Operational Quantities for Exposure Dose Monitoring

Abstract

The International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, ICRU, has recommended ‘operational quantities’, such as ambient, directional and personal dose equivalent, for external radiation monitoring. Many discussions have been made on the operational quantities, including necessity of these quantities. The operational quantities have a long history, and ICRU published many reports on this issue. This paper reviews the evolution of operational quantities in the relevant ICRU reports and the ICRP 2007 recommendations.