Service standards for the whole body and lung performance testing program

The National Calibration Reference Centre for Bioassay and In Vivo Monitoring (The Centre), operated by the National Internal Radiation Assessment Section (NIRAS) of the Radiation Health Assessment Division, has a series of phantoms to allow a facility to establish that the quality of their human monitoring program meets the requirements of Regulatory Standard REGDOC 2.7.2 Dosimetry, Volume 2: Technical and Management System Requirements for Dosimetry Services”. These phantoms include:

• The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory torso phantom.
• The BOMAB (Bottle Manikin Absorber)—available in sizes from a 4-year-old child to a 95 percentile male.
• Phantoms are filled with appropriate solutions of gamma-emitting radionuclides.

The torso phantoms are available with chest wall thicknesses ranging from 1.54 to 6.44 cm and with a variety of chest wall tissue compositions (adipose:muscle). Performance Tests (PT) are conducted on radionuclides required by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). Other radionuclides can be made available on request. Phantoms can also be used to develop calibration factors if the facility has special requirements. Phantoms are taken to sites by qualified staff who assist clients in conducting a series of measurements to demonstrate the proficiency of their measurement systems.

The Centre also provides advice and assistance to participating facilities to solve problems identified through their participation in the PT programs and maintains a historical, confidential data base for efficient information retrieval and trend analysis.

Service pledge

Dosimetry Services participating in this PT meet the requirement for independent testing as given in the CNSC Regulatory Standard, “REGDOC 2.7.2 Dosimetry, Volume 2.

Participants receive their individual results and aggregate results. The reports preserve the anonymity of the participants. Copies of results are also provided to the CNSC in accordance with REGDOC 2.7.2 Dosimetry, Volume 2.

The Centre’s Quality Manual and relevant Quality Records will be made available to a client, on request, for a mutually agreed period.

Service delivery targets

The Centre provides an annual PT service to facilities that perform whole body/ lung monitoring which includes:

• Phantoms that can be used to measure the bias and precision of a counting system.
• Radioactivity levels in both the Whole body and lung phantoms guaranteed to an accuracy of ± 10 % based on gravimetric preparation.
• Access to qualified staff to assist in the test process.
• Site visits scheduled at the convenience of our clients.
• Facilities are given 30 days from the time of visit to report results. A written report evaluating participant results sent within ten working days of receiving the PT data from the last client facility.
• Response to clients' enquiries within two working days and issues addressed within 2 weeks of receipt.
• A quality assurance program to confirm the reliability and accuracy of the PT samples which includes purchase of radionuclide standards from either the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or a laboratory traceable to NIST. Lung sets are traceable to NIST.
• Documented procedures written in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 are available for review.

Additional information

The following documents are available from the Human Monitoring Laboratory at no cost:

Kramer G.H.; Limson Zamora, M. The Canadian National Calibration Reference Centre for Bioassay and In-Vivo Monitoring: A Program Summary. Health Physics 67(2): 192-196; 1994.

Kramer G.H.  The Canadian Whole Body Counting Intercomparison Programme: A Summary Report for 1989-1993. Health Physics 69(4): 560-565; 1995.

Feedback mechanisms

Comments, suggestions for improvement or complaints may be made to:

Head, NCRC
Radiation Protection Bureau
775 Brookfield Road, Address Locator 6302D
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1C1
CANADA

Telephone: 613-954-6667
Facsimile: 613-960-1372
E-Mail: hml-lsh@canada.ca