OVERVIEW OF OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION EXPOSURE IN MEDICAL WORKERS IN SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL, BETWEEN 2014 AND 2017

This study assessed occupational radiation doses in Santa Catarina, Brazil, from 2014 to 2017. Data were collected from Sistema de Informação Estadual de Radiações Ionizantes (SIERI), a compulsory occupational dose registration system established in Santa Catarina in 2014. Most doses were registered as lower than the dosemeter recording level (RL; 99.12%). Diagnostic radiology workers registered doses higher than the RL (61.13%) more frequently than nuclear medicine workers; however, the former received lower doses. Nuclear medicine workers represented 38.87% of dosemeter values higher than the RL, but their mean doses were higher. The professionals who registered the highest doses across both categories were radiology technologists/technicians and nursing workers. Establishment of a compulsory information system is important for monitoring the safety of workers. This study compiled data from the first few years of the SIERI program. Here, we report the current status of exposure in Santa Catarina.