EORTC - IROC Houston OSLD/TLD Monitoring Program

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

 

 1. Is there a minimum number of beams required to be audited?

  Yes, the minimum audit is two (2) photon beams (the lowest and highest energy, if you have more than one energy) and two (2) electron beams (lowest and highest energy). These beams can be from different machines. The IROC Houston is not able to monitor electron beams with energies below 6 MeV because of the sharp dose gradient.

 2. Is there a maximum number of beams that can be audited?

  No, you can pay to have as many beams audited as you desire.

 3. How much will it cost me for this service?

  Please refer to the fee structure. It depends on the number of beams you have audited.

 4. Can I request which beams I want audited?

  Yes, but you must request the lowest and highest energies if more than one is available. However, they do not have to be from the same machine. Please remember that the lowest electron energy the IROC Houston can monitor is 6 MeV.

 5. How long will I wait before I get my OSLD/TLD blocks?

  We will contact you within one working day after receiving your request for OSLD/TLD, but shipping could take 1-2 days more depending on correspondence (usually by email) between us to verify your machines and beam requests.

 6. How long will I wait before I get my results?

  We customarily read your OSLD/TLD 10-14 days after irradiation. This delay is imposed to avoid reading soon after irradiation, when the response of the OSLD/TLD decays fairly rapidly. Once the OSLD/TLD can be read, the evaluation and review process takes 7-8 days. Therefore, reports are generated and sent to the institution approximately 17-22 days after irradiation.

 7. What is the EORTC's acceptance criteria for my OSLD/TLD?

  Acceptable      0 - 3%
Alert Level       3 - 5%
Unacceptable  > 5%

 8. What do I do if I have one or more beams that fall outside the EORTC’s acceptance criteria?

  Reports are sent as PDF files attached to emails, so delivery is very quick. A IROC Houston physicist will contact your physicist and possible reasons for the discrepancy will be discussed. At that time you will be offered the opportunity to purchase OSLD/TLDs for your problematic beam(s). The cost for these repeat OSLD/TLDs follows the same fee schedule.

 9. Will the IROC Houston notify the EORTC of my results?

  No. The IROC Houston will provide OSLD/TLD results to you only. It is your responsibility to forward the results to the EORTC–ROG. See the ROG QA page.