OCCUPATIONAL AND PUBLIC RADIATION EXPOSURES ARISING FROM THE NORMAL TRANSPORT OF RADIOGRAPHIC RADIATION SOURCES IN GERMANY

Gamma radiation sources are of vital importance in non-destructive testing to ensure integrity of components and structures and are shipped and used in a wide range of portable and nonportable exposure devices commercially available. A nationwide survey of radiographic radiation source shipments in Germany indicates that every year approximately 20 000 – 25 000 shipments are performed by road. The use, handling, and transport of radiographic sources give rise to radiation exposures of both workers (radiographers) and members of the public. However, while a sufficiently large body of information exists on the total dose incurred by radiographers from the use and handling of radiographic sources including their transport, there is generally little information available - if any - to allow some judgment to be made on the transport-related doses and the adequacy and effectiveness of the radiation protection measures to be employed by operators during transport in the public domain. To bridge this gap of information a specifically designed dose assessment program was set out with the objective to quantify the public and occupational radiation doses attributable to the normal transport of portable radiographic radiation sources. The paper describes the scope and nature of the dose assessment and evaluation program and presents the survey and dose assessment results based on monitoring data and dose estimates. The assessment results available indicate that the radiation doses incurred by radiographers and members of the public during normal transport of gamma radiation sources are generally limited and well below the applicable dose limits.