Previous studies on human cervical cancer cells (NHIK 3025) have indicated that the cells, when X-irradiated in suspension, appeared to be more radiosensitive than when they were irradiated attached to glass dishes. However, this result depends on dosimetry, which is difficult in the situation where cells are attached to glass dishes due to backscattering electrons at the glass-liquid interface. Recently developed dosimetry that is based on detection of radiation-induced stable radicals in alanine and uses ESR spectroscopy offers a possibility for more relevant dosimetry at the glass-liquid interface than the previous estimates of doses based on Fricke dosimetry. Thin alanine films (>/=10 microm) were used to measure dose at the interface by irradiating the films while they were placed tightly against the bottom of dishes and covered with 1 mm of wax simulating the medium above cells. Fricke dosimetry was also performed, with different depths of Fricke solution in the dishes, to elucidate the contribution to the dose delivered by backscattering electrons at the glass-liquid interface. A dose rate of 1.9 Gy/min was measured with a thin layer (0.2-0.3 mm) of Fricke solution in petri dishes made of glass. However, this estimate appears to be too high, due to a contribution to dose by short-ranged electrons generated when the X rays passed through a steel lid 4.5 cm above the dishes. Dosimetry using alanine films resulted in dose rates of 1.15 and 0.87 Gy/min at the interfaces of glass-liquid and plastic- liquid, respectively. Hence there is a significant contribution to dose from backscattering electrons on dishes made of glass. The reason for our previous observation of a difference in radiosensitivity between cells irradiated in suspension and cells irradiated attached to glass appears to be a lack of accurate dosimetry at the glass-liquid interface.