CONTROL OF HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO IONIZING RADIATION

Abstract

Background. Ionizing radiation sources are used in virtually all fields of science and technology, but the benefits of their use in medicine are indisputable. In medicine they are of considerable importance in the diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of many diseases. Their widespread use also entails health problems for employees occupationally exposed to them. Exposure of personnel to ionizing radiation during work is characterized by exposure to a number of specific risks: psychological, physiological, contact with infected patients and ionizing radiation. Despite the many negative effects, the use of ionizing radiation has been an innovation in medicine in particular, thus considerably increasing the number of professionally exposed people.

Aim. Assessment of the health status of occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation, with the development of measures to control the radiation health risk in the workplace.

Material and methods. Bibliographic sources from the PubMed and Google Scholar platforms were used as study material. Publications describing the problem of occupational exposure to ionizing radiation were selected and analyzed.

To conduct the study, radiological monitoring of the working environment, monitoring of individual exposure of occupationally exposed persons and investigation of clinical and paraclinical results from the employees' personal medical records, as well as immunological analysis (lymphocyte phenotyping) are performed.

Results. Medical exposure is the most important source of artificial exposure of the population to ionizing radiation. There is a growing trend to explore medical technologies, but their necessity is not always substantiated. Professionals exposed to ionizing radiation are medical-radiologists, radiotherapists, radiology assistants, radiology technicians and other auxiliary personnel. Reducing the risks of exposure to ionizing radiation, depending on their type and purpose, in the case of diagnosis, involves choosing the most appropriate and harmless procedure, avoiding additional exposures or, in the case of therapy, using the minimum necessary dose, which requires proper justification and optimization of processes and practices, both of which are the competence and responsibility of the practitioner. Even if personnel wear personal protective equipment, there is a risk of irradiation with insignificant doses to uncovered parts of the body (eyes, hands), it also depends on where they are during the procedure and how long they are near the source. Just as the effects of radiation can be divided into two categories: deterministic (causing cataracts, hypotension, skin and hair damage) and stochastic (causing cancer and genetic changes), the deterministic effects are more often observed in medical personnel involved in radiological procedures.

Conclusion. Assessing the variety of effects of ionizing radiation on the health of exposed personnel, it is necessary to determine the health risk of exposure to ionizing radiation, to develop radiation protection measures to control the risk of exposure to ionizing radiation and to recommend proposals for the development of the Register of occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation. It is unavoidable to substantiate the hygienic criteria for assessment and classification of working conditions in activities involving the use of ionizing radiation sources.