Accident dosimetry using chip cards : the Belgian case

Accident dosimetry aims to determine the absorbed dose of exposed individuals involved in a nuclear accident. In order to achieve this, materials are needed that possess a certain radiation sensitivity and are worn close to the body. Chip cards are the perfect example and have the great advantage that nowadays everyone possesses at least one. Therefore the possibilities of chip cards as an accident dosemeter are further investigated as a sequel to the research of Göksu (2003) and Woda et al. to determine whether the results of their research can be adopted for 'Belgian' cards. Using blue LED optical stimulation, several properties of chip cards that could be traced back to a single manufacturer are investigated. The shape of the OSL-curve and fading properties are considered. Also the uncertainty on the results and the lowest detectable dose as a function of the integration area are taken into account. The results of this part of the research would enable to determine the most promising part of the OSL-curve for dose determination. Using these results, further research about the dose-response and possible sensitivity changes are made in order to propose a suitable protocol for the estimation of the absorbed dose.