1

Radiation Protection
Stuart A Jackson PhD FCCPM
2007
Outline
Regulations
Dose Limits
Radiation Workers
Members of the public
Personnel Dosimetry
Radiation Protection Principles
Shielding in Diagnostic Radiology
2
Radiation Protection
Radiation protection of personnel is accomplished by :
Regulations.
Monitoring.
Shielding.
Regulations
There are several international organizations, which provide the
basis for radiation protection legislation.
ICRP, founded in 1928 issues periodic recommendations on
radiation protection, based on current knowledge and studies.
UNSCEAR issues reports on radiation risks.
ICRU provides guidance on measurement issues and units of
measurement in radiology.
BEIR committee, periodically reviews radiation risk data and issues
reports. BEIR V report (1990) contains current risk estimates.
NCRP provides advice to Federal and State regulators on radiation
protection matters in the United States.
3
International Organizations
ICRP International Commission on Radiological Protection.
UNSCEAR United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic
Radiation.
ICRU International Commission on Radiological Units and Measurements.
BEIR Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation Committee.
NCRP National Committee on Radiological Protection and Measurements.
Radiation Protection in Canada
The Atomic Energy Control Act, adopted in 1946, governed Canadas
approach to regulating nuclear energy and materials for the last half of the
20th century.
While regulatory practices have evolved to keep pace with industry and to
increase focus on health, safety, security and environmental protection, the
legislation itself had not changed. New legislation was required to provide a
more modern and effective regulatory framework.
The Nuclear Safety and Control Act was passed by Parliament in 1997 to
better reflect the current regulatory mandate and priorities. The legislation
replaced the outdated Atomic Energy Control Act and paved the way for the
creation of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
The Nuclear Safety and Control Act came into force on May 31, 2000,
enabling the formal launch of the CNSC.
4
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Prevent unreasonable risk to the environment or to the health and
safety of the public.
Prevent unreasonable risk to national security.
Achieve compliance with international treaties and obligations on
the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Provide objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to
the public concerning the Commissions activities and the effects
on health, safety and the environment of the nuclear industry.
Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, the Commissions objectives are to:
Designation of Workers
Nuclear Energy Worker:
A person who is required to perform
duties in such circumstances that
there is a reasonable probability that
the person may receive a dose of
radiation that is greater than the
prescribed limit for the general public.
5
Designation of Workers
Radiation Worker :
A worker who uses, controls the use
of or is directly involved in the use
of designated radiation equipment
or a radiation source.
Designation of Workers
Other or General Population - workers who are not designated as
Radiation Workers or Nuclear Energy Workers
The difference between a "Radiation User" and a non-radiation
worker or member of the public lies in the circumstances in which
each is exposed to radiation. The latter is exposed incidentally or
randomly, because he/she happens to come into the vicinity of
radiation sources, of which he/she has no direct knowledge, interest
or control. In contrast, the Radiation User is systematically exposed
as a result either of his/her own work or of work carried out by
colleagues in the same laboratory or department.
6
Regulated Dose Limits.
For individuals who are exposed to radiation due to their
occupation, their dose limits are specified for both whole body
irradiation and for certain individual organs.
Occupational exposure limits exclude exposures from
medical procedures and natural background.
Rule of thumb- People who could possibly receive more than
25% of the dose limit of a radiation worker should be monitored.
However, the vast majority of monitored individuals rarely
receive more than a few percent of the dose limit.
Occupational Dose Limits - Historically:
Dose Rate Date
Recommended
Comment
0.1 of erythema dose per year 1925 Proposed by A. Mutscheller and
R.M.Sievert. This corresponds to
an exposure of 30R/year form
100 kVp X-rays
0.2 R/day or 1 R per working week 1934 Recommended by ICRP
15 rem/year 150 mSv/year 1950 Recommended by ICRP
5 rem/year 50 mSv/year 1956 Recommended by ICRP
ALARA, 50 mSv/year 1977 Recommended by ICRP

