European whole body counter measurement intercomparison

In order to test the common quality standards for the performance of measurements of internal radioactivity, the European Commission funded a European intercomparison of whole body counters, which was organized and carried out by the Institut fuer Strahlenhygiene (part of the German Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz). Forty-four whole body counting facilities from forty-two institutions in nineteen countries (the fifteen member states of the European Union plus Hungary, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Norway) took part in this intercomparison, which made it the most comprehensive ever carried out in Europe. For the study, the 70 kg tissue equivalent St Petersburg phantom was used with rods containing 40K, 57Co, 60Co, and 137Cs. The overall results of the whole body counter study were rather good.