Radiation protection in the workplace

Although radiologists have a much higher occupational risk of radiation exposure than psychiatrists, the probability of dying from cancer is the same for both groups. That was the result of an American study by Amy Berrington de González et. al. in 2016.

In the past, things looked very different. Radiologists who completed their medical studies before 1940 had a significantly higher risk of getting ill due to frequent exposure to radiation. Typically, they suffered from various cancers, especially skin cancer, leukaemia and lymphoma, but non-cancer-related diseases were also more common among them. Since then, radiation protection standards have been continuously raised and radiation exposure reduced. A better understanding of the mechanisms of action of ionising radiation has made the handling of radiation much safer. At the same time, technical progress has led to less radiation being required for the same applications. A good example of this is the switch from analogue to digital X-rays. The latter makes it possible to take high-resolution X-ray images with a considerably lower radiation dose. Patients and practitioners benefit from this.

It can therefore be assumed that the better radiation protection led to this lower mortality risk. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that environmental factors and lifestyle were only included in the study to a very limited extent and could have distorted the results.

The X-ray report of the TÜV Association regularly shows defect statistics that were collected during the specified tests of the minimum requirements for X-ray equipment throughout Germany. This not only includes the technical devices themselves, but also takes into account all factors involved in the X-ray process. Defects in radiation protection begin, for example, with inadequate labelling of the rooms used for X-rays. 

The 2023 X-ray report shows that many stationary X-ray machines in human medical facilities are missing the now mandatory display of the dose indicator value or exposure index at the patient´s X-ray image. The value is often only recorded in the non-displayed image information. This error can be adjusted using the correct settings and therefore easily rectified.