Extension de l’utilisation d’installations hors site pour l’étalonnage d’étalons secondaires pour la dosimétrie en radioprotection
The BIPM is advancing dosimetry services for National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) by expanding its use of off-site facilities for calibration and comparison services.
Responding to the needs of the metrology community, as of September 2024, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) is once again offering a calibration service (in addition to a comparison service) of secondary standards for the *radiation protection level at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)137Cs irradiation facility in Austria.
Who will benefit from this?
This service is being offered to NMIs and Designated Institutes (DIs) from Member States that maintain secondary standards. However, as this also includes the IAEA, its network of Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratories (SSDL) will also benefit.
These calibrations play a crucial role in ensuring the reliability of dosimeters and radiation protection devices used in vital sectors like nuclear safety, healthcare and environmental monitoring.
By re-establishing this service, the BIPM underscores its commitment to supporting global dosimetry and contributing to the international metrology community’s efforts to establish the traceability to international reference standards.
*The term "radiation protection level" refers to the dose level encountered in workplaces exposed to ionized radiation.
The 137Cs irradiator of the IAEA
Background
The BIPM and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have a longstanding partnership, strengthened by their shared role in supporting radiation protection standards. This collaboration began with the establishment of the Consultative Committee for Ionizing Radiation (CCRI) in 1958 and the BIPM Department of Ionizing Radiation in 1960. In 1976, the IAEA, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), created the Network of Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratories (SSDLs), which today includes 108 institutes across 84 countries. The BIPM ensures the traceability of IAEA standards and, consequently, the SSDL network, to the international reference values.
This collaboration was formalized in 2012 through a Memorandum of Understanding, enabling further joint initiatives.
Building on this, the BIPM began using the IAEA's 137Cs irradiation facility in Austria in 2023, re-establishing its comparison services for primary standards radiation protection dosimetry.
The present extension of these services marks another use of an off-site facility by the BIPM, as initiated in 2017 with the agreement for high-energy photon beams at the DOSEO facility in Saclay, France. It also strengthens the relationship between the IAEA and the BIPM with the potential for deeper partnerships to enhance global metrology services.”