No abstract

An in vivo intercomparison exercise, organised in the scope of the IAEA Regional Latin American (RLA) Project 9066, was carried out in 2009 aimed to harmonise measurement procedures on the measurement of (131)I in the thyroid among Latin American and Caribbean countries. The exercise consisted in the measurement of an anthropomorphic thyroid phantom spiked with a certified source of (133)Ba. The phantom was supplied by the In Vivo Monitoring Laboratory of Institute for Radiation Protection and Dosimetry (IRD) to 17 Institutions from 12 countries of the regions. Among these, 13 Institutions from 10 countries returned their measurement results as well as a standard report form containing detailed information about their respective counting facilities. All participants reported activities within an acceptable range, considering American National Standard Institute (ANSI) limits. Uncertainties varied from 0.04 to 12.9 %. Although results show that the general performance was acceptable in terms of accuracy, the need for additional action towards the standardisation of uncertainty estimation in this type of measurement in the region should be highlighted.

No abstract

In October 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sponsored an intercomparison exercise of surface contamination monitoring equipment, which was held at the Laboratório Nacional de Metrologia das Radiações Ionizantes, from the Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria, IRD/CNEN, Rio de Janeiro. This intercomparison was performed to evaluate the calibration accessibility in Latin America and the Caribbean. Thirteen countries within the region and IAEA have sent instruments to be compared, but only five countries and IAEA were considered apt to participate. Analysis of instruments, results and discussions are presented and recommendations are drawn.