Two new IAEA safety guides provide extensive recommendations and guidance to enhance radiation protection of patients subjected to radiological procedures for diagnosis and treatment, and workers who are exposed to radiation in their jobs. The guides support the implementation of IAEA Safety Standards on radiation protection and safety of radiation sources.
The Safety Guide SSG-46, Radiation Protection and Safety in Medical Uses of Ionizing Radiation offers comprehensive recommendations for enhanced radiation protection and safety in medical uses of ionizing radiation, said Jenia Vassileva, an IAEA radiation protection specialist.
“We hope that the new safety guide on radiation protection addresses the essential attention to procedures and methods to further strengthen safety radiation procedures for patients,” she added. “It includes a structured guidance covering specific areas of diagnostic radiology and image-guided interventional procedures, nuclear medicine and radiation therapy.”
The use of radiation in medicine results in substantial health benefits. There are approximately 3.6 billion diagnostic and interventional radiological procedures, over 30 million nuclear medicine procedures, and over 5 million radiation therapy treatments performed annually worldwide.
If not used accurately and safely, ionizing radiation can cause harm, Vassileva highlighted. One of the key goals of this document is to support countries to enhance and implement effective systems of radiation protection for all medical uses of ionizing radiation, embedded in good overall medical practice.
“SSG-46 is aimed primarily at end users in the medical radiation facilities in which radiological procedures are performed, including managers, radiological medical practitioners, medical radiation technologists and other relevant health professionals who refer patients for such procedures,” Vassileva said.
This Safety Guide is the result of the IAEA’s close collaboration with its Member States, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Office (ILO) and the Pan American Health Organization. It supersedes IAEA Safety Standards Series Radiological Protection for Medical Exposure to Ionizing Radiation, No. RS-G-1.5, issued in 2002, and several Safety Reports issued by the IAEA in 2005 and 2006.
