Irradiation dose for personnel during brachytherapy of malignant neoplasms with 32P microsources

Experimental measurements of the local absorbed radiation dose in the most irradiated parts of the bodies of personnel (the skin of the hands and palms, eyes, thorax, and abdomen of operators) by means of high sensitivity TLD-500K thermoluminescence detectors are reported. It is found that, for ³²P microsources with a total activity of 100 MBq, after 6 hours of work without protective x-ray gloves during a simulation of placing a real preparation in the region of the liver of an adult phantom, the maximum local irradiation dose to the hands (the skin of the left middle finger and thumb) from bremsstrahlung with deduction of the natural background and without special protective measures is 0.54 ± 0.001 mGy, the minimum dose (skin on the palm of the right hand) is 0.1 ± 0.01 mGy, and the irradiation of the thorax, abdomen, and eyes of the operator is less than 0.12 mGy. This presents no radiation hazard, even for repeated work with these sources. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 105, No. 4, pp. 233–235, October, 2008.