Download Radiation Safety

• The scientific unit of measurement for
radiation dose, commonly referred to as
effective dose, is the millisievert (mSv)
Typical Radiation Doses (From Various Sources)*
• Watching television
0.01 mSv/year
• Air travel (r/t from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles,
Calif.)
0.05 mSv
• Medical chest X-ray (one film)
0.1 mSv
•Nuclear medicine thyroid scan
0.14 mSv
•Full set of dental X-rays
0.4 mSv/yr
•Mammogram (four views)
0.7 mSv
•Average annual exposure living in the United States
3 mSv/year
•Average annual exposure from breathing radon gas
2 mSv
• Nuclear medicine lung scan
2 mSv
• Nuclear medicine bone scan
4.2 mSv
• Nuclear cardiac diagnostic test (technetium
or Tc-99m)
10 mSv
• Abdominal CT scan
10 mSv
• Various PET studies (18F FDG)
14 mSv
• Tobacco products (amount for a smoker’s
lungs from 20 cigarettes a day) 53 mSv/year
• Cancer treatment (tumor receives) 50,000
mSv
Complete Exams Effective Dose mSv (mrem)
• Intravenous Pyelogram (kidneys, 6 films) 2.5 (250)
• Barium Swallow (24 images, 106 sec. fluoroscopy) 1.5
(150)
• Barium Enema (10 images, 137 sec. fluoroscopy) 7.0
(700)
• CT Head 2.0 (200)
• CT Chest 8.0 (800)
• CT Abdomen 10.0 (1,000)
• CT Pelvis 10.0 (1,000)
• Angioplasty (heart study) 7.5 (750) - 57.0 (5,700)3
• Coronary Angiogram 4.6 (460) - 15.8 (1,580)3
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Typical Effective Radiation Dose from
Diagnostic X Ray—Single Exposure Exam
Effective DosemSv (mrem)1
Chest (LAT) 0.04 (4)
Chest (AP) 0.02 (2)
Skull (AP) 0.03 (3)
Skull (Lat) 0.01 (1)
Pelvis (AP) 0.7 (70)
Thoracic Spine (AP) 0.4 (40)
Lumbar Spine (AP) 0.7 (70)
SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
• Important considerations before a procedure
are:
• 1.
the skill sets of the physician
• 2.
the physicians’ and the technologists’
knowledge about their angiographic machine
• 3.
the medical history of the patient
• 4.
the likely difficulty of the procedure
• 5.
the body habitus of the patient.
Injury to arm of patient.
Patient was draped for procedure and physicians did not realize
that she had moved her arm so that it was resting on the port of
the X-ray tube during the procedure
RADIATION BURNS
Protection for Workers
Thyroid Cancer / Hyperactive Thyroid
• RAI treatment is based on the fact that the
thyroid actively accumulates iodine, which it
uses to produce thyroid hormones required
for normal body function. This RAI is like the
iodine found in foods such as fish, seaweed,
and iodized salt, except that it releases an
electron, or beta particle, which creates its
therapeutic action.
For use in treatment, the RAI is given
dissolved in water or as a capsule. It is
absorbed quickly by the stomach and
intestines, then carried in the bloodstream to
the thyroid, where it is taken up by the gland.
While in the thyroid gland, the RAI disrupts
the function of some of the thyroid cells - the
more radioactive iodine given, the more cells
cease to function. As the cells stop
functioning, excessive amounts of thyroid
hormones are no longer produced, and
symptoms of hyperthyroidism begin to
disappear
HYPERTHYROIDISM
In general, a distance of one arm's length
should be maintained between the
person treated and others who spend
more than two hours next to the patient
in any 24 hour period. This applies
especially to children and pregnant
women. While brief contact with a
person after treatment is acceptable,
sleeping together, watching television,
going to movies, long care or plane trips
should be avoided for approximately 11
days after the treatment.
A smoker can accumulate 53
mSv/year of radiation exposure. This
is less than a CT scan
A.) True
B.) False
Potential burns from radiation can
result form the inexperience of the
people operating / maintaining the
equipment
A.) True
B.) False
When receiving radiation treatments
for thyroid cancer, there are no
restrictions on your movement.
A.) True
B.) False