Evaluation of external dose equivalent with thermoluminescent dosimeters from residents living in radiation-contaminated buildings

As of October 1996 there are more than 90 radiation-contaminated steel supported rebar buildings (containing more than 1000 apartments) dispersed in the northern part of Taiwan. These apartments were contaminated with cobalt-60 at a total activity ranging from 1–140 μSv/yr. In this paper, a method is developed for evaluating external dose equivalent and dose equivalent rates encountered by the residents wearing specially designed thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD)-embedded chains, belts and badges. Comparisons are also made between the TLD readings and the exposure readings from indoor layout personal dosimetry surveys and room occupancy adjustments to the buildings. The accuracy and sensitivity of the TLDs compared with the ionization chamber readings are judged to be considerable improvements over those of previous studies. From the present study, it is concluded that the reliability of the daily activity records provided by the residents during the entire TLD-wearing period is the most critical but challenging feature of the external dose equivalent measurement.