• Title/Summary/Keyword: Radiation safety

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The regulatory system for imported-cargo radiation monitoring in Korea and a proposal for its improvement

  • Wo Suk Choi ;Tae Young Kong ;Hee Geun Kim;Eun Ji Lee ;Seong Jun Kim ;Jin Ho Son ;Chang Ju Song;Hwa Pyoung Kim;Cheol Ki Jeong
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.55 no.1
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    • pp.1-11
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    • 2023
  • To protect people and the environment from environmental radiation, the Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment was formulated in Korea in 2011. This law regulates matters related to radiation safety that can be encountered in life. In accordance with this law, radiation monitoring equipment is operated at major airports and ports across the country, ensuring radiation monitoring of imported cargo. Currently, six ministries conduct radiation monitoring of imported cargo: the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission; the Korea Customs Service; the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; the Ministry of Environment; the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and the Korea Forest Service. Each ministry designates the relevant cargo items for radiation monitoring. The objective of this study was to comprehensively review the Korean radiation monitoring system for imported cargo and identify the areas and scopes of improvement. This paper also proposes a new law and an integrated supervision plan, which involves establishing a dedicated department to enhance the efficiency and professionalism of the national radiation monitoring system for imported cargo. The review will contribute to the development of a more sophisticated national radiation monitoring system for imported cargo.

Convergence analysis of safety management for radiation workers and diagnostic radiation-generator devices of animal hospital in Korea (국내 동물병원의 진단용 방사선 발생장치 및 방사선 관계종사자 안전관리에 관한 융복합적 분석)

  • Kang, Kyoung-Mook;Suh, Tae-Young;Kim, Yong-Sang;Yun, Seon-Jong
    • Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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    • v.11 no.4
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    • pp.55-61
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    • 2020
  • The various types of radiation-generator devices have been used in animal hospitals, and the safety for radiation workers is becoming important in Korea. This study investigated and analyzed the radiation safety management for diagnostic radiation-generator devices and radiation workers of animal hospital. The number of radiation-generator devices and radiation workers of animal hospital increased from 2,138 to 2,972 and from 2,644 and 5,733 for six years. The number of general X-ray, CT, C-arm, portable and dental X-ray in 2019 were 2,204, 58, 67, 770, and 14. The number of veterinarian, veterinary nurse, veterinary assistant, and others in 2019 were 4,236, 1,080, 404, and 13. The average exposure dose of radiation workers in 2018 were 0.21mSv in surface dose, 0.18mSv in depth doses. This study is expected to be the basic data for the safety management of radiation-generating devices and radiation workers in animal hospital.

A Study on Regulations Through Analysis of the Status of Radiation Workers and Related Workers and Satisfaction Survey in the Radiology Department (방사선작업종사자 및 방사선관계종사자의 현황 분석과 교내 실습 만족도 조사를 통한 방사선(학)과의 규제에 대한 고찰)

  • Jung, Hyunseo;Lee, Yong-Ki;Ahn, Sung-Min
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.327-334
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    • 2022
  • In this study, the purpose of this study was to conduct a basic study on the effectiveness and feasibility of the regulation of the Nuclear Safety Act for the department of radiology by examining the questionnaire on the satisfaction of on-campus practice while attending the department of radiology and the current status of radiation workers and radiation related workers. As for the satisfaction of the workers who were designated as frequent visitors while attending the department of radiology and did not handle and operate the radiation generator during on-campus training, 34.62% of the workers answered 'not satisfied'. On the other hand, 50% of workers who were designated as radiation workers while attending school or who were enrolled in school before the regulation of the nuclear safety act and handled and operated radiation generators were 'satisfied' at 50%. In addition, the annual exposure dose of radiation workers in educational institutions was found to be less than 0.05 mSv. If you look at the trends of radiation workers and radiation workers, it can be seen that students who graduate from the Department of Radiology find the most employment in the field dealing with diagnostic radiation generators registered as radiation workers among medical institutions. Therefore, by easing the regulations of the current Nuclear Safety Act or by amending the medical act and the rules on the safety management of diagnostic radiation generating devices, etc. It is presumed that something is necessary.

