Re: Film & Ring Badges for P-32

[fegallag@uci.edu (Frank E. Gallagher, III)]

At the University of California, Irvine, we have been trying to reduce the
number of badges in use for some time.  We plan to make a big push this fall
to try to talk a lot of P-32 users into discontinuing their badges.  We have
about 800 badged individuals and annually have over 750 with all zeros as
totals.

We have procedures which specify film and ring badges for administrative
purposes (e.g., not required by the regulations) for P-32 users as follows:

For use and storage both well shielded (almost all P-32 use on campus)
        10 mCi for adults, including declared pregnant women
        1 mCi for minors under age 18

For either use or storage not well shielded (very rare on campus these days)
        1 mCi for adults, including declared pregnant women
        100 uCi for minors under age 18

The big problem with having a procedure that will eliminate most badge use
for P-32 is that many individuals feel comfortable having badges, even if
they have never had a non-zero monthly reading.  We will not eliminate
badges if the user objects.


Frank E. Gallagher, III, CHP
RSO, Univ. of California, Irvine   92717-2725
Voice: (714) 824-6904, Fax: (714) 824-8539
E-mail: fegallag@uci.edu 

>I am in the process of reducing the number of film and ring badges our
>office issues.  Currently we issue over 2,500/month.  A large chunk of the
>monitored individuals use P-32, and receive considerably less thatn 10% of
>their annual dose limits. 
>
>I would appreciate any input from those institutions that do not routinely
>badge all P-32 users.  How do you decide which P-32 users receive a badge
>and which do not?  We are attempting to develope a mCi*hr yearly threshold,
>above which users must have film and ring badges.  It is not working out as
>"cleanly" as we had hoped.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Jeanne McGuire
>e-mail jmcguire@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
>
>
>