title: Low-level occupational 14C contamination--results from a pilot study.
abstract: This paper presents a pilot study in which specific activities of 14C in hair and urine from 11 radiation workers handling 14C-containing substances have been measured using accelerator mass spectrometry. Varying degrees of contamination were revealed: up to 63% excess in hair and 400% excess in urine. Although the 14C excess reported in this study would result in low effective doses, it would be of interest to monitor the situation at other workplaces with potentially higher risks of contamination. Simultaneous measurements of 14C in hair and urine with additional random measurements of 14C in faeces and exhaled air could provide a means of improving dose estimates for workers handling different types of 14C-containing substances.
authors.affiliation: Lund University, Department of Physics, Division of Nuclear Physics, PO Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden. kristina.stenstrom@nuclear.lu.se
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stenström
authors.forename: Sigrid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leide-Svegborn
authors.forename: Sören
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mattsson
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D006197:Hair / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D011835:Radiation Protection; D012306:Risk; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D014556:Urine; D000078329:Workforce
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes