Assessment of annual average effective dose status in the cohort of medical staff in Lithuania during 1991-2013

Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2015 Dec;167(4):671-7. doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncu368. Epub 2015 Jan 21.

Abstract

The use of radiation sources for various medical purposes is closely related to irradiation of the medical staff, which causes harmful effects to health and an increased risk of cancer. In total, 1463 medical staff who have been occupationally exposed to sources of ionising radiation (IR) had been monitored. Records with annual dose measurements (N = 19 157) were collected and regularly analysed for a 23-y period: from 01 January 1991 to 31 December 2013. The collected annual average effective dose (AAED) data have been analysed according to different socio-demographic parameters and will be used in future investigation in order to assess cancer risk among medical staff occupationally exposed to sources of IR. A thorough analysis of data extracted from medical staff's dose records allows one to conclude that the average annual effective dose of Lithuanian medical staff occupationally exposed to sources of IR was consistently decreased from 1991 (1.75 mSv) to 2013 (0.27 mSv) (p < 0.0001).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lithuania
  • Male
  • Medical Staff*
  • Middle Aged
  • Occupational Exposure / analysis*
  • Radiation Dosage
  • Radiation Monitoring*
  • Radiation, Ionizing*
  • Time Factors
  • Whole-Body Counting
  • Whole-Body Irradiation