ANSI N42.49A

Description / Abstract: The scope of this standard is to establish minimum performance criteria and test requirements for four categories of alarming electronic radiation measurement instruments used to manage exposure by alerting the emergency responders when they are exposed to photon radiation. The instruments provide rapid and clear indication of the level of radiation exposure and/or exposure rate and readily recognizable alarms. The alarms are both audible and visual, and distinguishable between exposure rate and exposure. Vibratory alarms are optional. Emergency responders include fire and rescue services, law enforcement, and medical services. Other possible users include Critical Infrastructure Key Resources (CIKR) such as heavy equipment, transportation, and utilities personnel.

Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to specify technical performance requirements and performance testing requirements to guide those purchasing and using a Personal Emergency Radiation Detector (PERD) for Homeland Security and other radiological emergency applications.

The users of PERDs are responders performing time-sensitive critical missions such as saving lives, property, and/or otherwise mitigating the effects of radiological emergencies.

PERDs are not used to monitor personnel exposure for the purposes of confirming compliance with regulatory exposure limits (i.e., their indications are not intended to be used for an individual's dose monitoring records).

For the purposes of this standard, PERDs are subdivided into two types, alarming and non-alarming. Both types of PERDs have radiation response ranges appropriate for radiation emergencies. Non-alarming PERDs are addressed in ANSI N42.49B.¹

This standard provides a graded approach to assessing the performance of several categories of alarming electronic PERDs. The applicability of each category for specific use should be evaluated by the user. Category 1 PERDs alarm on both exposure rate and total exposure in extreme environmental and mechanical conditions. Category 2 PERDs alarm on both exposure rate and total exposure in non-extreme conditions. Category 3 PERDs alarm only on exposure rate in non-extreme conditions. Lastly, Category 4 PERDs alarm only on total exposure in non-extreme conditions. Generally throughout this standard, any requirement with no category notation applies to all categories, while requirements for specific categories will list the applicable categories immediately after the requirement.

¹ At the time this standard was published, ANSI N42.49B was under development.