Measurement of Ambient Ionizing Radiation Exposure in Operating Consoles of Radiation Modalities in Cancer Hospital NORIN Nawabshah, Pakistan

: Elevated exposure from background radiations and health hazards for radiation workers have recently grabbed the attention of researchers. This study targeted to measure the background radiation levels in the operating console areas radiation facilities of NORIN, Nawabshah Pakistan. Ten operating consoles of different treatment and diagnostic machines were surveyed using a calibrated RM1001-RD LAMSE radiation monitor for the period of one year periodically and AEDR was calculated using standard formulas. The organ doses were calculated using recommended occupancy and conversion factors. The highest point with increased AEDR was found to be the operating console of cobalt-60 teletherapy machine (0.876 ± 0.03 mSv/yr), while the lowest at the Digital Radiography operating console (0.730 ± 0.03 mSv/yr). The standard error ranged between 0.02-0.03 %. These findings affirm a statistically significant difference in T-test values at a level of significance of 5% (P<0.05). The testes received the maximum dose (0.718 mSv/yr) followed by bone-marrow (0.604 mSv/yr) at Co-60 Teletherapy operating console. Conclusion: Based on these results, it was deduced that radiation levels are well within the permissible radiation limit of 1.0 mSv/yr prescribed by the ICRP and hardly about 37% of UNSCEAR limit of 2.4 mSv/yr. Therefore, all radiation workers are radiologically safe in operating console areas because all radiation protection and regulatory protocols are strictly observed in the working environment. This study eliminates the undue anxiety about the hazardous nature of radiation in the radiation workers of cancer hospitals.