Biomaterial Database

Shielding hospital rooms for brachytherapy patients: design, regulatory and cost/benefit factors. 1984

M Gitterman, and E W Webster

The current regulations of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) normally require limitation of radiation exposure in any part of unrestricted occupied areas to 2 mrem in any one hour and to 100 mrem in 7 days. To meet these limits when patients are treated therapeutically with radioactive materials, it is advisable to designate specific rooms in a hospital and often necessary to incorporate substantial costly shielding into one or more walls and the room door. Plans have been formulated for shielding existing hospital rooms housing brachytherapy patients receiving 192Ir and 137Cs therapy in order to meet the above NRC requirements for adjacent corridors and rooms. Typical shielding thicknesses required are 4-6 in. of concrete for certain walls and 1/4 in. of lead in the doors. Shielding costs are approx. $6000 per room for one shielded wall and a shielded door. Applying recent estimates of the cancer risk from low-level gamma radiation, the cost of shielding per cancer fatality averted has been estimated to range from $1.8 million to $10.9 million. Cost/benefit comparisons with many other life-saving activities suggest that these costs and the application of the 2 mrem/hr limit which necessitated them are not justified.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007495	Iridium	A metallic element with the atomic symbol Ir, atomic number 77, and atomic weight 192.22.
D008452	Maximum Allowable Concentration	The maximum exposure to a biologically active physical or chemical agent that is allowed during an 8-hour period (a workday) in a population of workers, or during a 24-hour period in the general population, which does not appear to cause appreciable harm, whether immediate or delayed for any period, in the target population. (From Lewis Dictionary of Toxicology, 1st ed)	Maximum Permissible Exposure Level,MPEL,Maximum Permissible Exposure Concentration,Allowable Concentration, Maximum,Allowable Concentrations, Maximum,Concentration, Maximum Allowable,Concentrations, Maximum Allowable,MPELs,Maximum Allowable Concentrations
D011835	Radiation Protection	Methods and practices adopted to protect against RADIATION.	Protection, Radiation
D011868	Radioisotopes	Isotopes that exhibit radioactivity and undergo radioactive decay. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed & McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Daughter Isotope,Daughter Nuclide,Radioactive Isotope,Radioactive Isotopes,Radiogenic Isotope,Radioisotope,Radionuclide,Radionuclides,Daughter Nuclides,Daugter Isotopes,Radiogenic Isotopes,Isotope, Daughter,Isotope, Radioactive,Isotope, Radiogenic,Isotopes, Daugter,Isotopes, Radioactive,Isotopes, Radiogenic,Nuclide, Daughter,Nuclides, Daughter
D011872	Radiology Department, Hospital	Hospital department which is responsible for the administration and provision of x-ray diagnostic and therapeutic services.	Hospital Radiology Department,X-Ray Departments,Department, Hospital Radiology,Department, X-Ray,Departments, Hospital Radiology,Departments, X-Ray,Radiology Departments, Hospital,X-Ray Department,Department, X Ray,Departments, X Ray,Hospital Radiology Departments,X Ray Department,X Ray Departments
D001918	Brachytherapy	A collective term for interstitial, intracavity, and surface radiotherapy. It uses small sealed or partly-sealed sources that may be placed on or near the body surface or within a natural body cavity or implanted directly into the tissues.	Curietherapy,Implant Radiotherapy,Plaque Therapy, Radioisotope,Radioisotope Brachytherapy,Radiotherapy, Interstitial,Radiotherapy, Intracavity,Radiotherapy, Surface,Brachytherapy, Radioisotope,Interstitial Radiotherapy,Intracavity Radiotherapy,Radioisotope Plaque Therapy,Radiotherapy, Implant,Surface Radiotherapy,Therapy, Radioisotope Plaque
D002028	Building Codes	Standards or regulations for construction which are designed to ensure safety against electrical hazards, fires, etc.	Building Code,Code, Building,Codes, Building
D002588	Cesium Radioisotopes	Unstable isotopes of cesium that decay or disintegrate emitting radiation. Cs atoms with atomic weights of 123, 125-132, and 134-145 are radioactive cesium isotopes.	Radioisotopes, Cesium
D003362	Cost-Benefit Analysis	A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. In contrast a cost effectiveness in general compares cost with qualitative outcomes.	Cost and Benefit,Cost-Benefit Data,Benefits and Costs,Cost Benefit,Cost Benefit Analysis,Cost-Utility Analysis,Costs and Benefits,Economic Evaluation,Marginal Analysis,Analyses, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Utility,Analysis, Marginal,Benefit and Cost,Cost Benefit Analyses,Cost Benefit Data,Cost Utility Analysis,Cost-Benefit Analyses,Cost-Utility Analyses,Data, Cost-Benefit,Economic Evaluations,Evaluation, Economic,Marginal Analyses
D005160	Facility Design and Construction	Architecture, exterior and interior design, and construction of facilities other than hospitals, e.g., dental schools, medical schools, ambulatory care clinics, and specified units of health care facilities. The concept also includes architecture, design, and construction of specialized contained, controlled, or closed research environments including those of space labs and stations.	Facility Construction,Facility Design,Construction, Facility,Constructions, Facility,Design, Facility,Designs, Facility,Facility Constructions,Facility Designs