16. RADIATION HEALTH EFFECTS: SAFETY Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q
  1. When was the most recent set of the fundamental ICRP Recommendations published?
A
  • this was ICRP Publication 103
  • it is called the: “The 2007 Recommendations of the
    International Commission on Radiological Protection”
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q
  1. What does “The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection” outline?
A
  • it describes the entire system of Radiological
    Protection
  • it forms the basis for all the relevant EU and
    International Legislations
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q
  1. What does the scope of Radiological Protection include?
A
  • it includes all the exposures to ionising radiation
  • these exposures can come from any source
  • regardless of the exposure size or origin

THIS INCLUDES:
- Natural Sources of Radiation
- Man made sources of Radiation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q
  1. When does the system of protection against radiation apply itself fully?
A
  • when the source of exposure can be controlled
  • when the pathways leading to the exposure can be
    controlled
  • a set of fundamental principles will be applied in all
    circumstances
  • this does not mean that there is equal protection
    treatment in all the circumstances
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q
  1. What is a Graded Burden of Obligation?
A
  • this is something that is expected
  • it is brought about through regulatory controls and
    procedural arrangements
  • it depends on the level of risk
  • it depends on the Flexibility of control
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q
  1. Which two concepts help to precisely describe the domain of radiological protection control?
A
  1. Exclusion
  2. Exemption
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q
  1. Why can certain situations be excluded?
A
  1. CONTROL IS NOT POSSIBLE
    - EG: potassium 40 occurring naturally in the human
    body
  2. CONTROL IS OBVIOUSLY IMPRACTICAL
    - EG: exposure to cosmic radiation

NB:
- control in these situations is unjustified
- the exempts these situations from regulatory
requirements

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q
  1. What kind of situations can expereince exemption from regulatory requirements?
A
  • situations in which the effort to control is excessive
    compared to the associated risk
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q
  1. What do National Regulators do?
A
  • they decide what is excluded
  • they decide in which circumstances control is
    unwarranted
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q
  1. What is the Primary Aim of the system of radiological protection according to ICRP
    Report 103?
A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q
  1. What are the Human Health Objectives of the system of Radiological Protection according to the ICRP Report 103?
A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q
  1. How are Deterministic Efforts preventable?
A
  • by keeping the doses below a specific threshold
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q
  1. How are Stochastic Effects managed?
A

WITH STOCHASTIC EFFECTS:
- even a small dose might give rise to a risk of a
condition

THE PROTECTION SYSTEM AIMS TO:
- prevent harm that is preventable
- manage harm that cannot be prevented

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q
  1. List 2 characteristics of Deterministic Effects?
A
  1. They depend on the doses
  2. There is a threshold limit
    • any dose below this limit with have no effect
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q
  1. List 4 characteristics of Stochastic Effects?
A
  1. They are probabilistic
  2. They have no threshold
  3. The severity of the effects is not related to the dose
  4. There is a risk of developing conditions due to
    Stochastic effects whenever we are exposed to
    radiation
    - EG: cancer
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q
  1. What is the system of Radiological Protection based on?
A
  1. Scientific Knowledge
    - EG: the Photoelectric Effect
    - EG: the Compton Effect
    - EG: Pair Production
  2. Ethical Values
  3. Experience
17
Q
  1. What can science give us information to, with regards to Radiological Protection?
A
  1. HOW RADIOACTIVE METALS MOVE
    • through the environment
    • how they move through human bodies once they
      have been inhaled or ingested
  2. HOW RADIATION INTERACTS WITH MATTER
  3. THE EFFECTS OF RADIATION ON HUMAN HEALTH
    • and on the environment

NB:
- all these aspects are important for Radiological Protection

18
Q
  1. Why are Ethical Value Judgements necessary in Radiological Protection?
A
  • they help to decide what may be tolerable or
    intolerable

THESE ETHICAL VALUE PRINCIPLES INCLUDE:
- Precaution
- Wisdom
- Justice
- Beneficence (the need to do good)

19
Q
  1. How does ICRP Publication 103 define Stochastic Effects?
A

STOCHASTIC EFFECTS INCLUDE:
- cancer
- heritable effects
(these are the effects
that will appear in
future generations)

