Assessment of the effective dose received by the radiographer at the occupational context

Abstract

Introduction – As part of its work, the Radiographer is exposed to ionizing radiation and subjected to its potential biological effects. Materials and methods – In order to evaluate the effective dose received by the Radiographer in the different radiological methods it was undertaken an exploratory and descriptive study. Measurements were carried out using thermoluminescent dosimeters in five different radiological methods. Questionnaires were administered to Radiographers, to determine the total work hours and the general measures of radiological protection used during the measurement period. Results – It was found that the effective doses, calculated per hour, were higher in Intervention Radiology, with data obtained over the lead protection, and Mammography showed the lowest effective dose calculated per hour Mammography, presenting a measurement value equal to zero. Conclusions – Differences were detected in the received effective dose according to the function performed by the Radiographer. Values of effective dose for one year, calculated by extrapolation, showed that the values corresponding to each method are well below the annual legal limit of 20mSv.

Keywords

• dose efetiva, técnico de radiologia, exposição ocupacional, radiação ionizante