ASTM Standards for Reactor Dosimetry and Pressure Vessel Surveillance

The ASTM standards provide guidance and instruction on how to field and interpret reactor dosimetry. They provide a roadmap towards understanding the current “state-of-the-art” in reactor dosimetry, as reflected by the technical community. The consensus basis to the ASTM standards assures the user of an unbiased presentation of technical procedures and interpretations of the measurements. Some insight into the types of standards and the way in which they are organized can assist one in using them in an expeditious manner. Two examples are presented to help orient new users to the breadth and interrelationship between the ASTM nuclear metrology standards. One example involves the testing of a new “widget” to verify the radiation hardness. The second example involves quantifying the radiation damage at a pressure vessel critical weld location through surveillance dosimetry and calculation.