Abstract:
Yttrium-90 (90Y) is pure beta emitter that has been widely used in selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) which the radiation shielding apparatus is utilised during treatment for radiation protection purpose. However, undesired radiation from bremsstrahlung might be generated when 90Y interacts with surrounding matter. So, the aims of this study were to determine bremsstrahlung produced from the radiation shielding apparatus, to compare the radiation measurement using NaI(Tl) scintillation detector with Monte Carlo simulation and to assess the radiation safety of the workers. Yttrium trichloride (90YCl3) solution was prepared in glass vial before placing in the radiation shielding apparatus. The count rate and spectrum of the produced bremsstrahlung was measured using well calibrated NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The optimal conditions for bremsstrahlung measurement were obtained by varying the counting time and the distance between detector and radiation shielding apparatus. For Monte Carlo simulation, the MCNP5 was used to simulate bremsstrahlung radiation with the same geometry as used in the measurement. Additionally, based on the routine clinical procedure of 90Y SIRT, simulation was performed using MCNP5. For experimental measurement, the distance of 10 cm and counting time of 120 s were the optimal conditions. Although comparison of the bremsstrahlung counting rate between measurement and simulation revealed the same trend, remarkably greater counting rate from measurement than simulation was observed. The simulation results of whole body exposure dose and fingers dose were 18.88 μSv/h and 3.90 mSv/h, respectively. The results indicated that 90Y SIRT procedure is safe for medical staff based on the dose limit recommended by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 103. In conclusion, 90Y bremsstrahlung can be produced from radiation shielding apparatus and possibly evaluated by either measurement or simulation. Despite simulation results showing higher count rate than those of measurement, it is possible as a result of suboptimal efficiency of the scintillation detector to detect bremsstrahlung or incomplete geometry model in simulation. Based on the simulation results, 90Y SIRT should be safe for the workers.