Monitoring of radiation dose rates around a clinical nuclear medicine site

Abstract

Abstract The monitoring of radiation dose around the nuclear medicine site is an important study issue. In this study, TLD-100H radiation dosimeters were used to measure the ambient radiation dose rates around a clinical nuclear medicine site in order to investigate the latent hot zones of radiation exposure. Results of this study showed that the radiation doses measured from all piping and storage systems were comparable to the background dose. A relatively high dose was observed at the single bend point of waste water piping of the PET/CT. Another important finding was the unexpected high dose rates observed at the non-restricted waiting area (NRWA) of SPECT. To conclude, this study provides useful information for further determination of an appropriate dose reduction strategy to achieve the ALARA principle in a clinical nuclear medicine site.