Statistical analysis of historical occupational dose records at a large medical center.

Abstract

Routine monitoring of occupational radiation exposure is done primarily to demonstrate compliance with dose limits. Statistical analysis of past and present dose records provides a useful tool in the management of institutional radiation safety programs. In this study, a statistical analysis of annual dose records from 1985-1999 from a large tertiary care medical center with a cyclotron and radiopharmaceutical production facility is performed. A total of 6,089 annual dose records, categorized into ten occupational groups, were included in the analysis. Dose distribution is skewed, with 85% of workers receiving an annual dose of less than 1.0 mSv, while 1.3% have doses > or =10 mSv. The mean annual dose of all monitored workers during this 15-y period ranged from 0.5 to 1.2 mSv. Large variation in the mean annual dose exists among the different occupational groups. Four occupational groups were identified as relatively highly exposed, namely cyclotron and radiopharmaceutical production, cardiac catheterization, nuclear medicine, and diagnostic radiology. These four occupational groups also showed different trends in the mean annual dose. A correlation study showed that total annual collective dose has no linear association with the number of monitored workers, the number of measurably exposed workers, or the number of workers with annual dose between 0.1 to <10 mSv. Moderate correlation (r = 0.64) was observed between the annual collective dose and the collective dose of workers with an annual dose between 0.1 to <10 mSv. A strong and significant correlation (r = 0.95) exists between the total annual collective dose and both the number of workers with annual dose of > or =10 mSv and the corresponding collective dose due to these highly exposed workers. Although the fraction of these highly exposed workers is small (about 1%), they have a significant impact on the total collective dose and their contribution can be as high as 50%. Workers with annual dose of > or =10 mSv tend to concentrate in a few identified occupational groups and not across all occupational groupings. The cyclotron and radiopharmaceutical production department is of particular concern due to its high individual dose levels and increasing mean annual dose trend for the last 5 y. Radiochemists and cyclotron engineers tend to receive an annual dose exceeding the dose limit. A plot of the collective dose of highly exposed workers vs. the total collective dose shows that if a dose constraint of 10 mSv is imposed on highly exposed occupational groups, the total collective dose is expected to be about 200 person-mSv.