7
Occupational Dose Limits ICRP60
**
N = age in years of the exposed worker.
An individuals lifetime effective dose equivalent in rems should not exceed their age in years.
Dose limits exclude medical and natural exposures.
Dose Limit NCRP 91 (1987) ICRP 60 (1990)
Whole Body 50 mSv/y (5 rem/y) 20 mSv/y (2 rem/y)
Lens of Eye 150 mSv/y ( 15 rem/y) 150 mSv/y (15 rem/y)
Other organs, hands, breast,
lungs, gonads, skin
500 mSv/y (50 rem/y) 500 mSv/y (50 rem/y)
Lifetime whole body 10x(N-18) mSv (N-18 rem) < 0.8 Sv (40 years) (< 80 rem)
Fetus (Monthly) 0.5 mSv (50 mrem) N/A
Fetus (9 Months) 5 mSv (500 mren) 1 mSv (100 mrem)

Permissible Levels
1 One calendar year A person who is not a
Nuclear Energy Period
4 Balance of the
pregnancy
Pregnant Nuclear
Energy Worker
50
100
(a) One-year dosimetry
(b) Five-year dosimetry
Nuclear Energy Worker,
including a pregnant
nuclear energy worker
Effective Dose Effective Dose
(mSv) (mSv)
Period Period Person Person
As per Section 13(1) of the Radiation Protection Act and Regulat As per Section 13(1) of the Radiation Protection Act and Regulations ions
8
Permissible Levels
150
15
One-year dosimetry period
One calendar year
Nuclear Energy
Worker
Any other person
Lens of an eye
500
50
One-year dosimetry period
One calendar year
Nuclear Energy
Worker
Any other person
Skin
Nuclear Energy
Worker
Any other person
Person Person
500
50
One-year dosimetry period
One calendar year
Hands and Feet
Effective Effective
Dose Dose
(mSv) (mSv)
Period Period Organ or Organ or
Tissue Tissue

Classification Effective Dose mSv (mrem)
1
Requirements

Nuclear Energy
Worker
2

100 (10000) / 5 yrs
3

Note: A maximum of 50 (5000)
6
in
any one year or an average of 20
(2000)/yr
one year dosimetry
period
doses likely to surpass
1 mSv/yr
mandatory personnel
monitoring
medical surveillance

Pregnant Nuclear
Energy Worker
4(400) balance of pregnancy
mandatory personnel
monitoring
medical surveillance

Radiation User
4
1 (100)/yr
5
doses not to surpass 1
mSv/yr
recommended
personnel monitoring


