Abstract:
One month whole-body personal doses due to exposures to diagnostic X-rays were
measured by using thermoluminescent dosimeters with lithium fluoride doped with
magnesium and titanium, LiF: Mg, Ti, (TLD-100) worn over any clothing at the left
shoulder level. Fifty four radiation workers employed in 15 health centers located
in Addis Ababa were included in the study. Harshaw4500 Manual TLD-reader was
used to evaluate the exposure incurred by the workers.
The mean (standard deviation) of monthly deep and shallow doses were 0.296 (0.101)
and 0.352 (0.193)mSv which are below the limits recommended by international
radiation protection committees. The annual mean deep dose extrapolated from
the mean of the exposures in one month was 3.552mSv which is only 17.76% of the
annual effective dose.
It was determined that annual effective dose incurred by X-ray machine operators
in the cases studied is less than the limit proposed by international radiation
protection committees to protect radiation workers from the effects of man-made
sources of ionizing radiation