EURADOS ISO/IEC 17025 guidance for IMS: suggestions on how to interpret and implement the requirements including examples from accredited laboratories

Abstract

Individual monitoring of external radiation is an activity usually regulated by national regulatory bodies in most countries. Regulations generally contain technical requirements to be met by the individual monitoring services (IMS), in order to ensure that the measurements are correct and therefore the dosimetry results are reliable. In some countries, the requirements include or even consist of the accreditation of the service according to the standard ISO/IEC 17025: ‘General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.’ It is a fact that accreditation is a growing trend among European IMS as a way to guarantee confidence in their technical competence. The acceptance of the dosimetry results between countries and their indentation in the respective National Dose Registries is facilitated if laboratories conform to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. In the framework of the activities of EURADOS (European Radiation Dosimetry Group) working group 2 ‘Harmonization of Individual Monitoring in Europe’ and attending to the concern of many European IMS in the process of accreditation, a guide has been prepared. The purpose was to assist and encourage IMS to apply for accreditation and to share the authors’ own experience with the process. The guide intends to be a practical reference for IMS on how to interpret and implement the ISO/IEC 17025 requirements to the specific activity of a personal dosimetry service for external radiation, emphasizing those aspects of special interest. It includes examples from dosimetry laboratories already accredited. The major novelties from a new edition of ISO/IEC 17025: 2017 are also identified in the guide. Finally, the guide aims to assist the auditing process, giving examples of auditor’s questions and how to show evidence of compliance. The main findings are presented.