Consult the RAP page for more information and to find the RAP member assigned to your building. Lance Scott joined us eight months ago from Washington State University where he focused the last 16 years in radiation safety. Ken Jacoby, recently arrived at UCSD from the biotech field, has been in safety for four years and brings with him 12 years of clinical laboratory experience. Film badges have the disadvantage of being very sensitive to temperature and humidity. They also have to be exchanged every month, as the undeveloped film fades with time.
Film does have the advantage of being able to provide spatial information.
This spatial nformation can be very useful in reconstructing how someone received an exposure. Film also has the advantage that, once developed, it can be stored for many years so that past exposures can be verified or investigated. TLD has the advantage over film of being much less sensitive to temperature and humidity. TLD is also more stable than film, so it can be processed quarterly rather than monthly. TLD has the disadvantage of not being able to reveal any spatial information.