RE: Firefighters and Dosemetry in the UK.

[stephane_jeanfrancois@Merck.Com (Stephane Jeanfrancois)]

I think that the key factor here is knowledge of the EPD and TLD
dosimeters, that is the results should be interpret by a Helath
physicist or an other qualified person that received proper training and
info on the device and their limits. We have here radiopharmaceutical
production  and EPD are not a reliable source of info. We also provide,
in case of an emergency, two sources of dosimetry , one exposed to the
source directly and an other one closer to the body to reflect "real"
dose.

Stephane Jean-Francois Phys. Eng.
RSO
Merck Frosst Canada
stephane_jeanfrancois@merck.com
The opinion expressed here is mine and do not involve my employer.
 ----------
From: wln@inel.gov
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: RE: Firefighters and Dosemetry in the UK.
Date:  February 17, 1997 10:52

We've started using EPDs with INEEL firefighters this year.  So far they
=
have not had to use them in an actual accident situation.  The fire =
department seems quite happy with them so far.  The approach that I =
favor is wearing the EPD outside of the bunker gear and the TLD inside.
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This would be the most conservative approach.  Having the EPD alarm =
early, but have the TLD shielded by the clothing the firefighter are =
wearing to measure the actual dose.  We use two different calibartion =
points for the EPDs at the INEEL, with the EPDs using different color =
face plates for the low and high energy calibration points.  The fire =
department uses the high energy calibrated EPD.  Fortunately, the =
regular  firefighter's bunker gear does a fair job of shielding the low
=
energy photons.  It should be noted that the pocket dosimeters that were
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used earlier had these same issues involved in their use.