9
Typical Occupational Doses
X-ray technologists typically receive 0.2 mSv
(20 mrem) per year.
Radiation therapy technologists receive 1.5 mSv
(150 mrem) per year.
Nuclear medicine technologists receive 2.0 mSv
(200 mrem) per year.
Capital Health Radiation Safety
Committee
Representation from Radiology, Cardiology,
Orthopedics, Endocrinology, and affiliated institutions
such as the Cross Cancer Institute and the University of
Alberta.
Advises management and establishes policies to ensure
safe use of radiation.
Reviews submissions to the Ethics Review Board that
involve radiation exposure.
Ensures that all legislative requirements are met within
Capital Health.
10
Legislation
Radiation emitting devices, both ionizing and
non-ionizing, are legislated by Health Canada
and Alberta Human Resources and Employment.
Medical devices are registered with the Alberta
College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Capital Health is approved as an Authorized
Radiation Protection Agency.
Legislation (cont.)
Radioactive materials are legislated by the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission.
The University Hospital presently has 4 licences.
Regular inspections are performed by the CNSC.
11
Radiation Protection-Monitoring
Personnel radiation exposure must be monitored for both safety and
regulatory considerations. This monitoring could be over periods of
months or for just several minutes in special circumstances.
The following types of devices are used in these situations.
Badges: Film, TLD, OSL
Pocket dosimeters (discharge ionization chamber)
Solid state devices.
Ideally, the monitor should be sensitive, accurate and provide
readout of the type of exposure. The ideal monitor does not exist,
and the most appropriate device for the job must be chosen.
Radiation Monitoring
Employees classified as Radiation or
Nuclear Energy Workers are
monitored for radiation exposure.
UAH staff who routinely work in areas
where they might receive measurable
amounts of radiation are also
monitored.
Monitors (TLDs) are returned
quarterly for reading.
12
Film Badges.
These devices used to be the most common type of personnel
monitor, but they have been more or less replaced by TLD systems.
The film badge consists of a small sealed film packet, held inside a
plastic holder which contains metal filters. The radiation striking the
film causes a darkening of the film when developed, the amount of
darkening being proportional to the amount of radiation.
The film emulsion contains grains of silver bromide, resulting in a
higher effective Z than tissue, therefore the dose to the film is not
quite the same as the dose to tissue.
However, with the use of metal filters, the relative optical density of
parts of the film can be used to identify the type of radiation, and
enable a conversion of film dose to tissue dose.
Most film badges can record doses from about 100 Gy to 15 Gy (10 mrad
to 1500 rad) for photons and from 500 Gy to 10 Gy (50 mrad to 1000 rad
for beta radiation)
13
TLD (Thermoluminescent Dosimeter)
TLDs are a class of inorganic scintillators in
which the electrons become trapped in excited
states after an interaction with ionizing radiation.
If the scintillator is later heated, the electrons fall
to their ground state with the emission of light.
The amount of light emitted is proportional to the
amount of energy absorbed.
Metal filters are used to discriminate energy.
Luminescence:
Starting with empty traps in the forbidden zone, ionization fills the
many traps which are scattered at different levels .
The electrons can stay indefinitely.
Energy in the form of heat is required to free the electrons which can
then return to the valance band, emitting light in the process.
In this situation, the light emitted is proportional to the original
energy input (dose).
Lithium fluoride is a common TLD material which has an effective
atomic number similar to soft tissue, thereby making it a valuable
radiation dosimeter.
The TLD Process
14
TLD Reader
Optically Stimulated Luminescence
TLD badges are currently
being replaced by OSL.
15
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)
The method makes use of electrons
trapped between the valence and electron
band in the crystalline structure of matter.
Aluminum oxide is one such type of matter.
The trapping sites are imperfections of the
lattice - impurities or defects.
The ionizing radiation produces electron-
hole pairs - electrons are in the conduction
band and holes in the valence band.
The electrons which have been excited to
the conduction band may become trapped
in traps present.
Under stimulation of light the electrons
may free themselves from the trap and
get into the conduction band.
From the conduction band they may
recombine with holes on their way
back to the valance band.
Energy is dissipated as a light photon.
The photons are detected using a
photomultiplier tube. The signal from
the tube is then used to calculate the
dose that the material had absorbed.
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)
16
Optically Stimulated Luminescence
(simple model)
Conduction band
Valance band
,,
e-
OSL
Energy trap Forbidden
band
The packaging design of a
radiation monitor can allow
differentiation between static or
dynamic motion, thereby
detecting erroneous exposures
or contamination.
Types of radiation.
Since only a small fraction of the
traps are freed when read,
multiple readings can be taken.
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)
17
Pocket Dosimeters.
When immediate readings are
required, the film badge and TLD
are not useful, and a device such
as the pocket ionization chamber
can be used.
This device utilizes a quartz fibre
suspended on a wire frame, on
which a positive electrical charge
is placed. The fibre bends away
from the frame because of
coulombic repulsion, and it can be
seen to traverse a scale which
indicates the radiation exposure.
Pocket Dosimeters.
Devices are available in
different dose ranges, but a
typical device will be 0-200
mR. These devices are
simple and compact, but can
easily be damaged by
mechanical shock.
A modern replacement of the
pocket dosimeter is the digital
pocket dosimeter, which uses
a small Geiger-Mueller (GM)
tube or radiation sensitive
diodes.
18
If you're looking for a small always-on
radiation monitor, the K8 Nuke Safeguard
is about as small as you can get. It uses a
tiny solid-state detector that is sensitive
enough to detect 10 microcuries of
Cesium-137 from 7.5 cm away. Unlike
some of the keychain detectors out there,
the K8 has LED indicators so you know
what's going on. Green light? It's detecting
background radiation. Yellow light?
Battery needs replacing. Red light?
Underwear needs replacing.
19
Problems with personnel dosimetry
Lost and damaged
Accidental irradiation
Contamination
Not used
Improper use
Radiation Protection
One simple principle guides radiation protection policy
A As s
L Low ow
A As s
R Reasonably easonably
A Achievable chievable
20
ALARA ALARA
The key concepts of the ALARA Principle are:
No practice shall be adopted unless it is introduction produces a
net positive benefit.
All exposures shall be kept as low as reasonably achievable,
economic and social factors being taken into account.
The dose equivalents to individuals shall not exceed the limits
recommended for the appropriate circumstances by the CNSC.
ALARA ALARA
Point two of the proceeding slide requires actual
operational dose limits of any radiological activity to be
more restrictive than the maximum recommended dose
limit.
There are three basic concepts that apply to all types of
ionizing radiation that maximize ALARA and therefore
Radiation Safety
21
Corner Stones of Radiation Protection
Time
The amount of radiation exposure increases or
decreases with the time near the source of radiation.
Estimates for exposure will always have a time element
attached with them.
22
Distance
The further away you are from a radiation source, the less your
exposure.
Distance and exposure follow the Inverse Square Law
Double the distance Quarter the exposure
2
2
1
1 2
2
2
2
2
1
1

