Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2020
Keywords:
Multicentre study, Not applicable, Quality assurance, Occupational / Environmental hazards, Safety, Radiation safety, Health policy and practice, Mammography, Digital radiography, CT, Radioprotection / Radiation dose, Physics in Medical Imaging
Authors:
M. Barati, H. Tekin, N. Blazquez, R. Griskevicius , E. Kostopoulou, B. Cavli, M. Vaišvilaite, K. Katsari, C. Paraskevopoulou
DOI:
10.26044/esi2020/ESI-12483
Conclusion and recommendations
This study demonstrates that lead dust is present on lead RPA with the most frequently contaminated being aprons which are larger and heavier than others and could be improperly stored and handled causing damage to the interior and exterior surfaces. Colars are the second most frequently contaminated probably due to folding. Aprons and colars are most frequently used in Radiography departments thus being the department with the highest percentage of contaminated RPA as demonstrated by the study. Following cleaning of the contaminated RPA, 53% tested negative for lead dust. According to World Health Organization (WHO), there is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe. Therefore, contaminated RPA were taken out of use and RPA QC was modified to include cleaning at least twice per year. Further investigation to quantify the amount of lead dust and the effect to the health of individuals needs to be undertaken and the replacement of lead containing RPA with lead free RPA will be assessed.