X-Ray Barrier Estimation - A Case Study of the General Radiography Room of a Major Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Background: The observation that the designing rules and calculations on shielding barrier thickness estimation for most general radiographic rooms are not being practised made the evaluation of the already existing shielding barrier of the general Radiography Room of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika - Zaria to ascertain its shielding adequacy very necessary.Materials and Methods: The General Radiography Room with an area of 6.36m x 5m houses a Silhouette General X-ray machine; model MS-185N with serial number 0877 manufactured by General Electric (GE) Medical Systems in September, 2004. The evaluation was based on the method by NCRP Report No. 147, and used the number of patients examined in this room per week for shielding calculations.Results: The results showed that the barrier thickness required varied from 0.10 to 0.46mm of lead for the secondary barriers and 1.36mm of lead for the primary barrier. The ratio of the calculated to the current (already contructed) barrier thickness ranged from 0.09 to 0.23 for the secondary barriers and 0.68for the primary barrier .Conclusion: Based on the results from this study, the shielding barrier already provided in the General Radiography Room of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika - Zaria is adequate and in the event of public access to the surrounding area, the dose rates are at acceptable limits

An Assessment of the Lead rubber aprons in Radiodiagnostic centres in South-South Nigeria

Background of Study: Radiation protection is of core importance inradiodiagnostic centres, to keep both patients care givers and staff of thecentres from stochastic and non- stochastic effects of radiation. Theeffectiveness and protectiveness of aprons are of valuable importance, it istherefore necessary to assess these aprons to ensure efficacy. Such qualitychecks have not been reported in the South – South region of Nigeria.Aim: To assess in terms of their quality and therefore protective features, thelead aprons in used radiology clinics in the South-South region of Nigeria.Method: Twenty two protective lead aprons from 18 radiological clinics inSouth-South Nigeria were directly exposed to X-rays with average factors of70 ± 5kVp, 16 mAs and 100 cm Source to apron distance, with 43 x 35 cmcassettes places underneath to cover the upper (thoracic half) and the lower(abdominal half) respectively. Exposed films were processed in each centrefollowing regular processing protocols to obtain radiographs with images ofthe state of the aprons. The images were analyzed on the basis of each apron’slead equivalence (content), age, brand and the type of defects observed.Defects were characterized into cracks, tears, splits and rips. Physicalexamination for cleanliness, wear and tear was also carried out.Results: Results showed that 68% of all the aprons under study weredefective, having cracks (44%), tears (33%), splits (15%) and/or rips (8%).About 73 % of the defective aprons had more than one (1) type of defect. Upto 87% of the defective aprons had no inherent lead equivalence andmanufacturer identification indicated on them. It was observed that about73% of these defects occurred in aprons of aged between 1-10 years with thearea affected in the range of 1.00 – 1000.00 mm2.Conclusion: Over two-thirds (⅔) of lead aprons found in diagnosticradiology centres in South – South Nigeria, have shown sufficient evidence ofdefects to suggest that they may not be useful for radiation protection of theusers

An Assessment of the Lead rubber aprons in Radiodiagnostic centres in South-South Nigeria

Background of Study: Radiation protection is of core importance in radiodiagnostic centres, to keep both patients care givers and staff of the centres from stochastic and non- stochastic effects of radiation. The effectiveness and protectiveness of aprons are of valuable importance, it is therefore necessary to assess these aprons to ensure efficacy. Such quality checks have not been reported in the South – South region of Nigeria. Aim: To assess in terms of their quality and therefore protective features, the lead aprons in used radiology clinics in the South-South region of Nigeria. Method: Twenty two protective lead aprons from 18 radiological clinics in South-South Nigeria were directly exposed to X-rays with average factors of 70 ± 5kVp, 16 mAs and 100 cm Source to apron distance, with 43 x 35 cm cassettes places underneath to cover the upper (thoracic half) and the lower (abdominal half) respectively. Exposed films were processed in each centre following regular processing protocols to obtain radiographs with images of the state of the aprons. The images were analyzed on the basis of each apron’s lead equivalence (content), age, brand and the type of defects observed. Defects were characterized into cracks, tears, splits and rips. Physical examination for cleanliness, wear and tear was also carried out. Results: Results showed that 68% of all the aprons under study were defective, having cracks (44%), tears (33%), splits (15%) and/or rips (8%). About 73 % of the defective aprons had more than one (1) type of defect. Up to 87% of the defective aprons had no inherent lead equivalence and manufacturer identification indicated on them. It was observed that about 73% of these defects occurred in aprons of aged between 1-10 years with the area affected in the range of 1.00 – 1000.00 mm2 . Conclusion: Over two-thirds (⅔) of lead aprons found in diagnostic radiology centres in South – South Nigeria, have shown sufficient evidence of defects to suggest that they may not be useful for radiation protection of the users

Safety of Ionizing Radiation in Selected Conventional X-ray Diagnostic Centres in Calabar and Uyo metropolises, Nigeria

Background: Humans are inevitably exposed to background radiation in work and public environments. The aim of this work is to assess the effectiveness of the secondary barriers in conventional x-ray diagnostic centers in Calabar and Uyo metropolises. This is by determining the weekly and annual effective dose in their respective uncontrolled areas and comparing them with the international recommendations. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in three x-ray diagnostic centers in Calabar, represented as C1, C2, and C3 respectively, and in four xray diagnostic centers in Uyo, represented as U1, U2, U3, and U4 respectively. Background radiation was measured using Radex 1212 A-A battery-powered survey meter, at a distance of 2.5meters away from the xray units. Radiation measurement was taken at three different spots, and the recorded data were analyzed. Results: The mean calculated effective dose per week in mSv/week for each diagnostic center was given as 0.130 ± 0.0068mSv/week. Also, the mean calculated effective dose per year in mSv/year for each center was given as 0.66 ± 0.35mSv/year. These values are below the National Commission on Radiation Protection (NCRP) recommendations of 0.02mSv/week and 1mSv/year respectively. From the results, the mean calculated chance of developing cancer was 2.33 ×10-3% which was lower than the NCRP recommendation for continuous public exposure of 5.5×10-3 %. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the integrity of the shielding designs and their dimensions assessed are safe