Estimation of Radionuclide Concentration in Medical Waste

Abstract

Almost all hospitals use radioisotopes for different purposes, as their applications grow, so their concentration in the waste of those hospitals does. To address this issue, twenty-nine samples were collected from (9) sites, these samples were collected from the incinerators of medical areas and the waste collection chambers. After collecting the samples, they were prepared for the examination, where a high-purity Germanium detector (HPGe) was used to detect radioactive elements. The element lead (Pb-214) of the uranium chain (U-238), the actinium element (Ac-228), and the element lead (Pb-212) of the thorium chain (Th-246) as well as, the potassium element (K-40) appeared in some medical areas. Some regions showed high concentrations of these elements compared to some sites, Iodine (I-131) appeared in high rates in some hospitals specialized in treating cancerous diseases. The equivalent efficacy of radium, the annual equivalent internal and external dose, and the internal and external risk factors were calculated and the results obtained were compared with the global limits.