Environmental Monitoring of External Radiation Levels at Brookhaven National Laboratory
S. Sengupta1; G.R. Holeman2; B. Hooda1; R.N. Recieniello1; and H.F. Kahnhauser1 (1Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York; 2Holeman Consultants, Inc., Flemington, New Jersey)
Environmental monitoring of external radiation levels has been performed at BNL since 1949. This paper describes the various past and present monitoring devices which have been used from ion chambers to thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs). The effect of reactors operations and other major experimentation at the site are reviewed and the impact of atmospheric fall-out from nuclear weapon testing on background levels is discussed. Performances of the TLD devices in an International Intercomparison of Environmental Dosimetry (IIED) are also compared and discussed