=
=
=
D
D
E E
D
k
E
D
k
E
Shielding
For shielding against gamma radiation: lead, tungsten,
steel and high density concrete are used.
The thickness of the material depends on the intensity
energy of the gamma radiation. For higher energies, a
thicker layer is required.
The simple approach to selecting shielding against
gamma radiation is the HVL (Half Value Layer).
This is the thickness of the material required to reduce
gamma radiation to one half
The TLV (Tenth Value Layer) is the thickness required
to reduce the gamma radiation to one tenth its initial
value.
23
Shielding in Diagnostic Radiology.
The major objective of radiation shielding is to protect both workers
and members of the public from radiation produced by X-ray
machines.
The NCRP produce a document (Report 49) which details the
design and construction of shielding for medical facilities.
Not to forget the ALARA principle, regulations specify that in
restricted areas where only occupational workers are permitted, the
maximal allowable exposure is 1 mSv per week.
In general public areas it is less. But in practice the levels will
usually be much below this.
Shielding in Diagnostic Radiology.
So, to calculate the shielding required to meet
regulations, we need to know how much radiation
from all sources, is incident upon the area over a
period of time, and how often someone is likely to
be in that area.
This will give us an estimate of likely exposures.
24
Sources of Exposure.
Primary radiation
Scattered radiation
Leakage radiation
Sources of Exposure.
Primary radiation is
sometimes called the
useful beam, and is the
radiation that passes
through the collimator
from the x-ray tube.
25
Sources of Exposure.
Scattered radiation arises from
interactions of the useful beam
with the patient or other
objects within the beam path.
Scatter is generally considered
to be a separate source of
radiation with the same energy
spectrum as the primary beam.
As a general rule of thumb,
scattered radiation at one
metre from the patient is
approximately 0.1% of the
incident exposure to the
patient.
Sources of Exposure.
Leakage radiation
emanates from the
tube housing, and
because it has passed
through considerable
amounts of lead will
have a high effective
energy.
26
Protective Barrier Specification.
To design effective barriers to
radiation, the following five
major factors have to be
considered.
Workload (W)
Exposure Level (E)
Use factor (U)
Occupancy Factor (T)
Distance (d)
STEP 1.
Workload (W) indicates the amount of time per week
that the x-ray tube will be on, and has units of
mA.min/wk.
For example: A room with 20 patients per day, three
films per patient and 50 mAs per film has a workload
of:
W=20 x 5(days per week) x 3 (films per patient) x 50
mAs / 60 (mA) =250 mA.min/week
27
STEP 2.
The Exposure output is determined separately for the
three sources of exposure. It is measured in mR/mAs
at 1 metre.
Primary exposure is determined from either a direct
measurement or from a table or graph .
Then the weekly exposure is calculated by multiplying
the output by the workload.
E(primary) (mR/week) = W (mA.min/week) x tube
output (mR/mA.min)
E(primary) (mR/week) =
W (mA.min/week) x tube output (mR/mA.min)
OR
28
Scatter
Scattered radiation is a fraction of the incident primary
exposure, and the ratio of the scattered to primary
radiation (S) is typically 0.15% for a 400 cm square field
at 125 kVp.
Scattered radiation at one metre from the patient (the
source) is given approximately by the following
formulation.
week mR
cm Size Field
S
d
E
E
object urce so
primary
scatter / )
400
) (
(
2
2
=

