Occupational radiation exposures for medical workers in Pakistan – An overview

The imperative use of ionizing radiation in medicine causes the inevitable occupational exposure of the medical workers during the course of routine duties. The magnitude of health risk due to such radiation exposures has been described in terms of occupational radiation doses. In this context, it i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polish journal of medical physics and engineering 2020-03, Vol.26 (1), p.45-53
Main Authors: Ahmad, Misbah, Ahmad, Iftkhar, Khan, Aakif Ullah, Khan, Amin Ali, Shah, Kamran Ali, Ahmad, Jamil
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
dose limits
Dosimeters
Dosimetry
effective dose
Health risk assessment
Ionizing radiation
occupational exposure
Occupational health
Radiation dosage
Radiation effects
Radiation protection
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Summary:The imperative use of ionizing radiation in medicine causes the inevitable occupational exposure of the medical workers during the course of routine duties. The magnitude of health risk due to such radiation exposures has been described in terms of occupational radiation doses. In this context, it is obligatory to monitor, measure and document the radiation dose of occupationally exposed medical workers. This study aims to review the whole-body occupational radiation exposures of medical workers in Pakistan. Specifically, online literature published during 2000-2018 was reviewed for the occupational radiation exposures of Pakistani medical workers. Analysis of the extracted personal dosimetry data revealed that the total number of monitored medical occupational workers was 26046. The range of total cumulative and annual average effective doses was 94-15785 Person-mSv and 0.66-7.37 mSv, respectively. A significant number of the workers (25477; ~98%) received an annual dose below 5 mSv, while only 18 workers received an occupational exposure exceeding the annual dose limit of 20 mSv. It is expected that this study will provide a useful reference for evaluating and improving radiation protection and safety policies in the country.
ISSN:1898-0309
1425-4689
1898-0309
DOI:10.2478/pjmpe-2020-0005