1. Implementation of occupational radiation protection
control at university and hospital work places
Håkan B.L. Pettersson
Dept of Radiation Physics
Health Faculty
Linköping University, Sweden

2. Radiation protection organisation
Dose assessment
Regular personal dosimetry
Dose history
Internal dosimetry
Radiation accidents
Supervision and inspections
Controlled and supervised areas
Classification of workers
Education and training
ALARA and cost reductions

3. The radiation protection organization
Formal organisation plans since early ´80s
Defines responsibilities and interplay between
licence holders, dept heads, hospital physicists
and radiation protection officer in charge (RPO)
-training and education
-handling of radionuclides and waste
-quality control programmes
-dose monitoring etc.
Defines the role of the radiation protection committee and
the radiation managers

4. Licences issued by the Radiation Protection Authorities
Medical facilities (3 hospitals)
Radiology (conventional, thorax, odont, DXA)
~ patients/y
Nuclear medicine (diagnostics, therapy, misc)
~ patients/y
Radiation therapy (external, brachy)
~ 1300 patients/y
Blood irradiators
Misc solid radionuclide sources
University facilities
Radionuclide and X-ray use (combined)

5. Local authorizations issued by the RPO
Annual permits signed by the RPO, the head of dept
and contact persons
States the need of dosimetry, education/training,
radiation protection equipment
Radionuclide work, strictly limited activities
radionuclide, type, max activity
X-ray work, defined equipment
generator, tube, application
Work with LASERs
type and use

7. Dose assessment
Regular personal dosimetry
Dose history
Internal dosimetry

9. New DIS-system for monitoring doses to personnel and patients

10. Annual doses at Östergötland county hospitals and Linköping University

11. Annual doses at the radiology departments
of the Östergötland county hospitals

12. New techniques – reduced workers exposure?

14. Assessment of workers doses at thorax radiology procedures

15. Radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine examinations

16. Annual doses at the nuclear medicine department
Linköping University hospital

17. Assessment of workers doses at the Nuclear Medicine Department
18F-FDG-PET studies

18. Radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine therapy

19. Annual doses at the Isotope therapy department
Linköping University hospital

20. Workers exposure from 125I thyroid uptake

21. Workers exposure from 3H; urine analysis

22. Radiation accident at the Linköping University X-ray diffraction work
>2 Gy Transient skin erythema
>6 Gy Skin erythema
15-20 Gy Skin necrosis, open wounds
Finger dose
8-10 Gy

23. Supervision and inspections
Supervised work areas:
Hospitals: -Radiology labs, inkl. external (thorax,
cardio, surgery depts etc.)
-Nuclear medicine labs (diagn/therapy)
-Radiation therapy treatment rooms;
external and brachy)
-Blood irradiation labs
University: -X-ray research labs

24. inspections -Annual (ambition) local inspection of:
all labs/depts having local authorization (RPO)
labs/depts with supervised work areas
(medical physicists)
-Inspections in connection with installation of
new equipment, new techniques (RPO, MedPhys)
-Authority inspections (SSI):
Hopefully very infrequent

25. Education and training
Drivers licenses:
2-3 hours lectures
2-3 hours hands-on training
Target groups:
Radiology external users, doctors, nurses, dept heads
Nuclear medicine: external users, nurses
Radiation therapy: nurses, engineeers
Teachers: medical physicist and RPO (lectures)
engineers/nurses/medical physicist (hands-on)

26. Education and training
I. Formal radiation protection courses, basic level
20-30 hours
lectures and laborative training
Target groups:
students, researchers, engineers, nurses
II. Formal radiation protection courses, advanced
2-5 weeks
lectures and individual projects
Target groups:
PhD-students, medical physicists, RPO’s

27. ALARA vs. cost reductions
Resonable to spend more
money on dose reductions or
keep the present level or
reduce costs?
Have we reached the ALARA-
level?
Improvements in radiation protection
during the last 20 years have saved some
5 manSv in workers doses.
How does it compare with the actual costs?

28. How safe is the radiation worker environment?
Nuclear testing
Radiology
Chernobyl
Indoor radon
K-40 body content
Natural gamma radiation background
Cosmic radiation
Occupational
exposure
mSv/y

29. Conclusions
Present radiation protection organisation is satisfactory
Workers doses effectively reduced during the years
Education & Training essential but demanding
Future radiation protection ambitions might not be
accepted by licence holders
The End