Leakage Radiation
Leakage radiation E
L
is limited by regulation to a
maximum of 100 mR/hour at 1 metre form the tube
housing for a maximum continuous tube current (I)
(typically 3-5 mA).
The maximum leakage radiation is therefore 100 mR per
I mA.hour, which is equal to 1.67 mR per I mA.min at 1
metre. Therefore the total leakage radiation in one week
will have a maximum value of:
E
L
= 1.67 mR/I (mA.min) x W (mA.min/week) = 1.67 W
/ I (mR/week)
29
STEP 3.
The Use factor of a wall to be shielded is determined by the fraction
of time that the three sources of radiation are incident upon it.
Any wall that is to shield form the primary beam is called a primary
barrier, and can be assigned a use factor in the range 0 to 1.
The primary use factor is typically 1 for the floor and 0.25 for the
walls and 0 for the ceiling. In some rooms the equipment will
provide its own primary barrier (fluoro), and the walls are therefore
assigned a value of 0.
For a chest unit that is constantly directed toward a particular wall,
that wall is assigned a value of 1, and the other walls 0.25.
For secondary radiation, which is basically isotropic, each barrier is
assigned a value of 1.
STEP 4.
The amount of time that an individual will be in the space which is
being shielded is called the occupancy factor (T). Typical
recommended values are shown in the table below. Any
assumptions will err on the side of safety.
Occupancy level Type of Area Occupancy Factor
(T)
Full
Work areas, offices,
labs, nurse stations.
Living quarters,
childrens play areas
1
Partial
Corridors, rest rooms,
parking lots

Occasional
Waiting rooms,
stairway, elevators,
closet
1/16

30
STEP 5
Distance is a major factor in determining the amount of shielding
required. There are four distances that must be considered.
d
pri
:the primary distance from the tube to one foot (0.3m) beyond
the barrier to be shielded.
d
sec
: the scatter distance from the patient to 0.3 m beyond the
barrier to be shielded.
d
leak
: the distance from the tube housing to 0.3 m beyond the
barrier to be shielded.
d
sod
:the source to object distance is the distance from the focal spot
to the surface of the patient, and is used to calculate the scatter
fraction.
Because the exposure levels Ep , Es , EL , are all
calculated at one metre, then division by the dpri
2
, dsca
2
and dleak
2
respectively will give us the appropriate
exposures.
So first we calculate the exposure contributions without
any shielding, which will then allow us to calculate the
amount of shielding required.
E Exposure
E
d
U
E
d
E
d
week
p
pri
s l
leak
= = + + / .
sec
2
2 2
31
STEP 6.
Now that the weekly exposures are known, we can
multiply by the occupancy factor (T) to produce an
occupancy exposure. Then we can determine the
amount of shielding required to reduce the exposure
levels to the regulated amounts.
Exposure to Shield = E x T
100 mR per week for a controlled area.
10 mR per week for an uncontrolled area.
Calculation of Shielding Thickness
This is easily done by the use of HVL and TVL
tables since direct calculation can be inaccurate.
KVp Lead
HVL(mm)
Lead
TVL(mm)
Concrete
HVL (mm)
Concrete
TVL (mm)
50 0.06 0.17 4.3 15
70 0.17 0.52 8.4 28
100 0.27 0.88 16 53
125 0.28 0.93 20 66
150 0.30 0.99 22.4 74

32
Ideal vs Practical
Narrow v Broad beam
x
l
e I I
.
0.

=
x
l
e I I
.
0.

