Four types of workers are required to use personal dosimetry for accurate radiation exposure readings. Late dosimeters may not be read as accurately as those returned on time, and a control badge accompanies the badges in transit to and from the dosimetry provider. Its purpose is to record background radiation during the period of use and any radiation received by badges during shipment. The exposure recorded by the control board is then subtracted from the exposure of the plates worn by workers, resulting in the net exposure value found in exposure reports. It's important to note that dosimeters do not protect or protect anyone from radiation exposure; they simply report the amount of radiation (if any) the user received.
Film plates should be changed at least once a month and all other personnel dosimeters that need to be replaced should be replaced at least quarterly. For personnel dosimeters that do not require processing, the dosimeter evaluation should begin within 24 hours. If a dosimeter is lost frequently and is not needed due to the exposure environment, it will be canceled. Dosimeters are considered “delayed” when they have not been returned to the contact site of the dosimetry location within 5 days of the end of the use period. If a personnel dosimeter required for work is lost or damaged, the worker must immediately stop working until it is replaced.
A personnel dosimeter is provided that meets the requirements and the exposure is calculated for the time period from issuance to loss or damage to the personnel dosimeter. Dental centers are generally not required to provide dosimeters to staff, as exposures are very low and beam sizes are very small. However, dosimeters are required to be issued if a person is likely to receive more than 10 percent of the maximum allowable dose. At the end of the usage period, replacement dosimeters will be distributed through the designated badge coordinator. A licensee may not allow any person to act as a radiographer or assistant radiographer unless, at all times during radiographic operations, each person carries, on their trunk, a direct-reading dosimeter, an operational alarm frequency meter and a personnel dosimeter. If two clearly designated dosimeters (inside and outside) are assigned to a worker wearing an apron, one can be used inside the apron. Many doctor's and chiropractic offices also don't have to provide dosimetry, usually because the x-ray operator must stand in a lead-shielded cabin.
If a person's pocket camera is found to be out of scale, or if their electronic personal dosimeter reads more than 2 millisieverts (200 millirems), and the possibility of radiation exposure as a cause cannot be ruled out, their personal dosimeter requiring processing should be sent for processing and evaluation within 24 hours.