PRACTICE SPECIFIC TRAINING FOR APPLICATION OF IONIZING RADIATION IN INDUSTRIES

  • Sdagopan, Geetha;Kim, Hyunkee
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.177-180
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    • 2012
  • Industrial radiography practice is usually employed in public domain. Over the years there are several radiation accidents reported in this practice. The accidents often result in severe or fatal exposures to occupational workers and public. The number of radiation accidents is also significant when compared with other industrial accidents. This paper describes practice specific training as one of the measures to the improve radiation safety and reduce the accidents. The efforts by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to disseminate information and to improve the radiation safety status in industrial radiography are also discussed.

Attitude of the Korean dentists towards radiation safety and selection criteria

  • Lee, Byung-Do;Ludlow, John B.
    • Imaging Science in Dentistry
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    • v.43 no.3
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    • pp.179-184
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    • 2013
  • Purpose: X-ray exposure should be clinically justified and each exposure should be expected to give patients benefits. Since dental radiographic examination is one of the most frequent radiological procedures, radiation hazard becomes an important public health concern. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude of Korean dentists about radiation safety and use of criteria for selecting the frequency and type of radiographic examinations. Materials and Methods: The study included 267 Korean dentists. Five questions related to radiation safety were asked of each of them. These questions were about factors associated with radiation protection of patients and operators including the use of radiographic selection criteria for intraoral radiographic procedures. Results: The frequency of prescription of routine radiographic examination (an example is a panoramic radiograph for screening process for occult disease) was 34.1%, while that of selective radiography was 64.0%. Dentists' discussion of radiation risk and benefit with patients was infrequent. More than half of the operators held the image receptor by themselves during intraoral radiographic examinations. Lead apron/thyroid collars for patient protection were used by fewer than 22% of dental offices. Rectangular collimation was utilized by fewer than 15% of dental offices. Conclusion: The majority of Korean dentists in the study did not practice radiation protection procedures which would be required to minimize exposure to unnecessary radiation for patients and dental professionals. Mandatory continuing professional education in radiation safety and development of Korean radiographic selection criteria is recommended.

A Study on the Guarantee of Learning Rights of Radiology Students in Nuclear Safety Act (원자력안전법에 대한 방사선학과 학생들의 학습권 보장에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Bo-Woo
    • Journal of radiological science and technology
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    • v.45 no.2
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    • pp.159-164
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    • 2022
  • The study developed a radiation dose measurement program in the radiology laboratory to measure how much exposure the students are exposed to during the radiology class, to request for the improvement and the revision of the current Nuclear Safety Act. The experimental program is shown in the following figure, and experiments were conducted to determine the degree of radiation exposure in the control room with a lead gown at a distance of 1 m, 2 m, and 1 m, and in a control room with a radiographic lead glass wall. The duration of the experiment was 3 months from April to June, when radiation imaging practice classes were conducted, and 128 hours of imaging practice per month were conducted. In order to find out the dose of radiation dose during radiology imaging practice class, the experiment was carried out from April to June for 3 months, and according to the program, the results of exposure dose were 0.34 mSv at 1 m distance, 0.01 mSv at shielding of lead gown at 1 m distance, 0.16 mSv at 2 m distance, and 0.01 mSv at control room with radiation lead glass wall. The exposure dose from the test results was much below the annual general public limit dose of 1 mSv. The restriction on the operation of the radiation equipment in the practice of the students is a regulation that infringes the right of students to learn, and amendments or exemptions of Nuclear Safety Act should be enacted to ensure that it does not violate the fundamental right to learn for students in radiology.

A Survey on the Awareness of Radiation-related Workers and Radiation Workers in the Medical Institutions According to the Dual System (의료기관의 방사선사 중 방사선 관계종사자와 방사선 작업종사자의 이원화 체계에 따른 인식도 조사)

  • Her, Mi;Ahn, Sung-Min
    • Journal of radiological science and technology
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    • v.41 no.5
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    • pp.479-485
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    • 2018
  • Radiologic technologists working at the second and third medical institutions are classified as radiation-related workers and radiation workers according to their working departments, and are subject to double regulation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Nuclear Safety Commission. We will try to understand the system of dualization and to understand the investigation of recognition. The dualized system of radiation-related workers and radiation workers includes the difference in name and terminology, the effective dose limit, the maintenance education and training of radiologic technologists, the period of medical examination, the radiation zone, dose of the woman whose pregnancy is confirmed in radiologic technologists, the qualification criteria of the safety officer, and the period of the regular inspection of the radiological equipment. In the questionnaire survey on the dualization system, there were various items showing significant differences between the radiation-related workers and radiation workers Overall, the radiation workers were more aware of the radiation workers' education and related terms than the radiation-related workers.

