Technologies for retrospective radiation dosimetry

Abstract Radiation dosimetry is an important task for assessing the biological damages created in human being due to ionising radiation exposure. Ionising radiation being invisible and beyond the perception of human natural sensors, the dosimetry equipments/systems are the utmost requirement for its measurement. Retrospective measurement of radiation doses is a challenging task as conventional radiation dosemeters are not available at the exposure site. The material/s in close proximity of exposed individual or individuals’ biological samples may be used as retrospective radiation sensor for dosimetry purpose. Environment materials such as sand, bricks, ceramics, sand stones, quartz, feldspar, glasses and electronic chips have been utilised using TL (Thermoluminescence) techniques for retrospective gamma dose (min 10 cGy) measurement. Electron Spin Resonance techniques have been employed to human biological samples such as tooth enamel, bones, nails, hair, etc. and reported for dosimetry for ~20 cGy min dose measurement. Some commercial glasses have been found sensitive enough to measure the minimum gamma doses of the order of 100 cGy using TL techniques. For internal retrospective dosimetry, the radioactivity contamination assessment in food items, water, other edible product and ambient air are the prerequisites. The radioactivity concentration vis-à-vis their consumption rate may help in controlling the internal contamination and estimation of dose absorption in human body. Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur has been working extensively on the dosimetry techniques for external dose measurement using environmental material and developed portable contamination monitoring systems for food and water radioactivity measurement in the range of 50 Bq kg−1 to 1000 kBq kg−1 in 60 s measurement time. The recent research and development in the methodologies, equipments and systems undertaken towards capacity building and self-reliance in retrospective radiation dosimetry is reported in this paper.