Current NRC activities related to MQA

Conference · Fri Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:250217

Trottier, C A; Nellis, D O ^[1]

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1. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC`s) interest in measurement quality assurance (MQA) goes back to before 1963, when the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) published a notice in the Federal Register concerning the need for establishing a Film Dosimetry Calibration Laboratory, and also provided a set of minimum performance criteria to be used by the laboratory in evaluating film dosimetry services used by licensees. The proposed laboratory was not established, but in 1967 the AEC contracted with Battelle`s Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) to evaluate film dosimeter performance criteria and provide a basis for establishing a Film Dosimetry Calibration Laboratory if the study showed that it was needed. Then, in 1973, the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD), concerned with the state of dosimetry processing and the lack of adequate standards, recommended that the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) direct a performance testing program for personnel dosimetry processing services. Later, in 1976, NRC asked PNL to conduct a study to evaluate the four existing performance standards for personnel dosimetry processing. One result of this study was that the HPSSC standard, which later became ANSI N13.11, was recommended as the standard for use in a national dosimetry processing program. The rest is common knowledge. With the support of numerous other federal agencies and the CRCPD, NRC published a regulation, effective in 1988, that required all processors of personnel dosimeters be accredited under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), operated by the NBS, which is now called the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). At present, there are 75 dosimetry processing laboratories accredited under NVLAP. NRC has also been involved in extremity dosimeters, health physics survey instruments, bioassay measurements, electronic personnel dosimeters, and environmental monitoring around nuclear power plants.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 250217
• Report Number(s): PNL--10076; CONF-9303220--; ON: DE96008816
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

44 INSTRUMENTATION
INCLUDING NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE DETECTORS
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
DOSEMETERS
DOSIMETRY
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MONITORING
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
QUALITY ASSURANCE
SURVEY MONITORS
US NRC