The Response of Personnel Dosimeters Worn by Workers at Mayak Production Association Facilities

M. Smetanin¹; V. Knyasev¹; R.I. Scherpelz²; E. Vasilenko¹; J.J. Fix²; and M. Gorelov¹ (¹Mayak Production Association; ²Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

During the period 1949 – 1992, three different versions of film dosimeters were used to monitor the radiation exposure of workers at the Mayak Production Association (MPA) Facilities in Ozersk, Russia. The effort to reconstruct the doses received by MPA workers requires corrections to personnel dosimeter readings for angular effects of dosimeter response and for the response of these dosimeters to high-energy betas. Measurements were performed with well-characterized photon fields generated by x-ray and isotopic sources to characterize the angular and energy response of all three dosimeter types. The dosimeters were also exposed in electron fields generated by a linear accelerator to determine their responses to high-energy betas. A model of the dosimeters was also developed for use in radiation transport calculations that simulate the response of the dosimeters in various radiation fields. Data from the laboratory exposures were used to verify the computer model. Data from the measurements and calculations were then used to determine correction factors. These correction factors will be applied to a worker’s recorded dose based on the characteristics of radiation exposure in the workplace. * Work performed under U.S. Department of Energy funded collaborative study with Russian researchers under the Joint Coordinating Committee on Radiation Effects Research (JCCRER). PNNL is operated by Battelle Memorial Institute under DOE Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830)

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