RESPONSE OF NEUTRON DOSIMETERS IN RADIATION PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTS -AN INVESTIGATION OF TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE ESTIMATES OF DOSE-EQUIVALENT

The response of practicable neutron dosemeters for routine use general ly does not match the conversion function from fluence for radiation p rotection quantities such as the ambient dose equivalent. As a consequ ence, significant errors may be encountered when monitoring in a neutr on energy spectrum different from that in which the dosemeter was cali brated, which is almost inevitably the case. A database of neutron ene rgy spectra, detector response functions, and dosimetric conversion fa ctors has been developed, and has been used to investigate the extent of this problem. The paper examines various ways of improving dosemete r response by 'ranking' spectra and deriving correction factors based upon this ordering. In the case of area monitoring, a combination of t wo responses (e.g. a rem meter and TEPC) may serve to improve the meas urement of dose equivalent.