Radiation Safety

101

Prepared by:
Nathaniel B. de Vera, MSc
 Overview
• What is radiation protection?
• Why is radiation protection
important?
• Who should be protected?
• How should they be protected?
• What radiation protection measures
can be implemented?
 What is
RADIATION?
 energy that travels through
space or matter
 Types of Radiation
Non-ionizing Radiation

 radiation that does not have enough energy

to remove electrons from its shell
 Types of Radiation
Ionizing Radiation

 radiation with enough energy to remove

electrons from its shell
Sources of Radiation

NATURAL or
BACKGROUND
RADIATION

80% of radiation
receive by man
comes from natural
background radiation
Sources of Radiation
ARTIFICIAL or
MAN-MADE
Only about 20% of
exposures are from
artificial radiation

Radiation used in
medical applications is
the largest source of
man-made radiation. The
majority of this exposure
is from diagnostic X-rays
 Common questions from patients:
• ‘Safe ba yan?’
• ‘Ilan ba ang limit ng exposure sa radiation?’
• ‘Ilang dose ang makukuha ko?’
• ‘Magkaka-cancer ba ko?’
 What is
Radiation Protection?
It ensures radiation exposures
are subject to certain standards
of safety in order to protect the
individuals against harmful
effects of ionizing radiation
The basis for all radiation
protection activities is the
supposition that radiation is
harmful and that the smaller the
radiation doses we receive, the
smaller are the risks
 RADIATION SAFETY
PROGRAM DISSEMINATION
International (ICRP, IAEA, etc)

National (FDA, PNRI)

Institute
Department
Authorized staff

Individual
Ionizing radiation and radioactive
substances are natural and permanent
features of the environment and thus
the risks associated with its exposure
can only be restricted, not eliminated
entirely
 Why is radiation
protection important ?
• It has been recognized that exposure to
– high levels of radiation can cause
damage to tissues of the human body
– low levels of radiation has potential for
delayed effects such as induction of
malignancies or damage to genetic
material
Effects of Radiation
Effects of Ionizing Radiation
Deterministic Stochastic
– e.g. Lens opacities, - Cancer, genetic
skin injuries, effects.
– infertility, epilation,
etc
 Deterministic Effects
• Cataracts of the lens of the eye 2-10 Gy
• Permanent sterility Severity of
effect
• males 3.5-6 Gy
• females 2.5-6 Gy

• Temporary sterility
• males 0.15 Gy
• females 0.6 Gy
dose
threshold
 Stochastic Effects
- No threshold
- Probability of the effect increases with dose
- Generally occurs with a single cell e.g. cancer, genetic effects
 Effects of Radiation
The number of imaging tests using ionizing radiation
are increasing around the world
• Children are of special concern in
radiation protection:
– Higher radiation sensitivity
– Longer life expectancy
– Identical settings provide higher
organ doses than in adults
• More susceptible to radiation
damage
 Fetal Radiation Risk
• There are radiation-related risks throughout
pregnancy which are related to the stage of
pregnancy and absorbed dose
• Radiation risks are most significant during
organogenesis and in the early fetal period
somewhat less in the 2nd trimester and least in the
third trimester

Most
risk Less Least
 Risks in Radiology

Risk of Staff Patient

Death × ×
Skin burn × ×
Infertility × ×
Cataract × ×
Cancer S S
Genetic effect S S S: small
x: not possible
 Expected life loss
Unmarried man 3500 days
Smoking man 2250 days
Unmarried woman 1600 days
30% overweight 1300 days
Cancer 980 days
Construction work 300 days
Car accident 207 days
Accident at home 95 days
Administrative work 30 days
Radiological examination 6 days
 What are the sources of
radiation in the hospital?
 Radiation Sources or Areas
• Blood Irradiator Unit
– uses sealed Cs-137 source
to irradiate blood samples
prior to transfusion to
patients
• Breast Center
– uses mammography
machine for detecting
diseases of the breast
 Radiation Sources or Areas
• Cardiac • CT Scan
Catheterization – uses CT machines for
Laboratory diagnostic purposes
– uses angiographic
machines for diagnostic
purposes
 Radiation Sources or Areas
• Diagnostic X-ray • Endoscopy Unit
– uses X-ray machines for – uses mobile X-ray machines for
diagnostic purposes endoscopic retrograde
cholangiopancreatography
(ERCP)
 Radiation Sources or Areas
• Nuclear Medicine • Wards dedicated for
– uses unsealed Nuclear Medicine
radioactive materials patients for
and bone dexa Radionuclide
machine for diagnostic therapy
and therapeutic
purposes
 Radiation Sources or Areas
• PET
– produces positron-emitting
radiopharmaceuticals from
a cyclotron, imaging
through PET/CT systems
• Radiation Oncology
– uses both sealed
radioactive materials and
radiation-emitting
equipment for the treatment
of patients
 Radiation Sources or Areas
• Stone and Prostate
Treatment Center
– uses x-ray machine for
diagnostic and localization
purposes
• Operating Room
– uses mobile X-ray
machines for diagnostic
purposes and in the
performance of operations
CLASSIFICATION OF AREAS
Controlled areas - provisions needed for:
 controlling normal exposures

 preventing spread of contamination

 potential exposures

 individual monitoring if feasible

Supervised areas - where conditions need

to be kept under review:
 individual monitoring not required, but
exposure assessment
Who should be protected from
harmful effects of radiation?

