A total of 3052 safety licences for the use of ionizing radiation were current at the end of
2018. The use of radiation was controlled through regular inspections performed at places of
use, test packages sent by post to dental X-ray facilities and maintenance of the Dose Register.
The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) conducted 592 inspections of safetylicensed
practices in 2018. The inspections resulted in 393 repair orders issued. In addition,
radiation safety guides were published and research was conducted in support of regulatory
control.
A total of 12 002 occupationally exposed workers were subject to individual monitoring in
2018. 75 852 dose entries were recorded in the Dose Register maintained by STUK.
In 2018, regulatory control of the use of non-ionizing radiation (NIR) focused on laser
equipment, sunbeds, radio appliances and cosmetic NIR applications. Forty-five cases of sales
or import of dangerous laser devices were found through regulatory control. Fifteen on-site
inspections of show lasers were conducted. Municipal health protection authorities submitted
the details of the inspections of 30 sunbed facilities to STUK for evaluation and decision. In
addition to this, five sunbed facilities were surveyed on the basis of STUK’s own monitoring.
In metrological activities, national metrological standards were maintained for the
calibration of radiation meters used in radiotherapy, radiation protection and X-ray imaging as
well as the calibration of radon meters used for measurement of radon in air. In measurement
comparisons, STUK’s results were clearly within the acceptable range.
There were 110 abnormal events related to radiation use in 2018. Of these events, 30
concerned the use of radiation in industry and research, 75 the use of radiation in health care,
two the use of radiation in veterinary practices and three the use of non-ionizing radiation.
In addition, 1149 events and near misses with an estimated minor significance for safety were
reported for health care.
In 2018, nearly 8000 radon measurements at nearly 2100 workplaces were recorded in the
national radon database. At conventional workplaces, the radon concentration exceeded 400
Bq/m3 at approximately 15 per cent of the measured workplaces. The radon concentration
exceeded the new reference value of 300 Bq/m3 at approximately 20 per cent of the measured
workplaces
