NIST Starts Accreditation Program for Radiation Detector Labs

May 29, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established a new voluntary accreditation program for laboratories that test radiation detection equipment used by first responders.

The program will help ensure that laboratories testing a wide variety of new radiation detection instruments produce comparable results, allowing homeland security personnel to better assess the best products for each application.

From personal radiation detectors the size of pagers to units large enough to scan trucks and trains, emergency responders can choose from a wide variety of radiation detection equipment for homeland security applications.

Experts said to make informed decisions when buying equipment, responders must have confidence that instrument test results from different laboratories are comparable.

The NIST program, developed with support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), offers laboratories the opportunity to be accredited for their ability to test radiation detection equipment in conformance with recognized industry standards. The service is part of NIST's National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP).

Laboratories seeking accreditation under the new program will have to demonstrate their conformity with ISO/IEC 17025 - General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, NIST Handbook 150 - NVLAP Procedures and General Requirements and NIST Handbook 150-23 - Homeland Security Applications - Radiation Detection Instruments.

Testing of radiation detectors at accredited laboratories will be based on a series of standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and facilitated by NIST radiation measurement experts with input from the user, manufacturer and regulatory communities.

Five standards covering a variety of radiation detectors have already been published and several more are under development. This series also includes standards for operator training programs and data format to enhance the confidence that this equipment will be effective, rugged, useable and interoperable.

Coupled with the NVLAP laboratory accreditation program, experts said these standards will enhance users' ability to determine the radiation detector that best suits their purpose.

Testing laboratories interested in the new NVLAP program for radiation detection instruments can contact Betty Ann Sandoval at betty.sandoval@nist.gov, or 301-975-8446.

Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).