Radiation Safety for Nurses

Radioactive materials are common in medical imaging and cancer treatment procedures. To protect nurses from radiation's carcinogenic and mutagenic effects, hospitals train them to limit their exposure by following the "As Low as Reasonably Achievable" (ALARA) principle.

Federal Law

• Federal law requires hospitals to train nurses in radiation safety if they're likely to be exposed to more than 100 millirems annually. Federal regulations forbid exposures of more than 5,000 millirems per year, or more than 500 millirems for pregnant nurses during their pregnancy.

Radiation Therapy

• Isotopes used in radiation therapy emit beta and gamma rays. Nurses attending patients undergoing radiation treatment risk exposure to gamma radiation from the patient's body, and to beta radiation from excretions. Brachytherapy patients' radioactive implants can also expose nurses to low levels of gamma radiation.

Safety Precautions

• Nurses should spend no more time in a radiation therapy patient's room than is necessary to perform their duties courteously and professionally. They should maintain as much distance from the patient as possible, except as needed to provide the appropriate level of care. Nurses should wear protective gloves and shoe coverings while in the room, dispose of them in the designated receptacle after caring for the patient, and wash their hands immediately after leaving the room.