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Determination of Annual Effective Doses from Background Ionizing Radiation to Nuclear Medicine Professionals in Medical Centre |
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PP: 15-20 |
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doi:10.18576/jrna/070303
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Author(s) |
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Muhammad Waqar,
Touqir Ahmad Afridi,
Quratulain Soomror,
Jameela Khatoon,
Jahangeer Dahri,
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Abstract |
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| Background: Nuclear medicine departments of medical centers deal with sealed as well as unsealed radioactive source for multiple purposes. This potentially rises the background dose rates and consequently, radiation exposure to nuclear medicine professionals. This study targeted to determine the background radiation levels in the nuclear medicine department of NORIN cancer hospital Nawabshah, Pakistan. Materials & Methods: Background dose rates of ten work stations of nuclear medicine department were recorded using a pre-calibrated radiation survey meter RM1001-RD LAMSE for one year periodically and Annual Effective Dose Rates (AEDRs) were determined with the help of standard notations. The organ doses were also calculated using recommended conversion and occupancy factors. Results & Discussion: The highest AEDR of 1.073 ± 0.056 mSv/yr was found at the door of radioactive waste room while the lowest was found 0.580 ± 0.013 mSv/yr in the stress room of nuclear medicine department. The standard error ranged between 0.020-0.056. Maximum organ dose of 0.880 mSv/yr was found to testes at the door of radioactive waste room and the lowest organ dose of 0.336 mSv/yr was found to ovaries in the stress room. These results show the T-test values in a level of significance of 5% (P<0.05). Conclusions: The radiation levels calculated in this study are well within the permissible radiation limit of 1.0 mSv/yr recommended by the ICRP and hardly 45% of UNSCEAR limit of 2.4 mSv/yr. The organ-specific doses are also in safe zone. Therefore, the nuclear medicine professionals of this medical Centre are safe from hazards of background radiation. Strict compliance with radiation protection and regulatory protocols eliminates the undue anxiety about the hazards of background radiation in the nuclear medicine professionals. |
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