ABSTRACT
Carbon-doped, anion-defective aluminium oxide has become a widely used and effective medium for personnel dosimetry applications using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques. Though the commercial products currently using this material employ light-tight packaging to prevent light-induced effects on the OSL signal, the material could be employed in environments where package integrity cannot be assured. This paper reports on the results of an experiment performed to quantify the effects of sunlight exposure on alpha-Al2O3:C. Samples of commercially available Luxel material were exposed to carefully recorded levels of sunlight both before and after irradiations to determine the nature and magnitude of both activation and fading phenomena in this material. The results confirm that both fading and activation processes are seen in this material and indicate that the material reaches an equilibrium dose level in response to prolonged sunlight exposure equivalent to a dose of approximately 15 mGy under the experimental test conditions.
Subject(s)
Aluminum Oxide/chemistry , Aluminum Oxide/radiation effects , Radiation Protection/instrumentation , Sunlight , Thermoluminescent Dosimetry/instrumentation , Carbon/chemistry , Carbon/radiation effects , Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , Industry/instrumentation , Materials Testing , Radiation Dosage , Radiation Protection/methods , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Thermoluminescent Dosimetry/methodsABSTRACT
A radiation detector constructed of common household materials was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by Cresson H. Kearny and has been referred to as the Kearny Fallout Meter (KFM). Developed during the height of the Cold War, the KFM was intended to place a radiation meter capable of measuring fallout from nuclear weapons in the hands of every U.S. citizen. Instructions for the construction of the meter, as well as information about radiation health effects, were developed in the form of multi-page newspaper insert. Subsequently, the sensitivity of the meter was refined by a high school teacher, Dr. Paul S. Lombardi, for use in demonstrations about radiation. The meter is currently being marketed for survivalists in light of potential radiation terrorist concerns. The KFM and Lombardi's variation of it are constructed and evaluated for this work. Calibrated tests of the response and variations in response are reported. A critique of the multi-page manual is made. In addition, the suitability of using such a detector, in terms of actual ease of construction and practical sensitivity, is discussed for its use in demonstrations and introductory classes on nuclear topics.
