Effect of varying Cs-137 beam on the response of a radiation monitoring instrument (survey meter)
Abstract
The effect of varying Cs-137 beams, by utilizing a lead attenuator and a collimator, on a survey meter’s (SM) response was assessed in this study. The procedures on the calibration method of SM in the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute–Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory (PNRI–SSDL) were presented.
Their resulting measurements in terms of the ambient dose equivalent H*(10) were shown. Results showed that at source-detector distances with lower H*(10), bare Cs-137 beam produced better response for the SM. However, it is important to note that the use of lead attenuator and collimator are still more practical when it comes to procedures in the PNRI-SSDL. This decreases the source-detector distance needed for the calibration. Distance may have also played a role as to why an instrument response is closer to the reference value.