OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO MEDICAL X-RAYS IN POLAND

Personal dosimetry in Poland indicates that exposure to X rays of workers engaged in surgical radiology is higher than that among other radiologists and auxiliary personnel, 0.9 as against 0.4 mSv per annum. This information, however, does not provide detailed insight into the exposures. To study this problem, the exposure of personnel employed in operating theatres and utilising fluoroscopy was investigated. With TL dosemeters, the distribution of doses to the body was measured on the surface of protective aprons and on the forehead, the wrist and the shoulder. The study embraced 20 centres in Poland engaged in cardiac pacemaker insertion, haemodynamic examinations of the heart, transcutaneous removal of kidney stones, radiological control of biliary routes and orthopaedic surgery. The results enable one to assess the average annual effective dose equivalent H(E) for workers and the corresponding dose equivalents H to the lens of the eye and the hands.