It is essential to wear your dosimeter badge every day while you work. Place it in a radiation-free area after business hours, and do not remove it from your workplace. The badge should be placed on the neck or chest area, facing the radiation source. Many people choose to wear badges even if their provider does not require it.
Dosimeters are used to accurately measure the amount of radiation an employee receives. Badges are worn on the torso to ensure that the dose given to organs is reported as deep dose, while doses delivered to the body that do not reach the organs are reported as shallow dose. Ocular doses are reported for doses given to the lens of the eye. It is mandatory for workers to wear a radiation monitoring badge when exposed to radiation-filled environments.
If the worker uses an X-ray machine, such as cabinet X-ray systems, X-ray diffraction equipment, and X-ray fluorescence, it is recommended to use a radiation plate. Pregnant employees who work in X-ray and gamma ray laboratories or who are exposed to radioactive substances should consider using a radiation plate. Employees who work with x-ray radiation that can enter the radiation field with their hands, such as a veterinarian holding an animal during an exam, are often good candidates for a wrist dosimeter. When used correctly, a dosimeter can provide valuable information to the radiation safety officer to help keep employees safe. Anyone working with radioactive materials or devices that emit X-ray radiation should use a dosimeter plate.
If a single radiation dosimeter badge is used while wearing a lead apron, applying a Webster 1 calculation will reduce the deep dose reported to the employee to 30% of the measured dose. It is important that the dosimeter used for Webster 1 calculations is always carried outside the lead apron to accurately measure the surface and eye dose. At the end of the use period, replacement dosimeters will be distributed to you through the designated badge coordinator. Ring dosimeters should be used on the hand that is most likely to be exposed, that is, the hand closest to the radiation sources. New dosimeters will be delivered to employees, while dosimeters from the previous range must be returned to the dosimetry provider for analysis. A facility that works with exposure levels that are below federal and state limits may still choose to provide dosimeters to its employees.
With proper use of a dosimeter or radiation badge, you can get information about the amount of exposure and when it's time to stop working at a certain location for safety reasons. Dosimeters are required if a person is likely to receive more than 10 percent of the maximum allowable dose. This dosimeter does not replace the requirement for a radiation dosimeter badge for pregnant radiation workers. Wearing a radiation dosimeter badge ensures that no radiation limit set by these guidelines is exceeded. The specified point is generally given by the position in which the person's dosimeter is worn and should NOT be used outside of their work or laboratory-related activities. New dosimeter badges ship before the end of the previous usage cycle to ensure that there is never a lapse in dosimeter use.
A radiation plate, also known as a dosimeter plate, is a device that workers use on a daily basis if they work in facilities with high amounts of radiation.
