Test of household salt read by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) as a personal dosemeter

This study has investigated the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of household salt and chemically pure NaCl after exposure in different radiation environments. The response relative to thermoluminescent dosimetry using LiF has been investigated to determine if OSL in NaCl can be considered as an alternative to measurements of thermoluminescence in LiF. A selection of staff members at the Diagnostic Centre and the Department of Radiation Physics at Malmö University Hospital (UMAS) carried small light-tight tubes, 3 mm (Ø) x 27 mm filled with salt. The measurements were accompanied by LiF-TL dosemeters using the regular system for personal dosimetry at UMAS. Similar kits of salt dosemeters were also positioned on the inside walls of a nuclear medicine laboratory and a proton therapy room at the The Svedberg Laboratory in Uppsala. NaCl-OSL dosemeters were also placed in the primary radiation beam of a mammography unit. The OSL in the salt was measured using an OSL reader (Risö TL/OSL DA 15) at a temperature of 100°C using continuous wave OSL (CW-OSL) with blue LEDs (λ=470 nm). The TL-measurements were made with a TLD reader (Rados Dosacus) using 4.5 mm (Ø) x 0.9 mm LiF: Mg, Ti (Harshaw). Preliminary results show that household salt can be used to measure absorbed doses down to 200 μGy. Measurements also indicate a somewhat higher response relative to LiF-TL dosemeters at low photon energies. The effect may be attributed to the higher atomic number of NaCl (Z=11, 17) compared with LiF (Z=3; 9). We conclude that NaCl-OSL dosemeters appear to be an interesting alternative to TL dosemeters at occupational exposure.