Evaluation of Dosimetric Performance and Global Uncertainty of the Harshaw 6600 Plus System Used to Staff Monitoring in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

The objective of this work is to check the dosimetric performances of the TLD-100 as stated by the manufacturer as well as the technical standards of radiation protection. The purpose of the performance audit is to assess the inhomogeneity of TLD sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility, linearity, energy dependence, angular dependence, and fading. All tests were performed under the conditions of ambient temperature and relative humidity recommended by the manufacturer. We began the study by calibrating the Harshaw 6600 Plus, and checking its performance. The TLD-100 performance verification results were all acceptable and in accordance with the manufacturer’s advertised values and the radiation protection technical standards. However the performance of the TLD-100 that we have evaluated may have some limitations; these limits, which are sources of uncertainty, have been taken into account in this work by evaluating the overall uncertainty of the Hp (10) dose in the uncertainty range 9.45% to 15.80% by simple formulas. The TLD-100 personal dosimeters and the 6600 Plus reader system indicate that the calculated values of the overall uncertainty Hp (10) are well below the allowable values of 21% to 42% suggested for personal dosimetry services. The obtained data encourage the use of the system for the routine evaluation of the external exposure of workers under ionizing radiation in our laboratory.