Study of Radiation Risk in Medical Cyclotron Facilities and General Approach Towards Operational Radiation Protection

The use of charge particle accelerators is well-known in medical, industry, research and education. Medical cyclotrons are widely used for diagnostic and therapeutic purpose. Currently, there are around 1300 big and small medical cyclotron radiation facilities in the world with beam energy ranging from few MeVs to several MeVs. Due to diverse applications, the demand of cyclotrons is annually increasing. However, there are many regulatory challenges related to shielding, operation, QC, repair & maintenance and management of radioactive waste. Therefore, this study was conducted to make necessary measurements, analyze the data and recommend such way forward for improvement of regulatory practices that may help in the enhancement of radiation safety at medical cyclotron facilities.