An automatic evaluation system for NTA film neutron dosimeters

At CERN, neutron personal monitoring for over 4000 collaborators is performed with Kodak NTA films, which have been shown to be the most suitable neutron dosimeter in the radiation environment around high-energy accelerators. To overcome the lengthy and strenuous manual scanning process with an optical microscope, an automatic analysis system has been developed. We report on the successful automatic scanning of NTA films irradiated with sup 2 sup 3 sup 8 Pu-Be source neutrons, which results in densely ionised recoil tracks, as well as on the extension of the method to higher energy neutrons causing sparse and fragmentary tracks. The application of the method in routine personal monitoring is discussed. $9 overcome the lengthy and strenuous manual scanning process with an optical microscope, an automatic analysis system has been developed. We report on the successful automatic scanning of NTA films irradiated with /sup 238/Pu-Be source $9 discussed. (10 refs).