1

Teri Burrier
Radiation Safety
May 29, 2018

Radiation Safety
The importance of the safe handling of radiation sources is evident due to the devastating
effects of past exposures. These exposures, both intentional and accidental, have caused
individuals to be exposed to unsafe levels of radiation and experience life altering effects, which
in some cases resulted in death. Important information has been gained from these cases;
however, there is still a lot that can be done to educate the public and health care professionals
about the dangers of radiation exposure to individuals as well as the ecosystem.
According to Tsujiguchi et al,1 radiation generators, such as sealed sources and x-ray
generators, are involved in the vast majority of radiation accidents. These devices are typically
used in medical settings and would suggest that increased trainings or improved practices could
be put into place to prevent such accidents. From 1944 to February of 2012, 298 major radiation
accidents occurred worldwide that involved sealed sources or x-ray devices. This averages out to
be over 4 accidents a year, and while these accidents may not gain the global attention that
nuclear reactor malfunctions or nuclear spills generate, they are still incredibly important to learn
and grow from.
The facility where I am doing my clinical training has modules that employees must
complete each year on radiation safety. These modules include information on safe handling
practices and who to contact within the hospital for additional information. I feel this is an
excellent, cost effective way to share important information with employees because everyone
has access to the information and can complete it when it works best for them within the
designated time frame. Having an educational tool such as this available in all hospitals could
help to increase employees’ knowledge and safe handling practices with radiation equipment and
sources. Furthermore, including information that has been gained from past exposures could
help staff better identify and treat future patients exposed to radiation. For example, according to
Tsujiguchi et al.,1 vomiting within 10 minutes of exposure indicates a lethal exposure of over
8Gy, where vomiting 2 hours after exposure indicates a mild exposure of 1-2Gy. Hospital
 2

employees with this general knowledge would have a better idea of how to appropriately treat
their patients than those with no radiation background.
Not only health care professionals, but also any member of the general public who may
come in contact with radiation sources, needs to be educated on the proper way to handle, store,
and dispose of such material. It is also imperative that sources are clearly labeled to avoid
improper handling. An example of how important this is comes from Yen et al2 and stated that
in 1982 several Cobalt-60 sources were accidentally recycled and made into steel reinforcement
bars. These bars were then used in the construction of apartments and schools in multiple cities
in Taiwan and went undiscovered until 1992 after an estimated 10,000 individuals had been
exposed to low-dose-rate radiation exposure.2 Requiring all countries to place warning labels on
radioactive sources would help to prevent such mistakes in the future, especially in the countries
that do not have the regulations found in the United States.
Educating lawmakers and important government officials on the dangers of radioactive
materials will help to ensure laws remain in place that make radiation safety a top priority and
that proper handling is carried out. Currently, radiation regulations are the responsibility of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are tasked with creating the requirements that
must be met; including how much hazardous material is allowed into the environment. All
individuals, businesses, and states must abide by these regulations including nuclear power
plants. Although it did not occur in the United States (US), the nuclear power plant accident in
Chernobyl serves as a prime example of why strict regulations are so important. This accident,
caused by the melting of the reactor core, is considered the world’s largest nuclear accident and
resulted in the death of 28 individuals.1 While incidents such as these are devastating, important
knowledge has been gained from the treatment of the exposed individuals. For example, it has
been found that Prussian Blue, a chelating agent for cesium, shortens the biological half-life of
cesium.1 This information, as well as the other knowledge about proper care and common
symptoms associated with dose that has been gained, should be shared within all healthcare
centers so proper treatment can be carried out immediately if a disaster were to occur. Past
exposures have had detrimental effects, but we should continue to educate ourselves and learn
from past events.
Increasing health care professional’s and the general public’s understanding of radiation
concepts is important. The EPA currently has many resources available to educate the general
 3

public; however, I don’t believe they are very well known. In order to increase public knowledge
I believe increasing advertisements in heavily trafficked websites and social media sites would
be beneficial. For example, providing advertisements with links to this information would
increase the number of individuals seeing the information and spike interest in the topic. The
concept of radiation safety is important for all individuals to understand, not just those working
in healthcare or nuclear power plants. Increasing an individuals awareness of the importance of
radiation concepts, as well as providing them with resources to educational materials, will help
ensure the public, lawmakers, and healthcare professionals understand the seriousness with
which radioactive materials must be handled.
 4

References
1. Tsujiguchi T, Yamamura H. Kashiwakura I. The medical treatment of radiation exposure
and contamination in radiation accidents. Radiat Environ Med. 2017;6(2)94-103.
2. Yen PN, Yang CC, Chang WP, et al. Late effects on the health-related quality of life in a
cohort population decades after environmental radiation exposure. Int J Radiat Biol.
2013;89(8):639-644.