UHI / CONCISE COMMUNICATION USE OF THERMOLUMINESCENT DOSIMETERS FOR MEASUREMENT OF DOSE TO THE HANDS OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNICIANS

In the last several years the total activity of radio-isotopes injected into patients for diagnostic studies has increased steadily at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. At present it is in excess of 0.3 Ci/week, mainly due to 99mTc.The technicians who routinely elute the technetium generator, and prepare, calibrate, and inject the scanning agents perform many operations with containers filled with radioactive material. Because of this, the radiation dose to their hands is of concern. The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has recommended 75 rems as the maximum permissible dose equivalent to the hands in any one year. If received at an average rate, this is about 1.5 rems/week. A footnote co