Patient and members of Worker General public

his/her family
 Medical exposure
“Exposure incurred by patients as
part of their own medical or dental
diagnosis or treatment;
by persons, other than those
occupationally exposed, knowingly
while voluntarily helping in the
support and comfort of patients;
volunteers in a programme of
biomedical research involving their
exposure.”
 Occupational exposure
exposure of workers accumulated
through their work
 Public exposure
all other exposures of members of the public that are
susceptible to human control
How should the people be
protected?

• Justify the exposure

• Optimize protection
• Dose limitations
 PRINCIPLES of
RADIATION PROTECTION
• Justify the exposure
– benefits should outweigh the risks
 PRINCIPLES of
RADIATION PROTECTION

• Optimize protection
– ALARA Principle

» versus
Dose Guidance Levels
 PRINCIPLES of
RADIATION PROTECTION
• Dose limitations
– Members of the Public =1mSv/yr
– Occupationally exposed personnel
 effective dose of 20mSv per year averaged over five
consecutive years
 effective dose of 50mSv in any single year

 equivalent dose to lens of eye of 150mSv in a year

 equivalent dose to extremities or skin of 500mSv in

a year
For apprentices (16-18 years of age)
 effective dose of 6mSv in a year
Increase Reduce Use
DISTANCE TIME SHIELDING
What radiation protection
measures should be
undertaken by the
hospital?
Radiation Safety
Committee

• Review the potential hazards arising from

the use of ionizing radiation
• Ensure that radiation equipment, sources,
shielding procedures and safety
standards satisfy such specific
requirements
Radiation Safety
Committee

• Oversee the use of licensed radiation

sources and operation of radiation equipment
throughout the institution
• Review thoroughly the training and
experience of proposed authorized users and
RPOs
• Implement Training on Radiation Protection
Radiation Safety Officers
• Quarterly review of occupational
exposures
• Records of radiation surveys
• Preparation, and revision from
time to time of the “Radiation
Safety Manual”
• Reporting to the RSC regularly
• Establishment of procedures
Authorized Users
The authorized user will
review each planned use of
radiation and radioactive
materials to ensure that the
doses will be kept as low as
reasonably achievable
(ALARA). Trial runs may be
useful.
The authorized user will
inform the management of any
deficiencies or needs regarding
compliance to regulations with
respect to protection and
Radiation Warning Sign and Light
 Radiation measuring
devices
Radiation Dosimeter
It is a device, instrument that measures or
evaluates, either directly or indirectly, the
quantities related to radiation such as the amount
of radiation, the dose delivered, the rate of delivery
of dose, etc.
 Radiation measuring
devices
Personnel Dose Monitoring
Provided for radiation workers to
measure and monitor radiation
exposure through the course of
their work
- OSL (Optically-stimulated
Luminiscent Dosimeters)
- TLD (Thermoluminiscent
Dosimeter)
- Pen dosimeters
- Ring badges
 Radiation measuring
devices
Area Survey Meter/ Contamination Meter
Shielding: Lead Shields
Control rooms with
lead glass

Lead gowns, thyroid

shields

Mobile
barriers

Rooms shielded
with lead
Shielding: Lead Shields
Control rooms with
lead glass

Lead gowns, thyroid

shields

Mobile
barriers

Rooms shielded
with lead
 Pregnant Women

A pregnant associate should notify her

supervisor about her condition.
To avoid accidental irradiation of a
pregnant patient, patient of reproductive age
must be asked if they are possibly pregnant.
When a pregnant patient is examined or
treated, the examination or treatment should
be done with precisely collimated beams
and carefully positioned protective shields
 Documentation
•All activities involving radiation emitting equipment and
radioactive materials must be documented
•A l l r e c o r d s m u s t b e k e p t o n f i l e i n e a c h
section/department/unit
•Records of activities must include all necessary information
and according to specified format including, the name and
signature of the person conducting the activity and the person
documenting and the date and the time the activity was
conducted
 Radiation Protection Measures
• Every Radiology Department should have
information for parents
 Continuing Education
• Training on Radiation Protection
– Basic In-house Training
• B a s i c R ad ia t ion Sa fe t y fo r
Hospital Staff
• R a d i a t i o n Te c h n o l o g i s t s
Enhancement Training Seminar
– In depth Radiation Protection
Courses
• Refresher Course on Radiation
Protection in Nuclear Medicine
• Training Course on Radiation
P r o t e c t i o n i n Diagnostic and
Interventional Radiology
 Radiation Protection
Measures
Emergency Procedures

• Call xxxx