Re: Badge for X-ray machine users?

[tdc@ehssun.lbl.gov (Ted M. de Castro)]

In my opinion - from working with analytical x-ray equipment I beleive the 
film badge to be a better dosimeter than film for 2 reasons.

The first reason as mentioned is the increased sensitivity due to over 
response.

The second is the imaging nature of film.  Often around analytical x-ray 
machines exposure to the dosimeter could be from a very colimated source and 
thus may not sufficiently irradiate and entire TLD chip but would CERTAINLY 
produce "exciting" indications on film.

Since routine exposures around analytical x-ray equipment are essentially 0 
and since in an accident senario the body badge seldom look at the area of 
highest exposure - I give little weight to the flat energy response 
characteristic of TLD.  Having a "calibrated DOSE number" is merely an 
administrative detail.  If it is NOT zero - it IS a problem and I want to 
look at the expsoure with as much sensitivity and detail as I possibly can!

The IDEAL dosimeter in my opinion would be a combination:  A TLD for the 
bureacrats and bean counters - and a FILM - the bigger the better - for the 
health physicists or those concerned about monitoring the exposures.

This message was typed live and on-the-fly for informal communication.  It 
is NOT intended as a scholarly treatise on the subject - thus NOT formally 
composed and subject to a spell checker - so PLEASE DO NOT [SIC] out my 
typos/spelling errors!!!  (one of my HOT buttons!!)