Evaluation of the Effects of Scattered Radiation on Dosimeter Calibration in a Calibration Range

Abstract

ISO standard 4037 specifies limits for scattered radiation for "gamma reference radiation" for the calibration of "protection-level dosemeters and rate dosemeters." More specifically, it specifies that scattered radiation should contribute less than 5% to the total exposure rate for source-center-to-dosimeter-center distances (henceforth called downrange distances) over which dosimeters are calibrated. In a previous paper by the authors, the results of an MCNP analysis of a calibration range with a Cs irradiator (henceforth called Cs calibration range) were reported. In that paper, simulations of the singly differential photon fluence rate (i.e., flux) energy spectra (henceforth called photon flux energy spectra) from the Cs (an ISO standard 4037 gamma reference radiation) irradiator were reported. In that paper, the spectra were examined to determine the contribution of scattered photons to the exposure rate in the Cs calibration range for various downrange distances. In this paper, the simulations of the photon flux energy spectra for the Cs irradiator photons for various downrange distances are convolved with response functions, creating an ideal exposure meter and two commercially available ion chamber survey meters, in order to predict the meters' response rates versus downrange distance. The simulated response rates indicate that the Cs calibration range satisfies an operational check of the contribution of scattered radiation to the exposure rate that is specified in the ISO standard 4037, although as shown in the previous paper by the authors, the Cs calibration range does not satisfy the ISO standard 4037 specification that scattered radiation should contribute less than 5% to the total exposure rate for downrange distances over which dosimeters are calibrated. The ISO standard 4037 operational check is that the measured exposure rate varies from an inverse square dependence by less than 5% for the downrange distances over which dosimeters are calibrated.