Analysis for external exposure of nurses engaged in nuclear medicine using a personal dosimeter with a trend function

Abstract

Occupational exposure of radiation workers, including nurses, is an important issue that should always be considered. However, there are limited reports on external exposure of nurses working in nuclear medicine investigated using a personal dosimeter with a trend function. We investigated the relationship between the personal dose equivalent and behavior of nurses in nuclear medicine using a personal dosimeter with a trend function. It was found that the external exposure of nurses was high when they cleaned hospital rooms where patients who received radiopharmaceutical drugs were admitted. However, none of the nurses surveyed exceeded 3μ. Visualization of the contamination in the hospital room showed that the area around the sink and trash can was particularly contaminated. Hence, nurses need to be more careful when cleaning. Although it is unlikely that the nurses surveyed will be affected by external exposure, data in this report is valuable for nurses at medical institutions to consider work hours and personnel strategies.