The harmful biological effects of radiation must be minimized through mission planning based on calculated predictions and monitoring of dosage exposures. Preflight requirements include a projection of mission radiation dosage, an assessment of the probability of solar flares during the mission and a radiation exposure history of flight crew members. In-flight requirements include the carrying of passive dosimeters by the flight crew members and, in the event of solar flares or other radiation contingencies, the readout and reporting of the active dosimeters.

There are four types of active dosimeters: pocket dosimeter high, pocket dosimeter low, pocket dosimeter FEMA and high-rate dosimeter. All four function in the same manner and contain a quartz fiber positioned to zero by electrostatic charging before flight. The unit discharges according to the amount of radiation received; and as the unit discharges, the quartz moves. The position of the fiber along a scale is noted visually. The PDH unit's range is zero to 100 rads. The PDF and PDL units' ranges are zero to 200 millirads and the HRD unit's range is zero to 600 rads.

The rad is a unit based on the amount of energy absorbed and is defined as any type of radiation that is deposited in the absorbing media, and radiation absorbed by man is expressed in roentgen equivalent in man, or rems. The rem is determined by multiplying rads times a qualifying factor that is a variable depending on wavelength, source, etc. For low-inclination orbits (35 degrees and lower), the qualifying factor is approximately equal to one; therefore, the rem is approximately equal to the rad. In space transportation system flights, the doses received have ranged from 0.05 to 0.07 rem, well below flight crew exposure limits.

The flight crew's passive dosimeters are squares of fine-ground photo film sandwiched between plastic separators in a light-proof package. Radiation striking the silver halide causes spots on the film, which can be analyzed after the flight. Included in the badge dosimeters are thermoluminescent dosimeter chips, which are analyzed on Earth.

Passive radiation dosimeters are placed in the crew compartment before launch by ground support personnel and removed after landing for laboratory analysis. Each flight crew member carries a passive dosimeter at all times during the mission. The remaining dosimeters are stowed in a pouch in a middeck modular locker. If a radiation contingency arises, the PDL, PDH, HRD and PDF active dosimeters will be unstowed, read, and recorded for downlink to the ground.