• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• 제35권3호
• /
• pp.96-98
• /
• 2010

Medical use of radiation is increasing in recent times and its influence on the population creates almost the same amount of annual natural background radiation in industrialized countries in particular. Thus, medical radiation has become a social issue. This paper is a brief report on the status of medical exposure in Korea by way of consulting from the radiation-related medical societies in Korea.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
• /
• 제43권2호
• /
• pp.123-128
• /
• 2020

Radiation Following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, public interest and anxiety about radiation safety increased, and vague anxiety about commonly exposed living radiation was generated. The Atomic Energy Safety Commission has been conducting a survey of processed products that advertise "negative ions" and "far-infrared" emissions under the Living Radiation Safety Management Act. In this study, in-depth analysis was performed from a statistical point of view using the measurement data presented in the Nuclear Safety Committee's actual survey analysis report as secondary data. As a result, there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.005) between latex and civil affairs products. There were also statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the results of testing whether there were significant differences in the annual exposure dose between groups after categorizing 71 civil products, including radon beds, into bed, bedding, and living and other categories. The correlation analysis results also confirm that, as is commonly known, the annual doses received from processed products are associated with radon derived from U-238 and Th-232.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제54권2호
• /
• pp.449-455
• /
• 2022

The rapid rise in the application of novel treatment techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), motivated us to survey the status of Korea's radiation safety management and the shielding designs of facilities employing medical linear accelerators (LINACs). To this end, a questionnaire was used to collect information on LINAC facilities and treatments, workload, shielding design, shielding management, and path of obtaining shielding information. Out of 100 domestic institutions, 52 responded to the survey. Approximately 70% of the institutions utilized IMRT for more than 60% of their cases, and an IMRT factor of 5 was adopted by 75% of these institutions. Over 80% of the institutions accounted for the applied time-averaged dose rate per week and instantaneous dose equivalent rates in their shielding designs. Approximately 45% of the institutions obtained important shielding information via a radiation shielding design company and the NCRP-151 report. Overall, most facilities were shown to follow the standards recommended by the relevant international agencies. However, the requirement to establish standardized shielding design information and clarify ambiguous paths for information acquisition was also highlighted. Therefore, the study's results can be used as a foundation for establishing a safety control system and for creating adequate shielding designs.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• 제41권4호
• /
• pp.424-435
• /
• 2016

Background: The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the Federal Guidance Report (FGR) published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been widely applied worldwide in the fields of radiation protection and dose assessment. The dose conversion coefficients of the ICRP and FGR are widely used for assessing exposure doses. However, before the coefficients are used, the user must thoroughly understand the derivation process of the coefficients to ensure that they are used appropriately in the evaluation. Materials and Methods: The ICRP provides recommendations to regulatory and advisory agencies, mainly in the form of guidance on the fundamental principles on which appropriate radiological protection can be based. The FGR provides federal and state agencies with technical information to assist their implementation of radiation protection programs for the U.S. population. The system of radiation dose assessment and dose conversion coefficients in the ICRP and FGR is reviewed in this study. Results and Discussion: A thorough understanding of their background is essential for the proper use of dose conversion coefficients. The FGR dose assessment system was strongly influenced by the ICRP and the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), and is hence consistent with those recommendations. Moreover, the ICRP and FGR both used the scientific data reported by Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) and United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) as their primary source of information. The difference between the ICRP and FGR lies in the fact that the ICRP utilized information regarding a population of diverse races, whereas the FGR utilized data on the American population, as its goal was to provide guidelines for radiological protection in the US. Conclusion: The contents of this study are expected to be utilized as basic research material in the areas of radiation protection and dose assessment.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
• /
• 제38권4호
• /
• pp.483-489
• /
• 2015

현대의 의료용 방사선 발생장치는 영상을 저장하고 전송하기 위해 의료영상 표준규격으로 Digital image communications in medicine(DICOM)을 채택하고 있다. DICOM 규격에서는 피폭선량 정보 표시를 위해 DICOM dose Structured Report(DICOM dose SR)를 표준으로 제정하여 사용하고 있다. 이와 더불어 DICOM Modality Performed Procedure Step(DIOCM MPPS) 정보와 DICOM tag 정보에서도 부분적인 피폭선량 정보를 표시하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 DICOM과 관련된 피폭선량정보 표시방법에 대해 고찰하고 의료정보 시스템간의 상호연동 테스트를 위한 Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise(IHE)의 Radiation Exposure Monitoring(REM) 프로파일에 대해 살펴보았다. 의료기관에서 의료방사선피폭선량정보에 대한 품질관리를 위해서는 DICOM 정보에서 표시되는 피폭선량 정보형식에 대한 이해가 반드시 수반되어야 하고 장비도입 단계에서 관련 규격에 대한 검토가 이루어져야 한다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제55권10호
• /
• pp.3854-3859
• /
• 2023

