Dose estimation and evaluation for ¹³¹I radioactive pharmaceuticals production workers

Objective: To theoretically estimate the external and internal radiation dose of ¹³¹I radioactive pharmaceuticals workers in the production process, and compare the results with the field radiation monitoring results to explore the methods for estimating and evaluating the annual exposure dose of radiation workers. Methods: Taking a ¹³¹I radioactive pharmaceuticals manufacturing enterprise as an example, the external and internal radiation doses of the staff were comprehensively analyzed by estimating the whole body and hand dose rates of the staff in the four links of packaging, transferring, packaging and transport, as well as their intake of ¹³¹I nuclides during operation. Results: The maximum dose of external exposure calculated the oretic ally was 3.23 mSv/a. The maximum external exposure dose estimated with measured values was 1.72 mSv/a, and the theoretical estimation results are more conservative than the monitoring results. The annual dose of the staff exposed to external hand irradiation was relatively high (112.3 mSv/a), accounting for about 1/5 of the annual dose limit. The internal exposure was 0.23 mSv/a, accounting for 7.1% of the total exposed dose. Conclusion: When analyzing the radiation effect of the ¹³¹I radioactive pharmaceuticals production project on the workers, the doses of the workers' hands were relatively high, and necessary radiation protection measures should be taken to strengthen the protection and management. Secondly, the internal radiation dose of the staff should not be ignored, reasonable air distribution should be designed and monitor of the aerosol effectively should be set upon a regular basis. (author)