L’exposition professionnelle aux rayonnements ionisants à l’Assistance publique–Hôpitaux de Paris en 2006

Abstract

Summary Purpose of the study To analyse the annual level of global external, internal and skin exposure to ionizing radiation of employees in a university health care establishment (AP–HP). Method The exposure to ionizing radiation was assessed among the 6,618 subjects (7.12% of the personnel of AP–HP) occupationally exposed. Their external exposure was monitored using 43,680 passive dosimeters, every month (34.8%) for category A or three months (65.2%) for category B. Ring dosimeters were used to measure the finger doses for workers in nuclear medicine and interventional radiology. Moreover, 1,672 workers in controlled zone had electronic dosimeters. The internal exposure was determined by radiochemical and radiometric measurements. Results The annual average external effective dose was low (0.032 mSv). No internal contamination was observed. Total body doses and skin doses never exceeded the dose limit. Ring dosimeter gave a better assessment of finger doses. The upper doses were observed in radiotherapy (0.038 mSv) and nuclear medicine (0.66 mSv). Conclusion The occupational exposure of health care workers was very far from the regulatory total body dose limit (20 mSv). These measurements remain a step into the radiation protection optimization process needed by the stochastic effects of ionizing radiation, without known threshold.