Comparison of the air kerma standards of ARPANSA, Australia, and the IAEA in RQR, RQA, and RQT diagnostic X-ray beams.

Abstract

A comparison of air kerma standards between the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was carried out for the RQR, RQA and RQT radiation qualities (as prescribed by IEC 61267 or IAEA TRS 457) using two ionisation chambers as transfer standards. The ratios between the IAEA and ARPANSA calibration coefficients ranged between 0.993 and 0.997 for RQR beams, 0.990 and 0.999 for RQA beams, and 0.993 to 0.994 for RQT beams. The relative expanded uncertainty for IAEA and ARPANSA was 1.2 and 1.4% respectively, and the comparison results agree at around the level of, or better than, the combined standard uncertainty of 0.74% for all the beams.