Background: X-ray examination is associated with patient exposure to ionizing radiation. Dose values depend on the type of medical procedure used, the X-ray unit technical condition and exposure conditions selected. The aim of this study was to determine the dose value received by patients during certain conventional radiography X-ray examinations and to assess the technical condition of medical equipment used for this purpose. Material and Methods: The study covered the total number of 118 conventional diagnostic X-ray units located in the Masovian Voivodeship. The methodology used to assess the conventional diagnostic X-ray unit technical condition and the measurement of the radiation dose rate received by patients are based on test procedures developed by the Department of Radiation Protection and Radiobiology of the National Institute of Public Health -National Institute of Hygiene (Warszawa, Poland) accredited for compliance with PN-EN 17025 standard by the Polish Centre for Accreditation. Results: It was found that 84.7% of X-ray units fully meet the criteria set out in the Polish legislation regarding the safe use of ionizing radiation in medicine, while 15.3% of the units do not meet some of them. The broadest dose value range was recorded for adult patients. Particularly, during lateral (LAT) lumbar spine radiography the recorded entrance surface dose (ESD) values ranged from 283.5 to 7827 μGy (mean: 2183.3 μGy). Conclusions: It is absolutely necessary to constantly monitor the technical condition of all X-ray units, because it affects population exposure to ionizing radiation. Furthermore, it is essential to raise radiographers' awareness of the effects that ionizing radiation exposure can have on the human body. Med Pr 2014;65(6):715-721 StreszczenieWstęp: Wykonywanie badań rentgenowskich wiąże się z narażeniem pacjenta na działanie promieniowania jonizującego. Wielkość tego narażenia zależna jest od wykonywanej procedury medycznej, stanu technicznego aparatu rentgenowskiego i dobranych warunków ekspozycji. Celem niniejszych badań było określenie wielkości dawek, na jakie narażeni są pacjenci podczas wybranych ogólnodiagnostycznych badań rentgenowskich oraz ocena stanu technicznego używanej aparatury medycznej. Materiał i metody: Badaniami objęto łącznie 118 ogólnodiagnostycznych aparatów rentgenowskich, zlokalizowanych na terenie województwa mazowieckiego. Metodyka badań dotycząca oceny ich stanu technicznego i pomiaru dawek otrzymywanych przez pacjentów oparta została na opracowanych w Zakładzie Higieny Radiacyjnej i Radiobiologii (Narodowy Instytut Zdrowia Publicznego -Państwowy Zakład Higieny) procedurach badawczych, akredytowanych na zgodność z normą PN-EN 17025 przez Polskie Centrum Akredytacji. Wyniki: W wyniku przeprowadzonych badań stwierdzono, że 84,7% aparatów w pełni spełnia kryteria określone w polskim ustawodawstwie dotyczącym zasad bezpiecznego stosowania promieniowania jonizującego w medycynie, a 15,3% nie spełnia części z nich. Największą rozpiętość otrzymywanych dawek zaobserwowano u ...

In patients with head and neck cancer routine follow up is indispensable. Introduced modern schedules make the monitoring work-up shorter and more sensible, although the benefit in improving patients survival is doubtful.

Background: X-ray examination is associated with the patient's exposure to ionizing radiation. The dose values depend on the type of the medical procedure used, the X-ray unit technical condition and exposure conditions selected by X-ray technicians. The aim of this study has been to assess the entrance surface dose (ESD) values received by patients during the limb X-ray examination. The results should help doctors in making the decision about sending patients for X-ray examination. At the same time the X-ray unit condition and examination method performance are important for the radiological protection of the medical staff. Material and Methods: The study covered the total number of 118 X-ray units located in 56 public healthcare entities and private medical centers in the Masovian Voivodeship. The measurement of the radiation dose rate received by patients was based on our own research procedures. Results: The research has found that there are even more than 10-fold differences in the dose values received by adult patients with several-fold differences in the case of children patients. The broadest dose value range for adult patients was related to femur radiography. The ESD values for this procedure ranged 70.9-765.2 µGy (with the average value of 319.7 µGy). The broadest dose value range for children was related to the knee radiography. The range for children aged 5 years old was 11.8-95.8 μGy (with the average value of 48.9 μGy). Conclusions: It is essential to immediately implement X-ray room working procedures for the purpose of performing diagnostic examinations based on the existing model procedures. Med Pr 2016;67(3):321-326

Radon Rn-222 is a commonly occurring natural radionuclide found in the environment from uranium-radium radioactive series, which is the decay product of radium Ra-226. The presence of radon carries negative health effects. It is, in fact, classified as a carcinogen, and therefore, it is necessary to continuously monitor its concentration. The aim of this study was to determine the level of radon-222 concentration in water intended for human consumption in the two voivodeships of Poland: West Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian. Measurements were performed for more than 60 intakes. The level of radon was measured by using the liquid scintillation counting method. The range of measured radon concentration in the water from the West Pomeranian Voivodeship was from 0.90 to 11.41 Bq/dm3 with an average of 5.01 Bq/dm3, while that from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship was from 1.22 to 24.20 Bq/dm3 with an average of 4.67 Bq/dm3. Only in three water intakes, the concentration of radon-222 exceeded the value of 10 Bq/dm3. The obtained results allowed to conclude that population exposure associated with radon-222 in water is negligible and there is no need to take further action. In the case of three intakes where a higher concentration of radon was found, the potential exposure was low.

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