Optimizing a readout protocol for low dose retrospective OSL-dosimetry using household salt

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Environmental Science
• Radiological Science

Background:

• Accurate retrospective dosimetry is crucial for assessing radiation exposure after nuclear or radiological incidents.
• Household salt (NaCl) shows potential as a low-cost, widely available dosimeter material.
• Existing methods require optimization for reliable low-dose measurements in salt.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a Single Aliquot Regenerative Dose (SAR) protocol for accurate absorbed dose determination in household salt.
• To establish a reliable method for retrospective dosimetry in the 1-250 mGy dose range using salt.

Main Methods:

• Investigation focused on a specific mine salt (>98.5% NaCl) for household use.
• Optical stimulation using blue LED (λ = 462 nm) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) decay analysis.
• Development of a SAR protocol incorporating Peak Signal Summing (PSS) and a preheat temperature of 200°C.

Main Results:

• The optimized SAR protocol, using PSS and a 200°C preheat, achieved the most accurate dose recovery.
• A specific SAR protocol with preset regenerative doses (R1-R5) and a 17 mGy test dose (TED) was proposed.
• Under laboratory conditions, the protocol accurately recovered unknown absorbed doses within 5% (2 SD) in the 1-250 mGy range.

Conclusions:

• The developed SAR protocol demonstrates high accuracy for retrospective dosimetry in household salt.
• This method is promising for low-dose applications, particularly for assessing exposure after radiological events.
• Household salt can serve as an effective and accessible retrospective dosimeter.