Uncertainties in external dosimetry: analytical vs. Monte Carlo method.
Over the years, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and other organisations have formulated recommendations regarding uncertainty in occupational dosimetry. The most practical and widely accepted recommendations are the trumpet curves. To check whether routine dosemeters comply with them, a Technical Report on uncertainties issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) can be used. In this report, the analytical method is applied to assess the uncertainty of a dosemeter fulfilling an IEC standard. On the other hand, the Monte Carlo method can be used to assess the uncertainty. In this work, a direct comparison of the analytical and the Monte Carlo methods is performed using the same input data. It turns out that the analytical method generally overestimates the uncertainty by about 10-30 %. Therefore, the results often do not comply with the recommendations of the ICRP regarding uncertainty. The results of the more realistic uncertainty evaluation using the Monte Carlo method usually comply with the recommendations of the ICRP. This is confirmed by results seen in regular tests in Germany.
Behrens
R
R
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, Braunschweig 38116, Germany. Rolf.Behrens@PTB.de
D000465:Algorithms; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D035501:Uncertainty