Background: This study aims to develop an evaluator that can quickly and accurately evaluate the shielding of low-energy industrial radiation generators. Methods: We used PyQt to develop a graphical user interface (GUI)-based program and employed the calculation methodology reported in the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP)-49 for shielding calculations. We gathered the necessary factors for shielding evaluation using two libraries designed for Python, pandas and NumPy, and processed them into a database. We verified the effectiveness of the proposed program by comparing the results with those from safety reports of six domestic facilities. Results: After verifying the effectiveness of the program using the NCRP-49 example, we obtained an average error rate of 1.73%. When comparing the facility safety report and results obtained using the program, we found that the error rate was between 1.09% and 6.51%. However, facilities that did not use a defined shielding methodology were underestimated by 31.82% compared with the program (the final barrier thickness satisfied the shielding standard). Conclusion: The developed program provides a fast and accurate shielding evaluation that can assist personnel that work in radiation generator facilities and government officials in reviewing safety.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
• /
• 제38권1호
• /
• pp.51-61
• /
• 2015

모든 방사선 검사는 검사를 결정하고 실행하는 과정에서 정당성이 확보되어야하고 피폭선량과 영상의 화질에 대한 최적화가 이루어져야 할 뿐만 아니라 ALARA의 원칙에 따라 최소의 방사선을 사용하여 최적의 임상 정보를 얻을 수 있어야 한다. CT 검사는 방사선 검사 중에서 많은 피폭을 환자에게 조사하는 검사이다. 특히 방사선 민감도가 높은 소아 환자의 CT 검사 있어서는 특별한 주의가 필요하다. 임상에서 CT선량에 대한 정확한 이해와 정보는 환자에게 불필요한 방사선 피폭을 줄이고 안전한 검사를 제공하기 위해 절대적으로 필요하다. 이에 본 연구에서는 여러 선행 연구의 고찰을 통하여 CT의 피폭선량에 대한 개념을 확인하고 CT장치의 선량 저감화를 위한 각 파라미터의 이해와 American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)report 204에서 소개하고 있는 환자의 사이즈에 따른 피폭선량의 보정방법인 Size-Specific Dose Estimates(SSDE)와 XR 25의 개념을 이해하고자 한다.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• 제12권4호
• /
• pp.445-451
• /
• 2021

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the self-administered questionnaire for Korean radiation workers. Methods: From May 24, 2016, to June 30, 2017, 20,608 participants completed the questionnaire, providing information on sociodemographics, lifestyle, work history and practices, medical radiation exposure, and medical history, which was linked to the National Dose Registry and the National Cancer Registry. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using the responses of 20,608 workers, and reliability was evaluated using the responses of 3043 workers who responded to the survey twice. Results: Responses concerning demographic characteristics and lifestyle showed reliability with a moderate-to-high agreement (kappa: 0.43-0.99), whereas responses concerning occupation and medical radiation exposure had a wide range of agreement (kappa: 0.05-0.95), possibly owing to temporal variability during employment. Regarding validity, responses to the question about the first year of employment had an excellent agreement with the national registry (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.9); however, responses on cancer history had a wide range of agreement (kappa: 0.22-0.85). Conclusion: Although the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were not distinguished by demographic characteristics, they tended to be low among participants whose occupational radiation exposure was minimal. Overall, the information collected can be reliable for epidemiological studies; however, caution must be exercised when using information such as medical exposure and work practices, which are prone to temporal variability.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
• /
• 제18권2호
• /
• pp.35-39
• /
• 2021

Exaggerated acute and late toxicities following radiotherapy have been reported in patients with pre-existing connective tissue diseases, such as systemic lupus and scleroderma. Behcet's disease (BD) is a relapsing multisystem connective tissue disease characterized by vasculitis in the mucocutaneous, ocular, gastrointestinal, respiratory, neurologic, urogenital, articular, and cardiovascular systems. Data concerning the relationship between radiotherapy toxicity and BD are limited in the literature. Here, we report a case of lung cancer treated with radiotherapy (60 Gy) in a patient with BD. No severe radiation-induced toxicity was observed. Radiation-induced toxicity in patients with BD has also been discussed.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
• /
• 제19권2호
• /
• pp.243-253
• /
• 2021

In the dismantling process of a reactor coolant system (RCS) piping, a radiation protection plan should be established to minimize the radiation exposure doses of dismantling workers. Hence, it is necessary to estimate the individual effective dose in the RCS piping dismantling process when decommissioning a nuclear power plant. In this study, the radiation exposure doses of the dismantling workers at different positions was estimated using the MicroShield dose assessment program based on the NUREG/CR-1595 report. The individual effective dose, which is the sum of the effective dose to each tissue considering the working time, was used to estimate the radiation exposure dose. The estimations of the simulation results for all RCS piping dismantling tasks satisfied the dose limits prescribed by the ICRP-60 report. In dismantling the RCS piping of the Kori-1 or Wolsong-1 units in South Korea, the estimation and reduction method for the radiation exposure dose, and the simulated results of this study can be used to implement the radiation safety for optimal dismantling by providing information on the radiation exposure doses of the dismantling workers.