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Volume II Number 1 For the University of Maryland Campus July 14, 1998
Absent, Unused, Lost and Too Old. What do these words all have in common ? They all refer to the status of a good percentage of dosimeters that are used on the campus. Absent - this refers to the state of a film badge monitor when it is not returned to our office within two weeks of the exchange period. Unused - this means the badge was turned in on time but was never placed in the holder. Lost - In this case the badge is never returned, this happens only rarely, but is not uncommon. Too Old - the badge was returned, finally, but it has been so long (at least 3 months) that the badge cannot be read and is therefore useless as a record of the exposure for the period that it was worn.
How often are badges returned on time ? This is one of the projects our office undertook a year ago in the spring of 1997. The RSO began tracking the return of film badges in order to identify those groups or individuals that are late in returning badges, forget to exchange badges, or simply do not wear the badges sent to them. The greater majority of individuals on campus actually wear the badges and return them on time.
What happens when the badges are absent, unused, lost or too old to process? In all of these cases our office must assign an Administrative Dose to the individual. This dose can take on several forms. First, we can average the dose over the last 3 months, and record that dose for the wear period in question; Second we can assign 0.416 Rem as the dose for the wear period. This is 5 Rem divided by 12 months of wear. Third we can assign M for minimal dose, if the last 3 wear periods recorded and M, meaning the individual received < 10 mrem, the minimum the dose the badge can read.
Why is it important that you wear your dosimeter? First and foremost it will indicate to the Radiation Safety Officer the exposure level the individual is receiving in the course of their work. Second, the Code of Maryland Regulations regarding control of radiation hazards requires that individuals who potentially may receive, in 1 year, from sources external to the body, a dose in excess of 10 percent of the limits shall be monitored for exposure. Third, by putting on your film badge you have told yourself that you are preparing to work with a potentially hazardous source of material and that you need to take certain precautions to protect yourself.
It is imperative to always wear your film badge when required, and to return them on time. In this way our office will obtain good, timely data on the doses that individuals are receiving in the course of their work, and alert us to individuals that are receiving exposures that either exceed our investigation levels, or approach these levels.
If you have any questions about film badges please call our office at (301) 314-8336 or stop in to see us at room 2124, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering.
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