20
Q
  1. What kind of model does the System of Radiological Protection use?
A
  • it uses the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) Model
  • it uses this as a basis
  • this model is scientifically plausible
  • it is not universally accepted as the biological truth

THIS MODEL IS PRUDENT FOR PUBLIC POLICY:
- these policies are aimed at avoiding unnecessary risks
from any kinds of exposures and ionising radiation
- this risk is an estimation

21
Q
  1. What does the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) Model assume?
A
  • it assumes that any dose will produce a proportionate
    increment in probability
  • this happens no matter how small the dose is

THE PROBABILITY:
- is one that concerns itself with the chance of cancer or
heritable effects incurring

22
Q
  1. How are Deterministic Effects described by ICRP Publication 118?
A

THE THRESHOLD:
- is the key parameter
in terms of radiological
protection

23
Q
  1. What did ICRP Publication 118 focus on when it came to Deterministic effects?
A
  • they focused on estimating the dose thresholds
  • this was defined as the dose resulting in 1% of
    individuals
  • these individuals were exhibiting a specified effect
24
Q
  1. What does defining a threshold NOT IMPLY?
A
  • it does not imply that there will be no biological effects
    that occur at lower doses
  • it defines the dose above which specified effects
    become clinically apparent in a small percentage of
    individuals
25
Q
  1. What is a Central feature of Radiological Protection?
A
  • calculating the dose of the radiation received
26
Q
  1. What are the 3 dose quantities that are used?
A
  1. THE ABSORBED DOSE
    • this is measured in Grays (Gy)
    • it is the dose absorbed by the body
  2. THE EQUIVALENT DOSE
    - this is measured in Sievert (St)
    - it is the Absorbed dose x the radiation weighting
    factor
    - it takes into consideration the relative biological
    effectiveness (RBE) of various radiation types
  3. THE EFFECTIVE DOSE
    • this is measured in Sievert (Sv)
    • it is the Equivalent dose x the tissue weighting factor
    • it looks at the sensitivity of the tissue to radiation
      exposure
27
Q
  1. What can be said about the averaged absorbed dose when it comes to Radiological Protection Applications?
A
  • the absorbed dose is averaged over tissue volumes
  • different organs and tissues have different sensitivities
    to radiation
28
Q
  1. What can be said about the Absorbed Dose at low doses?
A
  • the absorbed dose averaged over a specific organ or
    tissue is linked with the radiation detriment for
    Stochastic Effects
  • this has a sufficient accuracy for protection purposes
29
Q
  1. What can be said about different ionising levels?
A
  • they have different levels of effectiveness in causing
    biological effects

EXAMPLES OF IONISING RADIATION LEVELS:
- Alpha
- Beta
- Gamma
- Neutron
- other varieties of charged particles

30
Q
  1. What would happen if all Radiation Effects were deterministic in nature?
A
  • the system of radiological protection could be quite
    straightforward
  • we would be able to simply avoid exposures that
    exceed the thresholds as they are potentially
    dangerous
  • exposures below the thresholds would be considered
    safe
31
Q
  1. What does the Probabilistic nature of Stochastic effects mean?
A
  • it means that there is no clear distinction between the
    levels of exposure
  • we cannot identify which levels are safe and which are
    dangerous
32
Q
  1. What is the appropriate level of protection from radiation based on?
A
  • it is based on what is deemed acceptable in a given
    circumstance
  • ethical considerations play a role here
  • such as justice and beneficence
33
Q
  1. What are the 3 Fundamental Principles of the ICPR System of Protection?
A
  1. Justification
  2. Optimisation
  3. Dose Limitations
34
Q
  1. What is the Principle of Justification?
A
  • this means that the
    benefits should
    outweigh the
    detriments for the
    patient when we
    introduce a new
    source of radiation
  • this also applies when
    we remove a risk of
    potential exposure
    from an existing one
  • this principle applies
    under all circumstances
  • this principle is the
    responsibility of the
    radiologists and the
    referring doctors
35
Q
  1. What is the Principle of Optimisation?
A
  • it demands that the net benefit to society and
    individuals should be maximised
  • there should be a balance between the image quality
    and the patient radiation dose
  • this concept defines the best level of protection under
    the prevailing circumstances