Cal Range Question

[Patrick Muldoon <pmuldoon@mail.arc.nasa.gov>]

Radsafers:

I am setting-up a cal range using a Cs-137 source from J.L. Shepherd.  The
source is certified to be calibrated using National Bureau of Standards
traceable Roentgen meters with an accuracy of +/- 5%.

My thinking is since the source is certified, all I should need to do is
calculate the expected dose rates and convenient distances (already did
this) and then check the meters at these distances both with shielding
half-way between the source and instrument and without to account for
scatter and background (similar to the set-up in Shapiro).  

I have also heard that you should set-up your range and then use a
certified meter to check the dose rates at the different distances.  Is
this really necessary if you have a certified source?  I see how it would
be nice, but it seems like a bit of overkill.

Patrick Muldoon, CHP
pmuldoon@mail.arc.nasa.gov

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