Radiation doses of employees of a Nuclear Medicine Department after implementation of more rigorous radiation protection methods

The appropriate radiation protection measures applied in departments of nuclear medicine should lead to a reduction in doses received by the employees. During 19912007, at the Department of Nuclear Medicine of Pomeranian Medical University (Szczecin, Poland), nurses received on average two-times higher (4.6 mSv) annual doses to the whole body than those received by radiopharmacy technicians. The purpose of this work was to examine whether implementation of changes in the radiation protection protocol will considerably influence the reduction in whole-body doses received by the staff that are the most exposed. A reduction in nurses exposure by 63 took place in 200811, whereas the exposure of radiopharmacy technicians grew by no more than 22 in comparison with that in the period 19912007. Proper reorganisation of the work in departments of nuclear medicine can considerably affect dose reduction and bring about equal distribution of the exposure.