Validation testing of ANSI/IEEE n42.49 standard requirements for personal emergency radiation detectors

Various radiation detectors including electronic personal emergency radiation detectors (PERDs), radiochromic film cards and thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) were used to validate a subset of the radiological test requirements listed in the American National Standards Institute/The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (ANSI/IEEE) N42.49 standard. The subset of tests included the following: comparing the readout of the detectors with the value given at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); testing of the alarm settings (when applicable) in air-kerma (or exposure) and air-kerma rate (or exposure rate) mode; and investigating the effect of testing the detectors mounted on a phantom and free in air. The purpose of this work was not to test the performance of the sample of detectors used. Instead, the detectors were used to validate the requirements of the written standard being developed. For this purpose, the performance and response of these instruments were recorded when placed in (137)Cs, and x-ray beams at different air-kerma rates and test conditions. The measurements described in this report were performed at the NIST x-ray and gamma-ray radiation calibration facilities. The data in this report provide a benchmark in support of the development of the ANSI/IEEE N42.49 standard.