I have a peak in my dose rate log, much higher than the expected dose rate from my measurements. Why?
Most likely, your instrument has detected a muon. A muon is a high energy particle from space. It is detected by the RaySafe 452 as a 1-2 seconds long pulse with a dose rate that is approximately 100 times the background level.
At sea level, the RaySafe 452 typically detects one or two muons per day. At higher altitudes, for example when travelling by air, the number of detected muons increases to hundreds per day.
