Health and Safety in Radiography

Quiz!

What is the name of the legislation in place to protect those working with ionising radiation?

Ionising Radiation Regulations 2017 (IRR)

Can you describe x-radiation in terms of wavelength, frequency and energy?

• Short wavelength

• High frequency

• High energy

What effects can ionising radiation have on living tissue? (name THREE)

• Biological effects 

• Genetic effects 

• Somatic effects 

What are biological effects that ionising radiation can have on living tissue?

Where excitation and ionisation may cause affected cells to be damaged or killed 

What are genetic effects that ionising radiation can have on living tissue? 

Seen where damage has occurred to the chromosomes or it causes mutation of genes in the reproductive cells 

What are the somatic effects that ionising radiation can have on living tissue?

Evident during an individual’s life time such as radiation burns or leukaemia

What do the initials R.P.S stand for in veterinary radiography?

Radiation Protection Supervisor

What is the name of the main beam produced when an exposure is made?

The Primary Beam

Name FIVE methods of reducing scatter radiation in veterinary radiography

• Tight collimation of primary beam

• Lead lined radiography 

• Use of a grid 

• Use of compression band for large dog abdomens 

• X-ray machine design, e.g. lead casting, aluminum window 

What is the controlled area and what must the design of this area ensure?

• The designated area for radiography to take place in the practice

• It must allow for the operator to stand a minimum of TWO metres away from the primary beam when an exposure is being made

What does the ionising radiation warning symbol look like?

What is the light beam diaphragm and how is this relevant to health and safety?

• It highlights the area for exposure to x-radiation

• By collimating this as tightly as possible to the area of interest, you are not unnecessarily exposing other areas for x-radiation

What is the role of the RPA?

• A suitably qualified person EXTERNAL to the practice who will visit approximately every 4 years to provide support and guidance to the practice on their veterinary radiography 

• Includes writing local rules and ensuring the practice are working to IRR 2017

What does the term Maximum Permissible Dose (MPD) mean? 

• Refers to the maximum doses for different people of different ages, for different parts of their bodies 

• Categories for people usually include adult employees over 18 years or age, 16-18 year old and members of the public 

• Categories for different parts of the body include the lens of the eye, skin and body

What PPE can be provided by practices for personnel involved in radiography? (5)

• Lead gowns

• Thyroid guards

• Lead sleeves

• Lead gloves

• Eye protection