Application of the Böhm chamber for reference beta dose measurements and the calibration of personal dosimeters

Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) currently used in personal and area dosimetry are often utilized to measure doses of ionizing radiation in fields with a more complex structure and therefore they should be calibrated in relation to different radiation types. The results of such calibration presented for UD-813 TLDs allowed for evaluation of their capability in relation to different radiation types like the beta and photon radiation of different energies and neutron radiation generated by the ²⁴¹Am-Be source. The detector response for 60 keV photons was 10% higher than for the 662 keV gamma radiation of ¹³⁷Cs. There were also response differences in relation to photon and beta radiation between detectors with an enhanced concentration of lithium ⁶Li and boron ¹⁰B and detectors containing a natural level of these isotopes. Measurements of the reference beta doses were performed with the help of the Böhm chamber. This method is relatively more complicated compared to determining the reference photon and neutron doses and is described thoroughly in this paper. The corrected current measured by the Böhm chamber for the chosen parameters was a linear function for an entire available range of the chamber depths. The percentage of errors related to the evaluated reference beta doses were below 2% despite a rather large number of corrections that should be taken into account. The calibration distances varied from 11 cm to 50 cm. For this range and beta particle energy, the absorption of radiation in the air was negligible and their attenuation had a predominantly geometric character.