Health Physics
Prepared by: Me
Radiation and health
Health physics is concerned with providing occupational
radiation protection and minimizing radiation dose to the
public
We practice ALARA because of the linear, nonthreshold radiation
dose-response relationship for stochastic effects –cancer, leukemia, and
genetic effects
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP)
continuously reviews the recommended dose limits
Cardinal principles of radiation protection
Minimize radiation exposure of patients and personnel
Time, Distance, and Shielding
Cardinal principles of radiation protection
Keep the time of exposure to radiation as short as possible
Maintain as large distance as possible between the source and the
exposed person
Insert shielding material between the radiation source and the exposed
person
Minimize time
Dose to individual is directly related to duration of
exposure
General radiography time is kept minimum to reduce
motion blur
Pulse-progressive fluoroscopy can reduce patient dose
considerably
Maximize distance
As the distance between
the source of radiation
and the person increases,
radiation exposure
decreases rapidly
If the distance from the source exceeds five times the source
diameter, it can be treated as a point source.
Assume a point source and apply the inverse square law.
During fluoroscopy, the radiologic technologist should remain
as far from the patient as practicable
Use shielding
Positioning shielding between the radiation source and exposed
persons greatly reduces the level of radiation exposure
Usually consists of lead
Half-value layer (HVL) - reduce radiation intensity to half
Tenth-value layer (TVL) – reduce radiation intensity to one tenth its
original value (1 TVL = 3.3 HVL)
Lead apron – 0.5 mm Pb
Reduce exposure to approximately 10%
Approx half-value and tenth-value layers of Lead and Concrete at various tube
potentials
HVL TVL
Tube potential Lead (mm) Concrete Lead (mm) Concrete
(inches) (inches)
40 kVp 0.03 0.13 0.06 0.40
60 kVp 0.11 0.25 0.34 0.87
80 kVp 0.19 0.42 0.64 1.4
100 kVp 0.24 0.60 0.80 2.0
125 kVp 0.27 0.76 0.90 2.5
150 kVp 0.28 0.86 0.95 2.8
Effective dose
The equivalent whole body dose is the weighted average
of the radiation dose to various organs of the body
Effective dose is the equivalent whole-body dose
Weighting factors for various tissues
Tissue Tissue weighting factor (Wt)
Gonad 0.20
Active bone marrow 0.12
Colon 0.12
Lung 0.12
Stomach 0.12
Bladder 0.05
Breast 0.05
Esophagus 0.05
Liver 0.05
Thyroid 0.05
Bone surface 0.01
Skin 0.01
Radiologic terrorism
Radiologic Devices
Radiation Exposure Device (RED)
Radiologic Dispersal Device (RDD)
Improvised Nuclear Device (IND)
Being exposed to radiation does not make an
individual radioactive
Rescue and medical emergencies should be attended to
before radiologic concerns are addressed
RED – sealed source of radioactive material; will not disperse
radioactive material; no decontamination required
RDD – disperses radioactive contaminant over a wide area;
not usually life threatening; powder, mist, gas
IND – nuclear material that produces nuclear explosion
