Post-doctoral position: Occupational monitoring for external radiations: Metrological studies for a new smart dosimetry system

IRSN (Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire) is the french public expert in nuclear and radiation risks. Placed under the joint authority of the French Ministries of Defense, Environment, Industry, Research, and Health, it is the technical support organization of the French regulator for nuclear safety. For more information, see the website.

Location: mainly at the IRSN site at Fontenay-aux-Roses (92260, France) with few meetings at the IRSN site of Le Vésinet (78116, France).

Duration: 18 months

Tutorship:

This work will be directly supervised by Marie-Anne Chevallier, researcher at the Ionising Radiation Dosimetry Laboratory (LDRI) of the IRSN Dosimetry Research Department, The post-doc will also work with the people in charge of the irradiation facilities for the experimental part, as well as, more generally, with the people involved in the project: project manager, specialists in the Metrology and Method Unit of the Ionising Radiation Exposure Measurement Department, IT specialists, etc.

Over 24 million people worldwide are exposed to ionizing radiations in their daily work. In order to ensure that they are exposed below the annual legal limit imposed by the regulation, their exposure to ionizing radiations is monitored by means of individual dosemeters.

Up to know, monitoring of workers to external radiations is, in the very big majority, performed via passive dosimetry systems. This means that, after the issuing period, the dosemeters are sent back the Individual Monitoring Service (IMS) to be treated, read and analysed. New dosimetry systems are currently developed to avoid these ways back and forth between the customers and the IMS, to have the information of the dose more quickly and to enhance the involvement of workers in their monitoring. They consist in smart dosimetry system: they are like the passive dosimetry system i.e., they are no display on the device itself, but they can be read on demand via an app that could be installed on a smartphone and/or a computer. These systems are, in a way, an intermediate between delayed-reading dosimeters and electronic ones, which have constraints that limit their use to a wide scale.

Required background:

• Nuclear Physics
• Interactions matter-ionizing radiations
• Monte Carlo simulations
• Knowledge in external dosimetry
• IT knowledge (API, database)
• Ability to report about her/his work
• Ease in writing reports.
• Knowledge in occupational radiation protection and individual monitoring would be much appreciated.

Contact: marie-anne.chevallier@irsn.fr

The first action (6 months) of the post-doctoral work will consist in the analysis of the technical solutions proposed by the manufacturers, identifying areas of improvements, discussing the best compromise to find the requested dosimetry features. Simulations using a Monte Carlo calculation code will be performed to confirm the announced dosimetry performances or evaluate possible improvements. Moreover, a bibliographic study will also have to be performed to support the analysis.

In a second step (6-8 months), many experimental tests will be performed to characterize the performances of the dosimetry systems, to check whether these systems comply to the requirements of the normative documents and if needed, suggest adequate necessary modifications. The irradiations required for these tests will be performed at the IRSN irradiation facilities. This metrological study will have to be as comprehensive as possible to define the parameters to monitor to maintain the performances over time.

Added to frequent interactions with her/his tutor, and the people in the metrological unit of the dosimetry lab, regular communications, with presentations, to the whole IRSN team involved in this project will have to be prepared. Moreover, at each step, a report will have to be written. Publications in scientific journals will also have to be written.

• T0 - T6: Bibliographic study, analysis of the technical solutions and Monte Carlo simulations
• T7 : Intermediate report, paper
• T8 - T15: Experimental tests, setting-up of quality controls
• T16 - T18: Final report and associated papers