Field characterization and personal dosimetry at a high energy ion accelerator

Abstract

The response of a variety of dosimeters was evaluated in the radiation field outside the shielding of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Bevalac Biomedical Facility. The primary beam was 580 MeV/center dot/A neon ions, incident upon a 30.5-cm polyethylene cube. The field was characterized by a neutron spectrometer consisting of Bonner spheres and other detectors and by estimates of charged particle fluences in NTA film and in the Berklet spectrometer. The responses of American Acrylics CR-39 track-etch plastic detectors and AECL (Canada) type BD-100 Bubble Detectors were compared to those of NTA film, Andersson-Braun remmeter and recombination-chamber results as well as to reference dose equivalents based upon the unfolded neutron spectrum. Evaluations of these dosimeters are discussed. 7 refs., 4 figs