Radiation Risk Flashcards
Equivalent Dose
unit
equation
Equivalent dose (HT) = absorbed dose (D) x radiation weighting factor (wR)
H (Sv) = D (Gy) * WR
For x-rays and electrons, wR = 1
Equivalent dose takes into account the harmfulness of different radiations
Radiation effects on humans:
Stochastic:
- Probability?
- Evidence?
- Example?
- Probability of effect occurring is proportional to dose (no threshold)
- Evidence: Japanese survivors, early radiologists, uranium miners, radium dial painters
- The stochastic effect of interest is carcinogenesis
Radiation effects on humans:
Deterministic (tissue reactions)
Probability?
Evidence?
Example?
- No effect below a threshold dose
- Above threshold, severity of effect increases with dose
- Carcinogenesis & deterministic effects are somatic effects – they affect the irradiated individual
Radiation effects on humans:
Genetic:
How is it caused?
How can we assess risk?
- chromosome damage – breakage followed by faulty repair no convincing evidence
- Problems of genetic risk assessment:
- only gonad exposure is relevant
- mutations may be recessive
- mutations may be unstable
Problems of estimating risk to an individual (x2)
- Different organs and tissues have different radiosensitivities
- Dose to organs and tissues are not uniformly distributed
Effective dose
- E (Sv) = SUM( WT * HT)
- WT = tissue weighting factor for organ sensitivity
- HT = equivelent dose to organ or tissue
*
Tissue weighting factor:
- Skin
- Lung
- Breast
- Bone
- Skin - 0.01
- Lung - 0.12
- Breast - 0.12
- Bone - 0.01
What is detriment?
What 4 components does it have?
Detriment is a measure of toal harm arising from an exposure
Components:
- P( fatal cancer )
- P( severe genetic effects )
- Length of life lost
- weighted probability of non-fatal cancer
UK average annual dose from all sources
2.7 mSv
Per caput dose from medical irradiation
UK
USA
UK - 0.4mSv
USA - 0.4mSv
Total risk factors:
Adult
8-15 week conceptus
where do they come from?
- Adult - 5%/Sv
- 8-15 week conceptus - 30 IQ points / Sv
Numbers come from ICRP 103
What do radiation risk factors depend on?
Age - decreasing as you get older, particularly high for developing children
Why is irradiation in utero more risky?
- Rapidly dividing cells = higher radiosensitivty - possibility of death
- Smaller number of cells have specific functions, posibiliy of abnormality
Radiation effects on embryo & foetus
- Tissue
- lethality
- gross malformations
- abnormal brain development
- Stochastic
- Tissue
- lethality - 0.1 - 1 Gy
- gross malformations - 0.2Gy (2-5wks) 0.5Gy(5-7 weeks)
- abnormal brain development - 16-25 (0.6-0.7Gy)
- Stochastic
- Heritable - 2.4 %/Gy
- Cancer induction
- excess cancer induction risk : 6%/Gy
- Excess risk of cancer deth = 3%/Gy
What are the 3 highest contributors to the collective dose from medical exams?
- CT - 7.4% frequency, 68% dose
- interventional radiology -1% frequency, 8% dose
- Mammo - 5.8% frequency, 5.4% dose