Aa
i exposed to radiation
Hi
Iam 28 years old female doctor working in primary health center in iraq،recently they discovered that there is leakage of x-ray beam from x-ray unit that is adjucent to my room(approximatly 3-5m between my room and x-ray unit)
I calculated the period of exposure to be about 5-6 months in average of 10 times/month of exposure، I noted the walls of x-ray unit are covered with lead bars that not reach ceiling، also I would like to mention the x-ray machine used was portable type،please help me and pay attention to my message because iam really scared that i will have something dangerous due to that prolonged exposure،what can I do now to acertain that iam well (I mean any type of investigation) and what can I do to prevent having serious complications? Please pay attention to me ... Thanks
Iam 28 years old female doctor working in primary health center in iraq،recently they discovered that there is leakage of x-ray beam from x-ray unit that is adjucent to my room(approximatly 3-5m between my room and x-ray unit)
I calculated the period of exposure to be about 5-6 months in average of 10 times/month of exposure، I noted the walls of x-ray unit are covered with lead bars that not reach ceiling، also I would like to mention the x-ray machine used was portable type،please help me and pay attention to my message because iam really scared that i will have something dangerous due to that prolonged exposure،what can I do now to acertain that iam well (I mean any type of investigation) and what can I do to prevent having serious complications? Please pay attention to me ... Thanks
Thank you very much doctor for your caring and very usefull answers.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello again,
Your questions are:
1. "Should I worry about radiation now or I am considered to be safe from any exposure?"
UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN SURE TELL WITH CERTAINTY THAT YOU ARE "SAFE". HOWEVER, SHIELD (WITH LEAD WALLS) IS A STANDARDIZED APPROACH TO CONTAINING RADIATION IN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.
2. "Is there is any way to museare how much radiation there is in my body if i cant get an osimeter?"
THERE IS NO WAY TO DIRECTLY MEASURE THE RADIATION THAT YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED FROM X-RAYS. THE RECOMMENDATION FOR A DOSIMETER WOULD ALLOW YOU TO MEASURE RADIATION THAT IS RECEIVED BY THE DOSIMETER THAT YOU WOULD PRESUMABLY PLACE IN THE ROOM OF INTEREST. YOU WOULD PLACE THE DOSIMETER THERE IN THE ROOM FOR THE HOURS THAT YOU WERE WORKING THERE OVER A WEEK OR MONTH. THEN, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO ESTIMATE RADIATION RECEIVED FOR A MONTH OR YEAR--ASSUMING THAT THE FREQUENCY AND TYPES OF X-RAYS PERFORMED WERE SIMILAR TO WHEN YOU WERE WORKING IN THE ROOM.
I hope that this reply is helpful to you. Please reply with additional questions that you may have.
•~ Dr. Parks
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this Medhelp.org posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case
Your questions are:
1. "Should I worry about radiation now or I am considered to be safe from any exposure?"
UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN SURE TELL WITH CERTAINTY THAT YOU ARE "SAFE". HOWEVER, SHIELD (WITH LEAD WALLS) IS A STANDARDIZED APPROACH TO CONTAINING RADIATION IN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.
2. "Is there is any way to museare how much radiation there is in my body if i cant get an osimeter?"
THERE IS NO WAY TO DIRECTLY MEASURE THE RADIATION THAT YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED FROM X-RAYS. THE RECOMMENDATION FOR A DOSIMETER WOULD ALLOW YOU TO MEASURE RADIATION THAT IS RECEIVED BY THE DOSIMETER THAT YOU WOULD PRESUMABLY PLACE IN THE ROOM OF INTEREST. YOU WOULD PLACE THE DOSIMETER THERE IN THE ROOM FOR THE HOURS THAT YOU WERE WORKING THERE OVER A WEEK OR MONTH. THEN, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO ESTIMATE RADIATION RECEIVED FOR A MONTH OR YEAR--ASSUMING THAT THE FREQUENCY AND TYPES OF X-RAYS PERFORMED WERE SIMILAR TO WHEN YOU WERE WORKING IN THE ROOM.
I hope that this reply is helpful to you. Please reply with additional questions that you may have.
•~ Dr. Parks
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this Medhelp.org posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case
Dr Parks
Please i want to add something to be taken in consideration when we calculated radiation dose that i exposed to in the basis of 1 year..
