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This lesson introduces you to radiation

monitoring
Lecture 06
By the end of the lesson, you should be able
to:

Instrumentation and • outline the instruments used in radiation

monitoring

monitoring radiation • describe personal monitoring, survey

monitoring, and smear survey

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Online materials Online materials

https://academic.oup.com/rpd 3 https://academic.oup.com/jrr 4

Importance of radiation monitoring 1) Ionisation chamber

• It is necessary to measure radiation exposures so • An ionisation chamber is a detector with a gas-
that they can be monitored, controlled and limited. filled region, which measures the amount of
• Humans needs to be protected against unexpected ionisation produced by a charged particle e.g.,
exposures and radiation-exposed workers. alpha particles passing through the gas.
• Environmental protection. This includes the • The charged particles move through the gas, and
determination of radiation exposures of the strike gas molecules, liberating electrons and
general public, the monitoring of radioactive waste, leaving ions.
and the examination of the distribution of • The number of charged particles can be
radioactive material in the atmosphere, soil, water, measured using an electric field.
and food.
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1) Ionisation chamber… 2) Proportional Counters

• Proportional counters are in principle similar to
ionisation chambers, but they use a higher
voltage between the electrodes, giving a
stronger signal due to an amplification effect.
• When a particle enters the container, it will
ionise atoms and produce pairs of positive ions
and (negative) electrons.
• These particles are accelerated strongly in the
powerful electric field – sufficiently strongly that
they themselves produce further electron-ion
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pairs when they strike other gas molecules. 8

3) Geiger-Müller (GM) Counters 3) Geiger-Müller Counters…

• A GM counter is a cylinder, with the wall
negatively charged and a central wire positively
charged.
• Each ionising particle passing through the
chamber causes a single brief discharge, and the
count of these discharges gives an indication of
the radiation level.
• In order to turn that indication into a
measurement of dose, a different calibration is Taking a measurement of activity with a Geiger-Müller
required for each radiation type and energy. counter. The display (after appropriate
calibration) gives the dose rate in mSv/h or μSv/h.
• Accurate for low levels of radiation. 9 10

4) Solid-State Detectors 4) Solid-State Detectors…

• Solid-state detectors are essentially ionisation
chambers with solids as a counting medium.
Because of their high density compared to
gaseous detectors, they can absorb particles of
correspondingly higher energy.
• Incoming charged particles or photons promote
electrons into higher states in the crystal
(excitation). An electric field applied across the
crystal allows the charge carriers produced by A germanium detector. The germanium crystal is the flat
this excitation to be collected and measured. circular plate, and the flask underneath the detector (called a
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dewar) contains liquid nitrogen for cooling 12

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5) Scintillators 6) Neutron Counters

• Scintillators are materials that emit light when • Neutrons can only be detected indirectly.
they are struck by high-energy particles • Netrons interact with different molecules to
(including photons). They can be inorganic produce charged particles: these charged
crystals or organic materials (liquids, solid particles are then detected via their ionisation or
plastics). scintillation in standard radiation detectors.
• Solid detectors include thallium-doped sodium • Proton recoil detectors for fast neutrons: Neutrons
‘knock on’ protons in H-rich materials. The protons
iodide crystals. cause ionisation which is detected.
• Liquids which scintillate include toluene and • Boron trifluoride detectors for thermal neutrons:
xylene. Proportional counter filled with BF3 gas which
captures neutron. The capture results in alpha
emission and the ionisation is detected.
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6) Neutron Counters… 7) Personal Dosimeters

• In personal dosimetry, it is important to
Helium-3 proportional counters distinguish between directly and indirectly
measure over wide range of readable dosimeters.
neutron energies up to 15 MeV • The only common type of directly readable
dosimeter is based on an ionisation chamber.
• Ionisation chambers can be made into dosimeters
which are small and convenient.
• There are three types of indirectly readable
dosimeters.

Neutron counter15 16

7) Personal Dosimeters 7) Personal Dosimeters

I) self-indicating pocket 1I) Film-badge dosimeters
or pen-type pocket • Most popular and well-known
dosimeter indirectly readable dosimeter.
• This operates on the • They use the blackening of a
principles of ionisation photographic film (X-ray film) as
chambers. a measure for the received dose.
• It is the only direct • But, has limited measurement
readable dosimeter. accuracy. However, it can be
retained for permanent records.

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7) Personal Dosimeters 7) Personal Dosimeters

1II) Thermoluminescence 1V) Photoluminescence
dosimeters (TLDs) dosimeter
• They use lithium fluoride and • Similar to TLDs, but the detector
some use thulium. The material is Al2O3 crystals spread
materials when irradiated, will in a plastic wafer.
give out light in response, but • Read out with a green laser or
only later, when stimulated by LED (not heat as with a TLD).
heat. • Amount of blue light emitted 
• TLDs have particularly good radiation dose.
Adjustable finger-ring, with small
performance for low levels of thermoluminescence detectors which
radiation. can be mounted onto it.
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7) Personal Dosimeters 7) Personal Dosimeters

V) Radon personal dosimeters VI) Track-etch dosimeters
• For radon monitoring, plastic detectors can be • This is similar to the radon personal dosimeter,
used. except the detector used here is a polycarbonate
• These use the track-etch technique: α rays film.
produce local radiation damage in the plastic • Neutrons make tracks on the film which are
material, usually cellulose nitrate. counted under a microscope.
• If the plastic is treated with an alkali (etched), the • Number of tracks per cm2  neutron dose (in
tracks become clearly visible. The tracks are range 1 mSv to 1 Sv).
counted under a microscope.

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7) Personal Dosimeters 7) Personal Dosimeters

VII) Electronic Personal VIII) Criticality Locket
Dosimeter (EPD) LCD display
• Worn in addition to the film badge or TLD
• Based on small GM tubes or whenever fissile material is handled to warn of
semiconductor detectors, about high doses in criticality incidents.
the size of a mobile phone. • Components activated by neutrons includes 32S
• LCD display gives a ‘real-time’ which decays to 32P giving out b.
indication of dose-rate. Alarms • b count determines fast, intermediate and
can be set to alert the wearer at thermal neutron doses.
a certain high levels dose-rate or
dose.
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Smear surveys
• Used to:
• Detect very low levels of contamination;
• Monitor for contamination in an area of high
radiation background;
Radiation monitoring • Monitor for nuclides that are difficult to detect
using direct methods e.g. H-3, C-14;
• Establish if contamination is loose or fixed;
• Monitor areas that are inaccessible with
instruments.

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Air monitoring Personal monitoring

• Carried out in areas where airborne • Whole body monitoring for gamma emitters e.g.
contamination may occur e.g. by: Co-60.
• Disturbing surface contamination • Can also target specific organs e.g. thyroid
• Allowing liquid contamination to dry out counter for I-131.
• Carrying out dry, dusty operations e.g. cutting, • Excretion (urine or faecal) monitoring for
grinding alpha/beta emitters e.g. Pu-239.
• Can also take nasal swabs following a suspected
intake.

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Survey monitoring The Next lecture…

• Done during commissioning of a facility to test
the adequacy of the shielding, to show that the
radiation levels are satisfactory.
• Done whenever changes are made which could
affect radiation levels, such as changes in Radiation management and protection
operations, layout or shielding arrangements.
• Done routinely, during operation, to determine
the working radiation levels and thereby doses to
be controlled.

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