RadSafers:
I am not sure if the following topic has been discussed on Radsafe.
When a detector is calibrated to measure surface contamination, which
value do you use. 1) Deposited activity, 2) 4Pi emission rate supplied
by the manufacturer, or calculate from 2 Pi, which includes
backscatter and 3) 2 Pi emission rate supplied by the manufacturer
including back scatter. I am only interested in sources used for
calibration of portable instruments such as pancake GM detectors,
Alpha Scintillators and personnel contamination monitors used for
measuring loose and/or fixed surface contamination. I have yet to see
any reference in a standard as to which value should be used for
calibration. It is inferred that all release limits are based upon
4Pi emissions or total activity, but have never seen that in writing.
Any help or information will be appreciated.
Thanking you in advance
Riasp Medora
riasp_medora@fernald.gov