Abstract
Common salt (NaCl) has previously been suggested for use in dose estimation in accident dosimetry. In this study, we investigated the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and violet thermoluminescence (VTL) characteristics of “Aji-Shio” (Ajinomoto), a Japanese commercial salt. A comparison of OSL and TL signals allowed identification of common source traps. The initial OSL signal contained a dominant thermally unstable component, which necessitated prior heat treatment. Based on these luminescence characteristics, a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) OSL protocol was modified and tested. The protocol worked very well for six types of salt, but not for four other types of salt. A minimum detection limit of -15 mGy was estimated using the OSL protocol; this is lower than the value obtained from other forms of OSL retrospective dosimetry and lower than that obtained using electron spin resonance (ESR) dosimetry. It was concluded that the OSL from Japanese commercial salt could be used successfully to derive precise estimates of accident dose.
