Abstract
This work intends to quantify the risk of internal contaminations in the nuclear medicine staff of one hospital in Henan province, China. For this purpose, the criteria proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to determine whether it is necessary to conduct internal individual monitoring was applied to all of the 18 nuclear medicine staff members who handled radionuclides. The activity of different radionuclides used during a whole calendar year and the protection measures adopted were collected for each staff member, and the decision as to whether nuclear medicine staff in the hospital should be subjected to internal monitoring was made on the basis of the criteria proposed by IAEA. It is concluded that for all 18 members of the nuclear medicine staff in the hospital, internal monitoring is required. Internal exposure received by nuclear medicine staff should not be ignored, and it is necessary to implement internal monitoring for nuclear medicine staff routinely.
Highlights
According to census data of the Chinese Society of Nuclear Medicine in 2009, 2011 and 2013 [1,2,3], radionuclide therapy has been developing very rapidly, and staff engaged in the work of nuclear medicine has increased in recent years
It is considered that doses from radionuclide intakes in nuclear medicine centers are usually lower than doses from external exposure, the risks related with intakes should be estimated in every case and, if it is necessary, workers involved in the handling of unsealed sources should be monitored routinely, ensuring that the doses that workers receive are maintained as low as reasonably achievable
This study only investigated 18 nuclear medicine staff of one specialized hospital, and further investigation on the necessity of the internal monitoring for nuclear medicine staff in different areas and different levels of hospitals in China is urgently needed
Summary
According to census data of the Chinese Society of Nuclear Medicine in 2009, 2011 and 2013 [1,2,3], radionuclide therapy has been developing very rapidly, and staff engaged in the work of nuclear medicine has increased in recent years. By the end of 2013 [3], there were 610 medical institutions engaged in radionuclide therapy and a total of 8678 workers were working in the field of diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine in China. Practices in nuclear medicine involve the manipulation of many radiopharmaceuticals labeled with different unsealed radionuclides, both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, and may pose significant risks of internal contaminations to the workers. It is considered that doses from radionuclide intakes in nuclear medicine centers are usually lower than doses from external exposure, the risks related with intakes should be estimated in every case and, if it is necessary, workers involved in the handling of unsealed sources should be monitored routinely, ensuring that the doses that workers receive are maintained as low as reasonably achievable. Internal monitoring should be performed in case of accident or when suspected inhalation or ingestion intake occurs
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