D9 Radiation protection

Topic

Radiation protection is the discipline that quantifies and manages the risk of biological harm resulting from exposure to ionizing radiation—whether for patients, the workers operating the equipment, or the general public.

Radiation protection relies on three fundamental principles established by the International Commission on Radiological Protection: the principle of justification, which requires that the benefit of exposing someone to radiation always outweigh the risk of that exposure; the principle of optimization, which requires keeping any radiation dose as low as reasonably achievable, even when the exposure is already justified; and the principle of dose limitation, which sets maximum dose limits that cannot be exceeded for either workers or the general public.

In an oncology context, these principles are applied differently depending on who is being protected. For the patient, the risk associated with receiving the therapeutic dose required for treatment is accepted because the benefit of treating the tumor outweighs that risk—thereby satisfying the principle of justification; however, any dose falling outside the treatment field—affecting healthy tissue not intended for treatment—must be minimized as much as possible, applying the principle of optimization in that instance.

Workers, conversely, must never receive a therapeutic dose: their radiation exposure must always remain below the regulatory limits set by the principle of dose limitation and, within that limit, must also be kept as low as reasonably achievable, applying the same principle of optimization that protects the patient outside the treatment field. Thus, the same three principles of radiation protection—justification, optimization, and dose limitation—serve to protect each person involved in a different way, based on the specific risks and benefits that radiation presents for each individual.

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