Radio-toxicology of the Staff: Pros and Cons

Individual radiation exposure monitoring for medical staff worldwide is mandatory, and is performed by the radiation control supervisor in each medical facility according to the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA,2014)

Individual monitoring is used to verify the effectiveness of radiation control, evaluate the working practices, and raise the awareness of the risk involved in the handling of radioactive sources and equipment and to minimize events of contamination and accidents.

Practices in nuclear medicine are unique in the way of involving manipulation of unsealed radionuclides which may pose significant risks of internal radiation exposure.

Internal radiation exposure in Israel is determined by measuring the radioactivity of radioactive soluble materials in urine samples taken from the workers once in each quarter, whether short or long lived.

In the talk, we compare the methods used to determine internal radiation exposure in different countries. Furthermore, we analyze the cost effectiveness of determining internal radiation exposure as performed in Israel and in achieving the set goals of radiation protection.