Radiation Protection Glossary

A radiation protection glossary for Radiation Protection Supervisors (RPS), Radiation Protection Advisers (RPA) and anyone else interesting in radiation safety terms and definitions. The glossary is a mixture of health physics , phrases related to radiation protection legislation, transport, practical safety, technical terms and similar.

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For formal advice, see our Radiation Protection Adviser pages. 

Whole Body Monitor

Whole body monitoring is a technique which uses large Scintillation detectors to measure Radionuclide accumulation (natural or artificial). The measurements take place in heavily shielded enclosures. The subject is usually placed on their back and the detectors are brought down onto the surface of the body trunk where counting commences (typically count times might be 1 hour). Whilst the technique can be used for counting many Beta and Gamma emitters, its particularly useful in detecting the low energy x-ray / gamma emissions from Actinides (where other forms of Biological Dosimetry may not be so effective).

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe

– Albert Einstein -