Annual Radiation Exposure to Workers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kashmir : A 10-Year Analysis and Comparison with National Levels of exposure

Objective: To assess the radiation exposure amongst radiation workers in Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar, a tertiary care 620 bedded superspeciality hospital was carried out. Material and Methods: A 10-year retrospective analysis of the whole body radiation exposure to the radiation workers of SKIMS Srinagar, Two blocks of five years each from 1995 to 1999 & 2002 to 2007 were studied and compared with the national pool of radiation workers for the same period. The average annual dose of radiation workers working in different radiation departments of SKIMS was compared with the workers of the similar department of the national pool. Results & Conclusion: It was observed that in the block of 5 years from 1995 to 1999 the average whole body dose to the radiation works at SKIMS during the latter half showed a rising trend for three years as compared to the national pool. However in the block 2002 to 2005 the average annual dose was mostly similar except for a higher dose to SKIMS workers in 2005. It was observed that the average annual dose received by the workers of Nuclear Medicine department of SKIMS was usually high more so in the five year block of 2000 to 2005.The workers of Radiodiagnosis at SKIMS also received a higher annual dose in 7 of the 10 years of study. J Med Sci 2009;12(2):41-45