New SOPs for the use of GafChromic film

The Gafchromic™ dosimetry system offers a relatively simple, low cost and accurate means of assessing low doses used for the Sterile Insect Technique and phytosanitary irradiation. The dosimeter is a small (1 × 1 cm square), thin (~100 micron) film that changes colour
when irradiated. The Insect Pest Control Laboratory of the IAEA has just released new Standard Operating Procedures for the use of GafChromic film for gamma (cobalt-60) and low energy X-ray (150-225 kV).

Written by Andrew Parker and Yeudiel Gomez-Simuta, the Manual is a revised version of a document originally developed by the late Kishor Mehta. Due to a significant difference in photon energy between low energy (150-225 keV) X-rays and gamma radiation from cobalt-60 or cesium-137, many dosimetry procedures are different. There is a companion document specifically for low energy X radiation. A companion manual on the use of Gafchromic™ film for dose mapping using scanning is also available.

The manual with the associated Excel workbook is available at these links:

 

References:

– Dosimetry for SIT: Standard Operating Procedures for Gafchromic™ Film
Dosimetry System for Gamma Radiation v. 1.0,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / International Atomic Energy Agency. Vienna, Austria 2022.

– Dosimetry for SIT: Standard Operating Procedures for Gafchromic™ Film
Dosimetry System for Low Energy X Radiation v. 1.0
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / International Atomic Energy Agency. Vienna, Austria 2022.