Re: Exposure from flight

[Gary and Kris Troyer <kandg@urx.com>]

Very interesting observations on baggage vs personal.  From your comments, 

is it true that the personal TLD was on your person as you went through 

airport screening and not in carry-on?  If so, is it really true that the 

metal detectors that one walks through at airports are using x-rays?  There 

doesn't seem to be very much shielding to protect operators if that is 

so.  On the other hand, the carry-on baggage x-ray systems rarely fog 

camera film.  If it is in carry-on, the TLD is unlikely sensitive enough to 

register much from that source.  Checked baggage would likely experience 

radiation during flight similar to personal due to availability of higher 

energy cosmic/space bombardment.  I've seen data from recording electronic 

dosimeters and monitored a personal dosimetry pen on such flights.  They 

both exhibit expected dose response whether on person or in baggage.  Of 

interest is a recording dosimeter that actually shows changes in dose rate 

with flight elevation, traffic pattern circling and ground taxi.  Have fun 

with future measurements.  It will likely bring to light the need for and 

studies in progress of the dosimetry of flight crews.  Experience data and 

back of envelope calculation can easily show excess to common 

administrative controls of 500 mrem/yr common to many DOE contractor personnel.

gltroyer







At 03:20 PM 5/20/2002 -0700, Jim Darrough wrote:

>Hello!

>

>         I finally read the TLD chips I had along for my trip from Eugene, 

> OR to

>Washington, D.C. and back. Results were that I received 12mR total dose, and

>so did the things in my checked baggage. This included the entire time I was

>at training in Virginia where various sources were used as I kept the TLD's

>on my person (except of course for the ones in my suitcase).

>

>         Interesting to note is that the ones on my person went through 

> airport

>security X-ray devices four times.

>

>Jim Darrough

>Health Physicist

>Oregon State University

>(541) 737-7048 - Office

>(541) 737-0480 - FAX

>

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