Etched Track Techniques in Radiation Dosimetry

Abstract Conventional detectors used in radiation protection dosimetry (for a given amount of energy deposited in their macroscopic volumes) are most sensitive to sparse radiations (electrons, X or gamma) than to fast neutrons or high LET particles, i.e. those particles characterised by high biological effectiveness. By contrast, damage track detectors are completely insensitive to sparse radiations and can be very sensitive to high LET particles (typically alpha particles and neutron induced recoils). To facilitate the applications of these new detecting methods in radiation protection dosimetry, techniques have been developed which exploit the high energy deposition in the vicinity of the track to initiate amplification or avalanche type processes, which can be easily detected. The discovery that CR-39 plastic is sensitive to protons with a wide range of energy shows promise for the solution of the complex problem of personal neutron dosimetry.