Probably, the first Code of Practice for Protection of X-ray Operators - 1915

Probably, the first code of practice, a set of 7 radiation protection rules, was issued by British Roentgen Society in November 1915 (The image is reproduced in Bull. of Radiation Protection, Vol. 18 (4), 1995, p. 23).

Recommendations for the Protection of X-ray Operators

The harmful effects produced by X-rays are cumulative and do not generally appear until some weeks or months after the damage has been done. It is to be noted that X-rays of any degree of hardness are capable of producing ill effects, although it is commonly supposed that soft X-rays only are harmful.

It is undesirable that any X-ray treatment should be carried out except under the direction of a qualified medical practitioner experienced in X-ray work.

All X-ray tubes must be provided, when in use, with a protecting shield or cover which prevents the access of the rays to the operators and which encloses the tube, leaving an adjustable opening only sufficiently large to allow the passage of a sheaf of rays of the size necessary for the work in hand. Even with this shielding, the operator may not be completely protected in all cases (e.g., especially in screen work), and the use of movable screens, gloves and aprons is recommended.

Operators should be warned that shields obtainable commercially are often ineffective and test of their opacity should be made.

Whenever possible the cubicle system should be used for X-ray treatment and the operator should be able to make all adjustments from a protected space.

When screen examination is required it is essential that the screen should be covered with thick lead glass of proved opacity and that the screen should be independently supported and not held in the hands of the operator. If the hands are so used they should be properly protected.

The hand or any portion of the body of the operator should never be used to test the hardness or quality of the X-ray tube; any simple form of penetrometer can be easily arranged for this purpose. #radiation #X-rays #radiationsafety #radiology #regulation #healthphysicist #radiologicalprotection

MOBILE PHONES AND HEALTH CONCERNS

ABSTRACT:  As Mobile /Cellular phone ownership grows throughout the developed as well as the developing world, concerns about the health risks due to radiofrequency emissions from the mobile phone base stations and due to usage of mobile handsets are slowly growing. This article has a look at the concepts used in the mobile phone technology, the power outputs from base stations and mobile handsets, the quantities Specific Energy Absorption Rate (SAR) and power density as a means to assess the effects on biological tissue. The precautionary approach to managing the health risks from mobile phones by specifying exposure guidelines is explored. Having surveyed the relevant epidemiological surveys and finding them inconclusive, NRPB, United Kingdom’s national regulatory body has issued exposure guidelines based on the potential of RF radiation to cause illness or injury through the heating of body tissues. USA’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) limits are also listed for comparison. For details see:

MOBILE PHONES AND HEALTH CONCERNS

Shreenivas Vaikuntam and Pushparaja
Radiation protection and Environment
Vol. 26 (3&4), 2003, p. 581-589

Exclusion and exemption criteria for different exposure situations

ICRP in its Publication No. 104 (2007) provide guidance to national regulatory authorities on the scope of radiological protection using the principles of justification and optimization. Advice is provided for deciding the radiation exposure situations that need to be covered by the relevant regulations because their regulatory control can be justified. There are some situations where regulatory control is unjustified and need to be excluded because the exposures are unamenable to control. In some regulated practices, the regulatory control is unwarranted, and exemption from the regulations is found to be the optimum option,

The ICRP documents describe the exclusion and exemption criteria for planned exposure situations and the application of the criteria in emergency and existing exposure situations with some specific examples. The quantitative criteria need to be treated as generic values to the consideration by the national regulatory authorities for defining the scope of the control measures.

New Reference book on: Radiological Protection and Safety – A Practitioner’s Guide

Radiological protection and safety is the prime concern in all the radiation-related applications, i.e., nuclear power, nuclear fuel cycle operations, use in medicine for medical diagnosis and therapy and use in industry and research. The reference book: Radiological Protection and Safety – A Practitioner’s Guide is written by a well-experienced practitioner, Dr. Pushparaja, to introduce readers to all the relevant aspects of radiation, the effects, the applications, protection standards, transport of sources, control of occupational exposures, regulations and about the practice of radiological protection and safety.

There are specially trained and well-experienced team of professionals with this special knowledge of radiation protection and the safety who work tirelessly for protecting people who handle radiation and radioisotopes. There is also a need for protection of the environment. These experts practice radiation protection as a profession.

The methodology employed to ensure, the techniques and radiological protection of the occupational workers, the members of the public and the environment while utilizing the radiation sources in beneficial applications are presented in this reference book. Application details, exposures and exposure control measures, security, and transport of sources, management of radioactive waste and rules and regulations to be followed are discussed.

People, in general, are not aware of what and how these highly trained professionals do, to ensure protection. It is important that the reference book create awareness amongst educated and not so well educated about peaceful uses of atomic energy and radiological protection and safety.

The knowledge is a highly dispersed form, some organizations recommend protection standards, some provide guidance documents, some publish operating experience of the radiation sources in specific fields. National/international conferences are held to share the experience with facility operators, regulators, and people who have the responsibility of radiation protection. These details need to be communicated to the concerned people in a simple way. Communication is the key.

There is a gap in the knowledge. The idea of writing this guide is to put everything important in one place and let the people refer to the book for the latest information and updates in the field of their interest.

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The usefulness of LNT approach

There is controversy over the use of (Linear No-Threshold (LNT) hypothesis to estimate the stochastic risk of exposure to ionizing radiation. The approach is not universally accepted. However, the usefulness of the LNT approach for radiological protection is very significant. The concepts used in radiation protection are strongly based on the LNT hypothesis. For example, LNT allows radiation doses: (i) to be averaged within an organ or tissue, (ii) to be added from different organs, and (iii) to be added over time.

The LNT also underpins the concepts of absorbed dose, effective dose, committed dose, and the use of dose coefficients used to estimate internal dose from the intake of radionuclides.  

Calibration of dosemeters and doserate meters

International Standard ISO 29661:2012 defines terms and fundamental concepts for the calibration of dosemeters and equipment used for the radiation protection dosimetry of external radiation, in particular for beta, neutron and photon radiation. It defines the measurement quantities for radiation protection dosemeters and doserate meters and gives recommendations for establishing these quantities. For individual monitoring, it covers whole body and extremity dosemeters (including those for the skin and the eye lens), and for area monitoring, portable and installed dosemeters.

Guidelines are given for the calibration of dosemeters and doserate meters used for individual and area monitoring, in reference radiation fields. Recommendations are made for the position of the reference point and the phantom to be used for personal dosemeters. ISO 29661:2012 also deals with the determination of the response as a function of radiation quality and angle of radiation incidence. ISO 29661:2012 is intended to be used by calibration laboratories and manufacturers.

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Basis for protection standard for uranium

Basis for protection standard for uranium

Uranium, a terrestrial radionuclide, is naturally present in the environment – in soil, rocks, in sea water, ground water, in food in the human body itself. The mass concentration of uranium varies from place to place depending on the environmental conditions. Natural uranium consists of three isotopes of uranium-²³⁸U, ²³⁵U and ²³⁴U with different half-lives. The longest-lived ²³⁸U has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Typically, the soil concentration is about 3 parts per million (ppm).

In addition to its radioactive nature, it is, as water soluble uranium compounds, is chemically toxic. Uranium gets deposited in the kidneys due to its physicochemical properties. The US EPA (2001) and WHO (2011) standard for uranium in drinking water is 30 micrograms per liter which is equivalent to 0.75 Bq/liter. The threshold limit value (TLV) (ACGIH, 1994) in air in work environment for insoluble uranium is 0.2 mg/m³.

The protection standards for uranium (soluble) is limited by the chemical toxicity, while for insoluble compounds, the protection standards are based on radiological considerations.