Radiation safety Flashcards
What is meant by ‘stochastic effects’ from radiation?
Prob. of damage increases with dose eg. cancer, genetics
What is meant by ‘deterministic effects’ from radiation?
Above a certain threshold, damage gets progressively worse eg. erythema, cataracts etc. from radiation therapy
Are radiologists more at risk from stochastic or deterministic radiative effects?
Stochastic
What is radiation effective dose measured in?
Sieverts (Gray- the absorebed dose x specific factor for organ/tissue)
What is the maximum radiation dose for UK employees >18yo?
20mSv/year
List methods of radiation protection
Filtration of x-ray tube (remove lowest energy photons)
Time (reduce time of exposure)
Distance
Shielding lead apron, gloves, thyroid collar)
Collimation (reduces exposed area)
Personnel dose monitoring (every person gets dosimeter)