Health physics
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While it has been known for more than a century that radiation presents risks to both the physician and the patient, skin injuries from fluoroscopy became increasingly rare after the 1930s, and radiation risk from fluoroscopy appeared to be adequately controlled. However, beginning in approximately 1975, new technologies and materials for interventional devices were developed. ⋯ Four central issues were identified: equipment, quality management, operator training, and occupational radiation protection. Recognition that these were areas for improvement provoked changes in technology and practice that continue today.
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Decontamination workers may face a high risk of exposure to internal irradiation through inhalation during decontamination activities; there is, however, little previous research on the levels of internal contamination during decontamination procedures. The authors reviewed the medical records, including whole body counter measurements, of decontamination workers in villages near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to assess their levels of internal radiation exposure. In total, 83 decontamination workers were enrolled in this study. ⋯ The cesium burdens of all the decontamination workers were below detection limits. They had reported no acute health problems. The resuspension of radioactive materials may cause minimal internal contamination during decontamination activities.
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The use of surveyed data on the x-ray tube workloads and clinical exposure parameters was suggested in NCRP Report No. 147 for the structural shielding design of medical x-ray installations. To guide the shielding design of radiographic x-ray rooms in Taiwan, a large-scale survey was conducted to collect information required for the computations of the transmissions from broad x-ray beams through shielding materials. Surveyed data were collected during one week from 10,750 projections of 6,657 examinations in 13 radiographic rooms from nine hospitals. ⋯ The latter computations were for a sensitivity study to find the influence of workload variations in different hospitals on the shielding requirements. All surveyed data and calculated results were compared with corresponding values given in NCRP 147 to analyze the radiographic imaging differences between Taiwan and U. S.
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Risk communication is the two-way exchange of information about risks, including risks associated with radiation and radiological events. The risk communication literature contains a broad range of strategies for overcoming the psychological, sociological, and cultural factors that create public misperceptions and misunderstandings about risks. These strategies help radiation risk communicators overcome the challenges posed by three basic observations about people under stress: (1) people under stress typically want to know that you care before they care about what you know; (2) people under stress typically have difficulty hearing, understanding, and remembering information; (3) people under stress typically focus more on negative information than positive information.
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Radiation exposure of the biota in the shoreline area of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Cooling Pond was assessed to evaluate radiological consequences from the decommissioning of the Cooling Pond. This paper addresses studies of radioactive contamination of the terrestrial faunal complex and radionuclide concentration ratios in bodies of small birds, small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles living in the area. The data were used to calculate doses to biota using the ERICA Tool software. ⋯ However, if the Cooling Pond is allowed to draw down naturally and the contaminants of the bottom sediments are exposed and enter the biological cycle, the calculated doses to biota may exceed the maximum recommended values. The study is important in establishing the current exposure conditions such that a baseline exists from which changes can be documented following the lowering of the reservoir water. Additionally, the study provided useful radioecological data on biota concentration ratios for some species that are poorly represented in the literature.