Study of the shielding and the doses of the radiotherapy installation of the Instituto Zacatecano del Tumor

The radiotherapy is the use of the ionizing radiations for treatment of several cancer types. The radiotherapy equipment s are situated inside an installation specially designed to offer attention to the patients and appropriate radiological protection of the occupational exposed personnel and the public in general. For this reason is necessary to evaluate the behavior of the shielding of the radiotherapy room of the Instituto Zacatecano del Tumor located in the Zacatecas city. Accumulated dose measurements were made in a work day of the radiotherapy room in the interest points using solid state dosimeters, considering the number of attended patients, the applied treatments and the discharges number. Also the simulation of the radiation gamma transport in the room was realized by means of Monte Carlo method with the MCNP5 code to compare the results. In the measurement points of the exterior of room the doses are practically similar to those of the bottom of natural radiation, what means that the shielding of the room is fulfilling its function. In the measurement points located inside the room we find higher dose and with more risk for the health. It is important to carry out this type of studies to guarantee the radiological protection of the occupational exposed personnel and the public in general. With these studies we can establish that so much is possible to increase or to reduce the work load in a radiotherapy room. (Author)