Presència de radionúclids d'origen mèdic en el medi

Identifier:  TDX:3021

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX3021

Authors:  Martínez Ratia, Joana

Abstract:
The presence of radionuclides in the environment and consequently the radiological characterization of the samples where they are present is a subject of study of great interest to the scientific community. These radionuclides can be naturally present in the environment or they can be introduced through artificial sources. Among the latter, the incorporation of radionuclides in the environment is related to the practice of medicine particularly, the branch of nuclear medicine in which radionuclides are handled and administered in the form of non-encapsulated radioactive sources. In this context, this Doctoral Thesis aims to contribute to providing new knowledge in relation to the presence and behavior of artificial radionuclides of medical origin, mainly 99mTc and 131I, in environmental and biological samples both from inside and outside a medical center of the province of Tarragona. Specifically, air samples of the work environment of the nuclear medicine department and biological samples of the workers of the same department have been radiologically characterized, as well as samples of wastewater and other samples from drinking and wastewater treatment stations in the area. The radiochemical measurement technique used has been gamma spectrometry since all radionuclides evaluated are emitters of this type. Some of the samples have required the application of various pretreatments based on evaporation or selective precipitation of the radionuclide to be analyzed. On the other hand, an assessment of the effective dose at which a worker in a nuclear medicine department or a wastewater treatment station could receive for being exposed to the presence of medical radionuclides in their work environment has been made.