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Volume 2.1 For the University of Maryland Campus May 15, 1999
 Reprinted with permission by Landauer
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As many of you have no doubt noticed you are wearing a new type of dosimeter when you work with radioactive material or a radiation producing machine. In the fall of 1998 the Radiation Safety Office decided to purchase a new technology from Landauer for personnel dosimetry. This new type is called Luxel , and it works a little differently than the old type. You will recall that the old type utilized a packet of film housed in a light tight paper and fitted into a plastic holder, complete with filters for shielding a variety of radiations. The new type does not consist of film, but rather utilizes an aluminum oxide strip detector. The strip is housed in a plastic casing and covered front and back with a copper and tin filter. This is called the filter pack. This pack in turn is placed into a laminated sheet, which is the front of the dosimeter that you see, and heat sealed to form the plastic package you load into the gray holder that you clip onto your person. After exposure the aluminum oxide strip is stimulated with laser light which causes it to become luminescent in proportion to the radiation exposure it received. The dose range of the dosimeter is between 1 mrem and 1,000 rem for x-rays and gamma rays, and 10 mrem to 1000 rem for energetic betas.
The frequency with which you exchange your dosimeter has also changed. In the past dosimeters were exchanged monthly, now dosimeters are exchanged every two months. Radiation exposures at the University are kept to As Low As Reasonably Achievable as required by federal and state regulation, and are well under the allowable limits of 5 Rem whole body, 50 Rem extremity, and 15 Rem eye dose for the year. In lieu of past and present performance by workers and the results of dosimetry over the past 10 years this change of frequency in no way diminishes the emphasis on monitoring individuals who use radioactive material or radiation producing machines.
For more information on the new dosimeters contact the RSO at (301) 314-8336.
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