What I want to say that I did CXR to myself at November 2010 cause I was suffering from respiratory tract infection,,,and at July 2011 I did lower back x-ray to exclude lumbar vertebral injury..I just want to be accurate about my radiation exposure and thank you verymuch
Please i want to add something to be taken in consideration when we calculated radiation dose that i exposed to in the basis of 1 year..
What I want to say that I did CXR to myself at November 2010 cause I was suffering from respiratory tract infection,,,and at July 2011 I did lower back x-ray to exclude lumbar vertebral injury..I just want to be accurate about my radiation exposure and thank you verymuch
Hello Dr.Parks
I really would like to thank you very much for your great opinion and your answer to my horrible question...
I want to tell you that i changed my room to another one that is not on straight lines to x-ray unit and there are walls covered with lead that separate us but this lead dont reach the ceiling, should I worry about radiation now or Iam considered to be safe from any exposure? Is there is any way to museare howmuch radiation there is in my body if i cant get an osimeter? Sorry for asking too many questions but iam young and really afraied to be at risk of malignant diseases and thank you very much
I really would like to thank you very much for your great opinion and your answer to my horrible question...
I want to tell you that i changed my room to another one that is not on straight lines to x-ray unit and there are walls covered with lead that separate us but this lead dont reach the ceiling, should I worry about radiation now or Iam considered to be safe from any exposure? Is there is any way to museare howmuch radiation there is in my body if i cant get an osimeter? Sorry for asking too many questions but iam young and really afraied to be at risk of malignant diseases and thank you very much
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello,
One chest x-ray (PA) has about 0.02 mSv of radiation.
The US OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) standards states
OSHA Limits: Whole body limit = 1.25 rem/qtr or 5 rem (50 mSv) per year (approx. 2.5 mrems/hr for all work hours). Hands and feet limit = 18.75 rem/qtr. Skin of whole body limit = 7.5 rem/qtr. Total life accumulation = 5 x (N-18) rem where N = age. Can have 3 rem/qtr if total life accumulation not exceeded. Restricted areas at 200 mrem/hr. Posting at 200 and 100 mrem/hr. Note: New recommendations reduce the 5 rem to 2 rem.
Based on your posting here at Medhelp, let's assume that 10 exposures occurred each month over ~ 6 months--so, that would be 60 exposures. If we are very conservative and assume that each exposure resulted in 0.02 mSv of radiation, a very conservative estimate of your exposure would be 2.4 mSv (much less than the OSHA permissable exposure limit for one year). So, given the fact that you were some distance away from the radiation source, your exposure from each radiograph is likely much less than 0.02 mSv. Also, if there are walls between your working area and the source, the walls provide some shielding from the radiation--especially, if there is some lead.
One option that you have is to place a dosimeter in the working space where you have been the last 5-6 months. Then, you could understand what level of exposure is occurring in that space over a given amount of time. Then, you could better estimate the radiation dose that you have received. You could talk to a radiation safety officer in a local hospital about a dosimeter.
Please write with additional questions that you may have.
•~ Dr. Parks
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
One chest x-ray (PA) has about 0.02 mSv of radiation.
The US OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) standards states
OSHA Limits: Whole body limit = 1.25 rem/qtr or 5 rem (50 mSv) per year (approx. 2.5 mrems/hr for all work hours). Hands and feet limit = 18.75 rem/qtr. Skin of whole body limit = 7.5 rem/qtr. Total life accumulation = 5 x (N-18) rem where N = age. Can have 3 rem/qtr if total life accumulation not exceeded. Restricted areas at 200 mrem/hr. Posting at 200 and 100 mrem/hr. Note: New recommendations reduce the 5 rem to 2 rem.
Based on your posting here at Medhelp, let's assume that 10 exposures occurred each month over ~ 6 months--so, that would be 60 exposures. If we are very conservative and assume that each exposure resulted in 0.02 mSv of radiation, a very conservative estimate of your exposure would be 2.4 mSv (much less than the OSHA permissable exposure limit for one year). So, given the fact that you were some distance away from the radiation source, your exposure from each radiograph is likely much less than 0.02 mSv. Also, if there are walls between your working area and the source, the walls provide some shielding from the radiation--especially, if there is some lead.
One option that you have is to place a dosimeter in the working space where you have been the last 5-6 months. Then, you could understand what level of exposure is occurring in that space over a given amount of time. Then, you could better estimate the radiation dose that you have received. You could talk to a radiation safety officer in a local hospital about a dosimeter.
Please write with additional questions that you may have.
•~ Dr. Parks
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
i want to add that the distance between my room and x-ray unit may be more than that i mentioned above,,i guess its 6-8 meters
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