1 This guide covers the minimum requirements for dosim-etry and absorbed-dose validation needed to conduct research on the irradiation of food and agricultural products. Such research includes establishment of the quantitative relationship between the absorbed dose and the relevant effects in these products. This guide also describes the overall need for dosimetry in such research, and in reporting of the results.
2 This guide is intended for use by research scientists in the food and agricultural communities, and not just scientists conducting irradiation research. It, therefore, includes more tutorial information than most other ASTM and ISO/ASTM dosimetry standards for radiation processing.
3 This guide is in no way intended to limit the flexibility of the experimenter in the experimental design. However, the radiation source and experimental set up should be chosen such that the results of the experiment will be beneficial and understandable to other scientists, regulatory agencies, and the food and agricultural communities.
4 The effects produced by ionizing radiation in biological systems depend on a large number of factors which may be physical, physiological, or chemical. Although not treated in detail in this guide, quantitative data of environmental factors that may affect the absorbed-dose response of dosimeters, such as temperature and moisture content in the food or agricultural products should be reported.
5 The overall uncertainty in the absorbed-dose measure-ment and the inherent absorbed-dose range within the speci-men should be taken into account in the design of an experiment.
6 The guide covers research conducted using the follow-ing types of ionizing radiation: gamma rays, bremsstrahlung X-rays, and electron beams.
7 This guide does not include other aspects of radiation processing research, such as planning of the experimental design. Dosimetry must be considered as an integral part of the experimental design.
8 The guide does not include dosimetry for irradiator characterization, process qualification and routine dosimetry; these subjects are described in ISO/ASTM Practices 51204, 51431, 51608,51649, and 51702. The selection and calibration
of dosimetry systems is specified in ISO/ASTM Guide 51261.
9 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.