Optically Stimulated Luminescence for Retrospective Radiation Dosimetry. The Use of Materials Close to Man in Emergency Situations

Sammanfattning: If an accident or attack involving radiological or nuclear material were to happen, people from the general public would be at risk of exposure to ionising radiation. Unlike people working with ionising radiation, for whom level of exposure to radiation is constantly monitored with dosemeters, people from the general population do not wear dosemeters; thus, the dose estimations for these individuals must be performed using alternative methods. This field of research is called retrospective dosimetry (or emergency dosimetry) and includes both biological and physical techniques. Following an accident or attack, dose estimations of potentially exposed individuals have to be performed as soon as possible, to give the proper medical care promptly and, especially in the case of a large-scale incident, to use the available resources in the best and most effective manner.In contrast to developing conventional dosemeter material, the approach for research into retrospective dosemeter materials is somewhat reversed. Instead of involving identification (or development) of a material that meets the set requirements, the work needs to conform to the properties of the materials found near or on people. This necessity often means that several materials/techniques are needed to fulfil the same requirements. In addition, exactly which materials will be present in a given situation is never certain, and the addition of new materials/methods that could be used for retrospective dosimetry thus is always a valuable contribution.In this thesis, a number of materials found in the immediate vicinity of people have been investigated with regard to their potential to act as retrospective radiation dosemeters using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The materials include human teeth and dental repair materials, components from electronic devices, desiccants, and common household salt (NaCl). The aim is both to increase the number of materials that could be used with OSL and to further develop methods for the materials already known to have some dosimetric properties.The overall conclusion of this work is that several materials found on or in the immediate vicinity of people can be used in retrospective dosimetry using OSL. Also, initial estimations of conversion factors for the transition between the dose to the retrospective dosemeter material and the dose to an individual have been obtained using an anthropomorphic phantom.