A Study on the Radiation Leakage from Electron Microscopes

Abstract

In spite of the increasing use of electron microscopes, very few considerations have been given to the emission of radiation from the equipment. This is mainly due to the fact that the radiation is emmitted as “an unwanted by-product”of the equipment. Radiation surveys were carried out on twelve epuipments of Japanese manufacture. Informations obtained from the surveys were;
1) Radiation leakage was observed from eight equipments.
2) Electron gun, viewing window and photo-chamber were main locations where radiation leakage was observed.
3) Structural defects in the equipment were important causes of radiation leakage.
Following opinions were offered from a health physics standpoint;
1) The equipment is required to be constructed and installed so as to provide adequate protection.
2) A legalistic radiation safety standard is neededfor theequipment manufacturer.
3) In a radiation safety program, it is important to obviate any radiation leakage rather than to assess the doses liable to be incurred.