Assessment of occupational radiation doses due to inhalation of iodine-131 by workers in some Egyptian hospitals

The present study deals with the assessment of internal radiation doses due to intake of 131I for workers of nuclear medicine units in some hospitals in Egypt. Intake of isotopes may occur via different pathways, therefore, monitoring of workers and workplaces are integral part of the occupational radiation protection and radiation control programs. For estimating 131I intake and consequently the internal radiation doses for some occupational radiation workers in radiotherapy sections of hospitals, 24 h urine samples were weekly collected for six weeks. The 131I activity in three samples was measured using hyper pure germanium (HPGe) detector. The obtained results were compared with the dose limits recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP, 1991)