Reconstructive dosimetry and radiation dose evaluation of workers and public due to a brazilian radiological accident in industrial radiography

Radiological accidents occur mainly in the practices recognized as high risk and which are classified by the IAEA as Categories 1 and 2: radiotherapy, industrial irradiators and industrial radiography. In Brazil, 5 important cases in industrial gamma radiography occurred from 1985 to 2018, involving 7 radiation workers and 19 members of the public. The accidents caused localized radiation lesions on the hands and fingers. One of these accidents is the focus of this paper. In this accident, a 3.28 TBq 192Ir radioactive source was left unshielded for 9 hours in a NDT company parking lot, and many radiation workers, employees and public, including teachers of a primary school were exposed. The radioactive source was also directly handled by a security worker for about 1.5 min causing severe radiation injuries in the hand and fingers. This paper presents radiation dose estimates for all accidentally exposed individuals. Four scenarios were considered, and three internationally recognised and updated reconstructive dosimetry techniques were used, named, Brazilian Visual Monte Carlo Dose Calculation (VMC), Virtual Environment for Radiological and Nuclear Accidents Simulation (AVSAR) and RADPRO Calculator®. The main radiation doses estimated by VMC were the absorbed dose of 34 Gy for the security worker’s finger and his effective dose of 91 mSv; effective doses from 43 to 160 mSv for radiation workers and NDT employees; and effective doses of 9 mSv for teachers in the schoolyard.

RISK MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY PERSONNEL CERTIFICATION ACTIVITIES TO ENSURE WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH

RISK MANAGEMENT of Industrial Radiography Personnel Certification Activities to Ensure Worker Safety and Health. The increasing use of radioactive substances and other radiation sources in the Indonesian industry for non-destructive testing lead to a rise in the need for radiographers. In carrying out certification activities, NQSC utilizes radioactive sources in the form of gamma rays from X-ray appliances. Therefore adequate risk management to ensure the safety and health of participants is needed. The risk management process carried out by PSMN uses the hierarchy principle at ISO 45001 and other preventive measures regulated in the IAEA Safety Guidelines, with the measures evaluated periodically using dose reading data. The dosage results on workers and examinees showed that the dose value is below the allowable value with a Dose Limit Value (NBD) of no more than 20 mSv per year. This means that the risk management measures guarantee worker safety and health in the certification activities of industrial radiography personnel in PSMN.