Your company uses radiation badges to track and report on exposure to ionizing radiation. Most of the time, everything’s fine. Your employees clip them on before their shift starts and return them to the badge board when they clock out.

But that’s not how it always goes. Any of these sound familiar?

• Someone forgot to remove their badge and wore it home. And then threw it in the laundry… where it got soaking wet, and then went through the hot and humid dryer.
• Someone else forgot to remove their badge on the way out the door and ended up leaving it in the car on a day when it was 20 below zero.
• Someone accidentally left their badge on a table near the X-ray imaging equipment, potentially getting exposed to radiation when they weren’t even wearing it.
• Someone dropped their badge and then accidentally stepped on it on the way to clock out.

And of course, no one will admit to any of this. They’ll keep wearing their badge as if nothing happened.

Now what? Will the badge be compromised? Will the next report only show an estimate of their prior dose exposure and not actual dose, or be missing doses or have a high dose? And if they do tell you about it, will you need to order them a new one at extra expense?

Breathe.

Luckily, you selected the LANDAUER Luxel+ dosimeter – a durable, reliable, and accurate clip-on badge that forgives mishaps as long as its clear plastic badge casing is not damaged. If you were using a different dosimeter, you may not be so lucky.

This small hexagonal badge contains a lot of science in its little package.

Luxel+ is an integrated, self-contained packet that comes preloaded, incorporating a thin strip of AI2O3:C (aluminum oxide) sandwiched within a multi-element filter pack that is heat sealed within a laminated, light-tight paper wrapper.

Depending on the work you do, Luxel+ interior radiation detectors vary to provide you with sensitive and accurate dose readings for X-ray, gamma and/or beta and/or neutron energies.

Luxel+ vs. the Temperature

The aluminum oxide component, which is the material inside the dosimeter that allows us to read your dose, is not heat sensitive. Other types of dosimeters, such as TLD and film, will either record a false reading or even become unusable if they are exposed to temperatures that are too hot or too cold.

Luxel+ can even withstand sudden temperature and even pressure changes! It could go from a very hot environment like a car in the summer, to a very cold environment like sitting in front of an air conditioner, without any damage.

Luxel+ vs. Water

Whether we’re talking about dunking your badge in a swimming pool, or wearing it outside on a very humid day, Luxel+ is unaffected by moisture of any kind, even if the plastic casing is compromised (but we don’t recommend wearing it anymore if that happens).

Most other dosimeters are very moisture sensitive, and if their casing is damaged and then gets wet, the badge is rendered unusable.

Luxel+ vs. Accidental Exposure

Because of the unique technology exclusive to LANDAUER, we can determine if the badge was being worn at the time of exposure, or stationary. This means, your report will show an accurate reading of the actual dose exposure – not an estimate.

Other dosimeters are not capable of distinguishing whether or not the badge was being worn during exposure, leading to inaccurate reporting.

Why Does it Matter?

There are two main reasons why having a durable, “smart” badge matters: cost saving and accurate reporting.

Replacing compromised dosimeters can get expensive! With TLD and film badges, anytime the outer shell is damaged, they need replacing. Anytime they are in too hot or too cold of an environment, they need replacing.

These costs add up.

Unfortunately, we’ve found that employees aren’t always honest with their employer when they get their badge wet, expose it to high/low temperatures, or leave it somewhere where it is exposed to radiation. No one wants to get yelled at. But what happens when that happens?

Inaccurate reports risk compliance issues.

Getting timely and accurate radiation dose exposure reports start with badge analysis, meaning if a badge is truly damaged, your required dose exposure report won’t be available or accurate.

That would leave you with a gap in recordkeeping and cause the provider to attempt to recreate or estimate your dose exposure. Depending on the employee’s role, that could create disruptions in work or staffing.

Your radiation dose exposure report is considered to be a legal document and used for your organization’s radiation safety program management. Because all radiation departments adhere to the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principles of keeping radiation dose levels at optimal levels for clinical outcomes, it is vitally important to have consistent and accurate dose readings for all radiation workers.

That’s why the Luxel+ badge is your link to top-notch occupational radiation dose reliability.

Learn more about Luxel+ here.