TVL
HVL
/ 303 . 2
/ 693 . 0
=
=

33
Broad beam Geometry- Buildup
Factors
Bad geometry or broad beam geometry describes a large beam and
uncollimated detector system such that scattered photons are also
detected. Thus many more photons than those predicted by the narrow
beam equation are detected. The additional photons resulting from
scattering is sometimes referred to as buildup.
There is no adequate analytical expression for measurement of
attenuation in broad beam conditions. Instead, tables of buildup
factors, B, are experimentally obtained as a function of photon energy,
material type and material thickness. These factors are then
incorporated into the pencil-beam exponential attenuation expression
as follows:
x
l
e B T
.
=
Real Life Situations
In real life situations when dealing with
radiation protection, the ideal (narrow beam)
situation never exists. Broad beam situations
are reality.
Buildup factors can help with shielding design,
but they can never be truly accurate.
Monte-Carlo techniques can be used to
produce relatively accurate calculations for
shielding purposes.
34
Practicalities
In practice, most wall shielding used for diagnostic x-ray
facilities is 1.6mm (1/16th) of an inch thick lead, which
provides more than is typically needed.
Wall shielding should extend from the floor to seven feet
in height.
Floors and ceilings must be considered in multi floor
buildings.
Other materials such as drywall or concrete can be
considered for shielding in many cases.
CT Scanner Shielding.
For a CT scanner, all the walls
are considered a secondary
barrier since the detector array
provides the primary radiation
barrier. The scatter and leakage
radiation must be measured, and
the CT manufacturer provides
data that illustrates the
isoexposure lines in mR per 100
mAs for a single slice.
The weekly figure must be
multiplied by the weekly number
of slices and adjusted for actual
mAs.
35
Lead Aprons.
The use of lead aprons by radiology staff is widespread,
and certainly recommended.
For most applications in radiology, the apron is to shield
from scattered radiation, which would tend to be in the
10 30 keV range, and are easily stopped by a thin
layer of lead.
The material of these aprons is a lead rubber, which has
a lead equivalence of 0.25mm or 0.5 mm typically.
A normal weight apron (0.25 mm) used in radiography
will reduce the exposure by a factor of 10.
The thicker aprons will attenuate much more, but are
heavy and restrictive if worn for extended periods.
Lead Aprons.
In nuclear medicine, where the energies of the ambient
radiation are much higher than in radiography, the lead
apron is of limited use, and is often considered too
restrictive for day long wear.
A 0.25 mm lead apron will provide a dose reduction of
about only about 40% for Tc-99m (140 keV).
A 0.5 mm lead apron weighs about 30 lbs and will
provide a dose reduction of about 70%.
For higher energies, such as I-131 (360 keV) and 18F
(511keV) an apron is of little use.
36
Flouoroscopy
Flouoroscopy is probably the procedure that has
the potential for the highest doses to both patients
and staff.
The tabletop exposure is limited by regulation to 10
R/min for systems with automatic brightness
control, and 5 R/min for systems without ABC.
A few minutes of fluoro time can lead to
considerable skin doses.
Radiation Protection
Please review Chapter 18 in Bushberg
Questions Next Week
37
Further Information
There is general radiation information available at the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission, the federal regulator, website:
http://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/
Another good source of information for everyday radiation interests
is the US Environmental Protection Agency website:
http://www.epa.gov/radtown/
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) operates and
enforces regulations under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act
(NSCA). Regulatory information can be found at the CNSC website:
http://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/regulatory_information/