The Effect of Job Duties in Contributing to Radiation Exposure of the Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Abstract

Objective: Our unique and highly specialized nuclear medicine department provided an opportunity to analyze radiation exposure to nuclear medicine technologists (NMTs). The goal of our investigation was to determine the amount of hand and whole-body radiation exposure incurred from the performance of various job duties.

Methods: Whole-body and hand exposures were recorded over a 15–16 mo period using thermoluminescent dosimeters. Radiation exposure readings were collected in four different areas, nuclear pharmacy, radiopharmaceutical injection, nuclear cardiology and general nuclear medicine.

Results: Monitoring showed that higher hand exposure is caused by direct handling and injecting of radiopharmaceuticals. Whole-body exposure also increases, but correlates more closely to body shielding than to actual hand exposure. Higher whole-body exposure was seen in nuclear cardiology when compared to general nuclear medicine, even though general nuclear medicine performed three times the study load of nuclear cardiology.

Conclusions: In an area where imaging is the primary job duty of the NMT, the time of direct patient contact seems to be the principal factor affecting whole-body exposure. Although hand exposure increases with the amount of radioactivity handled in an area where handling radiopharmaceuticals is the main job duty of the NMT, whole-body exposure correlates more closely to body shielding than to the amount of radioactivity handled.