13 USING NATURAL LUMINESCENT MATERIALS AND HIGHLY SENSITIVE SINTERED DOSIMETERS MCP-N (LiF:Mg,Cu,P) IN RADIATION DOSIMETRY

The main trend in radiation dosimetry nowadays is the use of solid state detectors. Luminescent dosimetric techniques are part of this field. This paper aims to present the application of thermoluminescence as a tool in measuring natural nuclear radiation, namely the application of highly sensitive sintered dosimeters MCP-N (LiF:Mg,Cu,P) in environmental monitoring and the possibility of using natural crystals with luminescent properties in retrospective dosimetry. Thermoluminescent MCP-N detectors based on LiF:Mg,Cu,P can be used in environmental monitoring for periods as short as two weeks. A set of detectors was placed conform standard procedures for 6 weeks in a location with presumed normal gamma background. The annual gamma dose rate determined was 0.695mGy. The influence of building materials radioactivity was also observed over the same period of exposure proving the sensitivity of the method. Also the accumulated dose in quartz grains from ancient pottery was determinated and this enabled us to date those artifacts, the ages obtained being in agreement with the ones presumed by the archaeologists.