Radiation Monitoring and Evaluation of Risk to Population in Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Nuclear Medicine workers are getting higher radiation dose because of increasing usage of nuclear medicine for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The purpose of the study is to monitor the real-time radiation at the indoor places of the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) Mitford, Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital Campus for minimizing the ionizing radiation hazard to radiation worker and public. The radiation monitoring was performed using real-time portable digital radiation monitoring device. This real-time digital portable radiation monitoring device meets all European CE standards as well as the American “FCC 15 standard”. The portable radiation monitoring device was placed at 1 meter above the ground on tripod and data acquisition time for each monitoring point (MP) was 1 hour. 26 MPs were selected for collection of radiation dose rates at different indoor locations of INMAS, Mitford hospital. The measured dose rates due to natural and man-made radionuclides were ranged from 0.151 ± 0.070 μSv.h-1 to 4.313 ± 1.829 μSv.h-1 with an average of 0.456 ± 0.227 μSv.h-1. The annual effective dose to the radiation worker and public due to radiation were varied from 0.305 mSv to 8.764 mSv with an average of 0.951 mSv. Excess life-time cancer risk factor based on annual effective dose to radiation worker and public were calculated and varied from 1.213 Χ 10-3 to 3.486 Χ 10-2. Real-time radiation monitoring at indoor places of nuclear medicine facilities are required for minimizing unnecessary exposure to nuclear medicine workers and public from man-made sources. This kind of study is required for minimizing the radiation hazard in the hospital environment and consequently to keep the radiation dose to worker and public as low as possible.