Which monitor is used to monitor the entire body and is more sensitive to very low levels of radioactive material?

• A. Frisker
• B. Smear
• C. Personal Contamination Monitor (PCM)
• D. Discrete Particle

Answer: (C)

A Personal Contamination Monitor is designed to stay on the worker and continuously screen for contamination across the whole body. Because it is worn, it can detect very small amounts of radioactive material that might be present on skin or clothing, providing immediate feedback and helping you catch trace contamination early before it spreads. This makes it more sensitive at detecting very low levels compared to spot-check devices.

A frisker is a handheld detector used to quickly scan specific areas for contamination, but it isn’t worn all the time and may miss tiny, diffuse amounts. A smear test involves wiping a surface or skin and sending the sample to a lab for analysis, which gives you results after the fact and for a limited area. A discrete particle monitor tracks airborne particles, focusing on inhalation risk rather than measuring contamination on the wearer’s body.