Guidance Levels(or Diagnostic Reference Levels) for Medical Exposure

The standard that are relevant to radiation safety in medical application of radiation are International Basic Safety Standard(BSS).The conditions of service of workers shall be independent of existence or possibility  occupational exposure. Special compensatory arrangement with respect to salary or special insurance coverage, working hours , length of vacation, additional holydays or retirement benefits shall neither be granted nor be used as substitutes for the provision of proper protection and safety measures to ensure compliance with requirement of the standards.

For pregnant workers be on becoming aware the she is pregnant, notify the employer in order that her working condition may be modified if necessary. Notification of pregnancy shall not be considered a reason to be exclude a female worker work. However , the employer of a female worker who has notified pregnancy shall adapt the working condition in respect of occupational exposure so as ensure that embryo of fetus afforded same broad level of protection as required for members of the public. Employer shall make every reasonable effort to provide workers with suitable alternative employment in circumstances where it has been determined,either by regulatory Authority or in the frame work of the health surveillance program required by standard , that the worker , for health reasons, may no longer continue in employment involving occupational exposure.

In addition to requirement for justification and optimization, there are requirement for guidance levels(or diagnostic reference levels) for medical exposure. The guidance level intended :

1. to be reasonable indication of doses for average sized patient
2. To be established by relevant professional bodies in consultant with the regulatory Authority .
3. To provide guidance on what is achievable with current goof practice rather than on what should be considered optimum performance
4. To be applied with flexibility to allows exposures if these are indicated by sound clinical judgment and
5. to be revised as technology and techniques improve (Madan Rehani, IAEA )