Measurement of operational dosimetry quantities for nuclear medicine staff

According to the ALARA principle, exposure to radiation should be reduced as low as reasonably achievable. This principle is very important in nuclear medicine (NM), and different investigations have been performed by establishing protocols and standards for staff protection. This study aims to measure the operational quantities, personal dose equivalent, Hp (10), Hp (0.07) and Hp (3) for NM staff in Shiraz hospitals, and comparison with dose limits. Two types of dosimeters, TLD-100 and GR-200, were used in this study. In the first step, the calibration of dosimeters was performed using different phantoms. Then, a group of dosimeters was prepared and used for 1 month on the heads, wrists and chests of the staff for measurement of Hp (3), Hp (0.07) and Hp (10), respectively. The obtained values of Hp (10) were compared with the results of their personal dosimetry, film badge. The results of this study show good consistency in the measurements using the two dosimeters. (authors)