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Re: False Positives in Personnel Dosimetry?



I have the following thoughts on the matter and would appreciate
feedback on their validity:

If a badge can measure 1 mrem, this would mean that the measuring
instrument is more precise than would be the case where a badge can
measure down to, say,  5 mrem. Think of it like the divisions on a
ruler: if you have a ruler with 5 mm divisions and you try to measure
the length of an object repeatedly, the range (and standard deviation)
of the measurements will usually be greater than the range of
measurements obtained with a ruler with  divisions of say, 1 mm.
Therefore the possibility that you would report the length of the object
incorrectly, and that the difference between your reported value and the
actual value is greater than some limit (false positive) or smaller
(false negative), would be greater (worse accuracy and precision) for
the ruler with the 5 mm divisions.