Protection Against the Dangers of X-ray Radiation

Hi all steemians, on this occasion I want to discuss radiation protection for x-rays, this is a continuation of my writing yesterday which can be read here

Preliminary

Protection is the prevention or protection of humans which is detrimental to health due to radiation exposure. Radiation is the transmission of energy that penetrates space or substances in the form of electromagnetic waves or particles. While radiation arising from medical action is X-ray radiation. X-ray radiation is the emission of electromagnetic waves that are similar to radio waves, heat waves, light waves, and ultraviolet waves, but with very short wavelengths that can penetrate objects.

Radiation Protection Objectives

The purpose of radiation protection is to prevent the occurrence of harmful deterministic effects and minimize the occurrence of stochastic effects to a sufficiently low level which is still acceptable to individuals and the surrounding environment.

Radiation Protection Principle

Because ionizing radiation can endanger health, the use of radiation needs to be monitored, both through regulations relating to the use of ionizing radiation and radioactive materials. Therefore there is a regulatory body responsible for issuing recommendations and principles of radiation protection. This institution is the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP).
To achieve radiation protection, namely the creation of safety and health for radiation workers, society and the environment, three principles of radiation protection are introduced, namely:

1. The Justification Principle
   Justification is all activities that involve radiation exposure only if they produce more value or provide tangible benefits (the principle of benefit). Justification of planned activities or operations that involve radiation exposure can be determined by considering the advantages and disadvantages of using a profit-loss analysis to ensure that there will be more benefits from carrying out activities.
2. Limitation Principle
   The Limitation Principle applies to occupational exposure and public exposure through the application of dose limit values. It must be remembered that the dose limit value does not apply to medical exposures and exposure that comes from nature. Doses received by radiation workers and the public must not exceed the specified dose limit. All activities that carry a high risk of radiation exposure can be handled in such a way by using a well-prepared radiation protection program so that the specified dose limit value will not be exceeded
3. Optimization Principles
   This principle requires that radiation exposure from an activity must be kept as low as possible. This principle is known as ALARA (as low as possible). Nuclear power utilization activities must be planned and radiation sources must be designed and operated to ensure that radiation exposure can be reduced as low as possible.

Radiation Protection Efforts

1. Radiation Protection Against Patients

a. Use of Filters
The purpose of filtration is to reduce the low energy X rays the patient receives. Because only higher energy X-rays are useful in producing an image, low-energy X-rays are absorbed by the patient and contributed only to patients, especially in the skin. In general, the higher the filtration value, the lower the dose received by the patient.

b. Collimation
Collimation is an X-ray limitation that is useful for the part of the body being examined, thus separating adjacent tissue from unnecessary radiation exposure. This is very important for patient protection. X-ray exposure must always be collected in the anatomical section. The greater the exposure to X-rays that are opened, the higher the radiation dose received by the patient.

c. Specific Area Protectors
In the protective area specific primary radiation is absorbed during testing by protecting a specific area of ​​the body. Gonad shield are the best example of protection in sensitive areas.

1. Radiation Protection against Radiation Workers

a. Time
To minimize the radiation dose received by radiation workers, time management is needed, namely:
As much as possible try not to be too long near the radiation source during the inspection process.
Using short exposure time.
Using the kVp value that is high enough so that the penetrating power in the radiography is good enough.

b. Distance
Radiation is emitted from radiation sources in all directions, the closer our body is to radiation sources, the greater the radiation exposure we receive. Part of the radiation will be a scattering of radiation when it comes to matter. This scattering radiation will increase the number of doses of radiation received, to prevent exposure to radiation we can maintain a distance at a safe level from the radiation source.

c. Radiation Shield
The use of shield or radiation protection in the form of Pb (Plumbum) apron, Pb gloves, Pb glasses, shield gonads and ovaries, etc. which are the means of individual radiation protection. While protection of the environment from radiation hazards can be carried out by coating the radiographic space using Pb to absorb radiation that occurs during the radiographic process.

Thanks for visiting my blog
Regards @anroja

References:

Wikipedia - Radiation
NCBI - General Principles of Radiation Protection in Fields of Diagnostic Medical Exposure
Wikipedia - Radiation Protection
ICRP - Principles

Source Image:

Logo Radiation
Lead Apron

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