Radiation protection in diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine

Radiation protection in facilities for diagnostic work in nuclear medicine comprises protection of the patient, the environment and the staff. Radiation protection of the patient requires a strict indication of the diagnostic procedure, the use of an optimum activity and an apparatus which is equivalent to the state of the art. To protect the environment liquid waste should only be given to the sewage after the activity has almost desintegrated. Solid waste should be separated according to the half lives of the radionuclides. Because Tc-99m is the radionuclide most used, the radiation exposure of the staff is mostly caused by external radiation. At the normal division of labor in a department of nuclear technicians is about twice that of the doctors. The lowest exposures is that of the physicists and engineers. Measurement of longer exposure times show that it is possible to work within the exposure levels of the radiation protection regulations. (orig.)