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Calibration Service: Air-Kerma Calibrations in the NIST Radiation Protection Level 137Cs and 60Co Gamma-Ray Radiation Beams
Summary
The NIST Dosimetry Group of the Radiation Physics Division maintains and disseminates the national measurement standard for air-kerma (dose in air) from 137Cs and 60Co gamma-ray radiation beams in support of radiation protection applications.
Description
Chambers placed at the reference distance in two of the 137Cs gamma-ray radiation protection reference beams while being irradiated during a calibration.
The national standard for air kerma held at NIST provides measurement traceability for millions of radiation detectors used nationwide in many applications conducted by the U.S. Navy, Army and Air Force, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), nuclear power plants, hospitals, universities, police departments, fire departments, emergency responders, manufacturers of instruments, radiation workers and others. The accuracy of millions of detectors including ionization chambers, survey meters, electronic personal dosimeters (EPDs), thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), portal monitors, isotope identifiers, etc. is ensured through the traceability provided by NIST either directly or indirectly through secondary calibration facilities distributed nationwide. The routine calibration of radiation measuring instruments ensures that measurements made with each one of these millions of measurement devices are accurate and ultimately ensures the safety of radiation workers and the public. Also in these facilities, proficiency tests (blind tests) are conducted between NIST and secondary calibration laboratories which is a critical component for secondary calibration facilities to demonstrate the degree to which they can accurately transfer the NIST standard to end users.