Assessment of Radiation Dose in Nuclear Medicine Controlled Areas: Hot Lab, Injection and Isolated Rooms

Introduction: Observing radiation protection and safety culture in radiation practices reduce radiation exposure and the probability of radiation risk to workers, patients and the general public. This study assesses the radiation protection and safety practice at the pioneer Nuclear Medicine Centre in Nigeria, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. This assessment involves measurements of dose rate and surface contamination in the hot laboratory, injection and patient’s isolated rooms and compares their values with international recommended limits.

Materials and Methods: Measurements of radiation doses and surface contamination in the controlled areas were carried out using three different high-sensitive and calibrated radiation detectors namely Ultra Radiac (model MRAD 1010), Ludlum (model 2241-3/44-9) and Redeye (model PRD).

Results: The dose rate values in the controlled areas monitored ranged from 0.103 to 0.430 µGy/h while the effective doses calculated from these values ranged from 0.2 to 0.86 mSv per annum. This is far less than the recommended dose limit of 20 mSv per annum for radiation worker, who usually worked in these areas. Also, the surface contamination values obtained in these areas ranged from 0.060 to 2.867 Bq/cm2, which is similarly less than the recommended limit of 10 Bq/cm2.

Conclusion: These results showed that the centre has a wide range of compliance with radiation safety practice according to the acceptable standards guided by the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority and International regulations.