Charge storage in electron-irradiated phantom materials

A recent article by Galbraith et al. [Med. Phys. 11, 197 (1984)] revealed the existence of dose errors due to charge storage in electron-irradiated plastic phantoms. We have subsequently studied the same effect using similar materials, plus some others including "solid water," which is an epoxy-based phantom material manufactured by Radiation Measurement, Inc. Our work shows that there is minimal charge storage in solid water, as compared to polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polystyrene. Since existing dosimetry protocols allow PMMA and polystyrene to be used for calibration phantoms, users should beware of the possible dosimetry errors resulting from charge storage in those plastics, and consider choosing other water-substitute media, such as solid water, that do not display this effect.