Thermoluminescence properties of slate relevant to radiation measurements

Abstract

Radiation measurements related to nuclear accidents or terrorist events suffer from defects such as sample preparation time and variation in sample sensitivity. The objective of this study was to examine the potential use of a natural rock as a retrospective dosimeter. The research was carried out on the Saudi metamorphic rock slate originated from Asir. The technique used in this study was thermoluminescence (TL) dosimetry. Slate sample was exposed to gamma doses from100mGy to 1500Gy at King Saud University using a calibrated 60Co source. For that, we investigate (i) effect of thermal treatment (ii) individual glow peak dose response (iii) batch homogeneity (iv) sensitivity and (v) effect of fading. Indications are that this material is possible candidate for dose reconstruction in retrospective dosimetry, and industrial applications under certain restricted conditions. Pre-sampling calibration in vitro may be necessary depending on the accuracy required in the dose estimate.