Staff radiation doses during eight years in a nuclear medicine radiopharmacy

It is important that staff radiation doses be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Staff working in the radiopharmacy and nursing staff responsible for injecting radionuclides are being monitored constantly in our department. We report here on the effective doses and doses to the hands received by staff at two hospitals during 8 years from January 1985 to December 1992. In addition to the doses determined monthly by the South African Bureau of Standards Radiation Protection Service (SABS), radiation doses received to the hands and whole body were measured every week using lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD). The workload (number of patient studies each year) and the estimated amount of 99Tcm received per month were also established, and results have been expressed in relation to these where possible. The combined radiation doses and the absorbed dose per unit activity a single radiographer would have received, since 1988 when radiopharmacy duties were centralized, were calculated. The highest total radiation dose received in any one year by any one person at hospital A was 223.53 mSv to the hands, and 10.20 mSv and 8.37 mSv to the whole body depending on the dosemeter used. The corresponding values for hospital B were 54.05 mSv to the hands and 6.94 mSv and 4.43 mSv to the whole body. If only one radiographer should do all the work the calculated highest dose received would be 447.06 mSv to the hands and 9.68 mSv SABS effective dose. The radiation doses to staff were well within the limits prescribed; this is attributed to the practice of maintaining a high awareness of radiation safety and meticulous training and rotation of staff in the radiopharmacy. © 1994 Chapman and Hall Ltd.