Reconstruction of Radiation Dose Received by Diagnostic Radiologic Technologists in Korea

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Occupational Health
• Radiation Protection

Background:

• Official monitoring of occupational radiation doses for diagnostic medical radiation workers in Korea began in 1996.
• Historical occupational radiation dose data for diagnostic radiation technologists prior to 1996 is largely unrecorded.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate models for reconstructing individual occupational radiation doses for diagnostic radiation technologists in Korea before 1996.

Main Methods:

• Developed radiation dose reconstruction models using cross-sectional survey data and personal badge doses from 8167 radiologic technologists.
• Included calendar year and age as predictors, with participants categorized by sex and facility type.
• Estimated annual doses from 1971 to 1995 for technologists employed before 1996.

Main Results:

• Calendar year and age were inversely correlated with estimated radiation doses across all six participant groups.
• Annual median estimated doses significantly decreased from 9.45 mSv in 1971 to 1.26 mSv in 1995.
• Estimated doses post-1996 aligned closely with measured badge doses, validating the models.

Conclusions:

• The developed reconstruction models offer a viable method for estimating historical occupational radiation doses.
• These models can aid in assessing long-term radiation exposure for medical radiologic technologists in Korea.