Radiation hazard to female radiographers.

Abstract

I am grateful to Dr. E. S. Williams (1967) for drawing attention to a possible implication of certain words in the recently circulated Statement on the Radiation Hazard to Female Radiographers. The offending phrases relate to the words “radium and radioisotopes” in a discussion of the potential hazards of work with these materials. Dr. Williams rightly points out that in the majority of applications the personal doses resulting from the diagnostic use of radioisotopes are less than those arising from the manipulation of radium containers and other therapy radioisotope sources. This is due mainly to the lower activities involved in diagnostic procedures. Nevertheless, it must of course be borne in mind that there is the additional possibility of ingestion and inhalation of radioactivity when open sources are being used.