Hand monitoring in nuclear medicine departments in Croatia - first results

Abstract

Individual hand monitoring for workers who manipulate unsealed radioactive sources in nuclear medicine is a necessity and the results can serve as the base for optimization processes. We performed an analysis of individual hand doses for medical staff preparing and applying radiopharmaceuticals (99mTc, 123I, 201Tl, 131I, or 125I) in three Croatian clinical hospitals, for a period of one year since extremity monitoring became legally mandatory in Croatia. The majority of annual hand doses for workers were below or slightly above 150 mSv per year with only a few workers exceeding the annual dose limit of 500 mSv. The analysis confirmed that the radiation protection expert's role in an individual monitoring programme and personal dosimetry is crucial in order to achieve the optimal radiation protection of workers.