The Effects of Safety Training Involving Non-Destructive Testing Among Students at Specialized Vocational High Schools

  • Lim, YoungKhi;Han, Eun Ok;Choi, YoonSeok
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.42 no.2
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    • pp.98-105
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    • 2017
  • Background: By examining the safety issues involved in on-site training sessions conducted at specialized vocational high schools, and by analyzing the effects of non-destructive testing (NDT) safety training, this study aims to contribute to ensuring the general safety of high school students. Materials and Methods: Students who expressed an interest in participation were surveyed regarding current NDT training practices, as well as NDT safety training. A total of 361 students from 4 schools participated in this study; 37.7% (136 students) were from the Seoul metropolitan area and 62.3% (225 students) were from other areas. Results and Discussion: Of the respondents, 2.2% (8 students) reported having engaged in NDT. As a result of safety training, statistically significant improvements were observed in most areas, except for individuals with previous NDT experience. The areas of improvement included safety awareness, acquisition of knowledge, subjective knowledge levels, objective knowledge levels, and adjustments to existing personal attitudes. Conclusion: Even at absolutely necessary observation-only training sessions, it is crucial that sufficient safety training and additional safety measures be adequately provided.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO RISK-BASED POST-CLOSURE SAFETY EVALUATION OF COMPLEX RADIATION EXPOSURE SITUATIONS IN RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL

  • Seo, Eun-Jin;Jeong, Chan-Woo;Sato, Seichi
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.35 no.1
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    • pp.6-11
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    • 2010
  • Embodying the safety of radioactive waste disposal requires the relevant safety criteria and the corresponding stylized methods to demonstrate its compliance with the criteria. This paper proposes a conceptual model of risk-based safety evaluation for integrating complex potential radiation exposure situations in radioactive waste disposal. For demonstrating compliance with a risk constraint, the approach deals with important exposure scenarios from the viewpoint of the receptor to estimate the resulting risk. For respective exposure situations, it considers the occurrence probabilities of the relevant exposure scenarios as their probability of giving rise to doses to estimate the total risk to a representative person by aggregating the respective risks. In this model, an exposure scenario is simply constructed with three components:radionuclide release, radionuclide migration and environment contamination, and interaction between the contaminated media and the receptor. A set of exposure scenarios and the representative person are established from reasonable combinations of the components, based on a balance of their occurrence probabilities and the consequences. In addition, the probability of an exposure scenario is estimated on the assumption that the initiating external factors influence release mechanisms and transport pathways, and its effect on the interaction between the environment and the receptor may be covered in terms of the representative person. This integrated approach enables a systematic risk assessment for complex exposure situations of radioactive waste disposal and facilitates the evaluation of compliance with risk constraints.

Application and development of radiation worker management program (방사선종사자 관리프로그램의 개발 및 적용)

  • Kim, Jeong-Ho;Yoo, Se-Jong
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.18 no.11
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    • pp.367-373
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    • 2017
  • The O2O service is an efficient way to operate based on systematic connection of the offline and online states. At present, education, health checkups, and exposure management of radiation workers are separated from offline and online at nuclear-related workplaces. Therefore, we developed a radiation workers management program at the workplace and tried to link online and offline states. After applying the program to the local network, we developed a written employee management system as a computer program and applied it to radiation workers and radiation safety managers at a university hospital in Daejeon using a questionnaire. As a result of the survey, the results of this program can enhance the awareness of safety management and work convenience. There is also a demand for radiation closed workers as well as radiation relative workers. It will be necessary to collect opinions regarding the characteristics of each workplace for the generalization of the radiation workers management program. As a result, real-time radiation safety management and work improvement can be expected through network connections between the workplace, supervisory authority, and related organizations in the future. If a circle structure is formed using the employee management program, development of radiation safety management can be expected.