CAN OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE BE OPTIMIZED FO R MEDICAL WORKERS

Implementation of the principle of optimization (ALARA), an essential radiation protection regulations, remains very limited in the medical field, even though 80% of workers whose exposure exceeds 50 mSv are to be found in this domain. The doses measured by legal dosimetry someti mes underestimate the real exposure of workers. It is therefore necess ary to optimize the protection of occupational exposure in the medical field. This paper reviews the steps of the optimization procedure wit h emphasis on specificity of its application in this domain. Operation al dosimetry as well as information on the residual risk due to low ex posures and a better estimation of the risk/benefit factor for the pat ient are needed for satisfactory implementation.