Print View Posted on: 15 July 2013
On 6th May 2013 ASN, the French nuclear regulatory body (ASN), was informed by the Head of the hospital “Institut Mutualiste Montsouris” (http://www.imm.fr/) that a radiologist performing radio-guided procedures had received an effective dose exceeding the maximum regulatory dose limit of 20 mSv (milliSievert) in twelve consecutive months.The event was notified after the hospital's senior management received a report from the occupational physician on 29th April 2013 concerning repeated exceedances of the annual effective dose since July 2012 (effective dose of 22 mSv received between January and June 2012, rising to 35 mSv between January and September 2012, and finally totalling 48 mSv over the entire year 2012). Further to these exceedances, the occupational physician issued a first medical opinion of unfitness for exposure to ionising radiation on 29th January 2013, which remained without effect and was issued for a second time on 22nd May 2013. In the wake of an inspection carried out on 17th May 2013, ASN asked the hospital to suspend the radiologist from activity that would involve exposure to ionising radiation, in accordance with the opinion of unfitness issued by the occupational physician. ASN also observed that no complementary dosimetry measures were available, and asked the employer to review the workplace studies and to set up appropriate dosimetric monitoring where necessary.