leads to errors in the determination of the air kerma reaching up to 13%.

A comparison of the air kerma standards for x-radiation qualities used in general diagnostic radiology and mammography, identified as EURAMET.RI(I)-S10 (EURAMET project #1221), was performed between the PTB and the IAEA. Two spherical and two parallel-plate reference-class ionization chambers of the IAEA and 12 beam qualities standardized in the IEC standard 61267:2005 plus additional 7 standard beam qualities established at both laboratories were selected for the comparison. The calibration coefficients were determined for the transfer chambers at the PTB in September 2012 and before and after this at the IAEA Dosimetry Laboratory. The results show the calibration coefficients of both laboratories to be in good agreement within the standard uncertainty of the comparison of about 0.47 %.

(b) , D. Butler (c) , I. Csete (d) , F. Gabris (e) , A. Hakanen (f) , J.-H. Lee (g) , M. Palmer (h) , N. Saito (i) and W. de Vries (j)

The Dosimetry Laboratory of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Seibersdorf, Austria, calibrates reference standards in mammography x-ray beams for IAEA/WHO SSDL Network members (more than 80 laboratories worldwide). As a signatory of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA), the IAEA laboratory maintains a Quality Management System (QMS) complying with ISO 17025 and requires updated 'supporting evidence' for its dosimetry calibration and measurement capabilities (CMC), first published in Appendix C of the CIPM MRA key comparison database in 2007.For this purpose, an indirect comparison has been made between the air kerma standards of the IAEA and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) in the mammography x-ray range from 25 kV to 35 kV, using as transfer instruments two thin-window parallel-plate ionization chambers belonging to the IAEA.The IAEA and BIPM standards for mammography x-rays are shown to be in agreement within the standard uncertainty of the comparison of 5.5 parts in 103. This agreement can be used to support the calibration and measurements capabilities of the IAEA listed in Appendix C of the key comparison database.Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCRI, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).