Preliminary investigation on eye lens dose measurement during ¹⁰⁶Ru plaque making operation

¹⁰⁶Ru is used as an important ophthalmic brachytherapy source. High Level Liquid Waste (HLW) from nuclear fuel reprocessing is a rich source of this isotope. BARC has developed an indigenous technology for the fabrication of eye plaque using ¹⁰⁶Ru recovered from HLW. The fabrication process has three important steps, separation of pure ¹⁰⁶Ru from HLW, electroplating, sealing the source and polishing of plaque. In the present pilot scale facility these steps involves very close handling of the source, resulting in a likelihood of getting significant dose to the eye lens in addition to whole body dose. International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) has revised the life time eye dose threshold for induction of cataract from 2000 mGy to 500 mGy and occupational annual dose limit of eye lenses from 150 to 20 mSv. Hence, it is important to generate data on eye lens dose during the plaque fabrication. The generated data will be useful for optimizing the dose consumption, suggesting engineering automation and also to assure regulatory compliance