COMPARISON METHODOLOGIES FOR CALIBRATION OF Hp(10) PERSONAL DOSEMETERS USING ISO 4037 AND ISO 29661 STANDARDS

The calibration of electronic personal dosemeters at the Portuguese ionizing radiation metrology laboratory uses the standard IEC 61526 for calibration methodology. This standard describes the irradiation geometry for testing and indicates that the standard ISO 4037-1, 2, 3 and 4 should be used. The ISO 4037 establishes that the reference point of test is a point in the radiation monitor, known or established, and the calibration phantom should be placed on its back in order to simulate the trunk body. Recently, ISO published another standard, the ISO 29661, that changes the reference point from the radiation monitor to the front face of the calibration phantom. The aim of this work is to present the result of the comparison of these two methodologies on personal dosemeters from five different manufacturers. The work shows differences in the Hp(10) response up to 4% resulting from the two different reference point concepts.