Estimation of Radiation Risk on Public Around Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital Campus, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Objective: Ionizing radiation is widely used in the hospital for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to patients and its usage increasing day by day. The aim of the study is to monitor the real-time radiation around the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College (ShSMC) hospital campus and estimation of radiation risk on public.
 Method: The real-time radiation monitoring around the ShSMC hospital was performed using digital portable radiation monitoring device (DPRMD). The DPRMD meets all European CE standards and the American “FCC 15 standard”. The DPRMD was placed at 1 meter above the ground on tripod and data collection time for each monitoring point (MP) was 1 hour. Each MP was marked out using Garmin eTrex GPS device. 32 MPs were chosen for collection of the real-time radiation dose rates around the ShSMC hospital campus in October 2020.
 Results: The real-time radiation dose rates around the ShSMC hospital campus were ranged from 0.37-3.39 µSv/hr with an average of 1.537 ± 0.359 µSv/hr. The annual effective dose on public were ranged from 1.326 ± 0.551 mSv to 4.902 ± 0.705 mSv with an average of 2.694 ± 0.629 mSv. The excess life-time cancer risk (ELCR) on public health was estimated based on the annual effective dose that ranged from 5.277×10ˆ-3 to 19.503×10ˆ-3 with an average value of 10.72×10ˆ-3 around the ShSMC hospital campus.
 Conclusion: Real-time radiation monitoring facilitates to ensure the safety of the radiation workers and the public from undue radiation hazard. The study also gives instant information of improper operation of radiation generating equipments and improper handling of radioactive substances in the hospital.