ANALYSIS OF SHIELDING EFFECT AND AREA SURVEY FOR X – RAY DIAGNOSIS IMAGING FACILITIES ACROSS ABUJA, NIGERIA.

Radiation protection source is of great concern for national and international bodies because of the potential hazard associated with ever increasing number of radiodiagnostic facilities. However, humans are exposed to ionizing radiation and there is a risk of damage to our cells and our offspring. Ten diagnostic centres/hospitals (3 private and 7 government hospitals) were assessed. The objectives are to assess the integrity (standard) of the shielding used in those centers using an inspector alert to measure the recordable dose while taking into consideration the three points of interest; controlled area, supervised area and behind the wall as well as the design of the X-ray room as a means of reducing radiation. Results show that no recordable radiation was observed at all the points of interest confirming the efficiency of the shielding and the room design as barriers against ionizing radiation. The annual effective dose rates for both occupational and public were calculated and found below annual dose limit except for centre G whose annual effective dose rate for public exposure (0.95mSv/yr,) proved higher than the other centres thought, this does not calls for any alarm as the dose still fall below the annual dose limit of 1mSv/yr for public exposure as evidenced in table 4.2.7, 40% of the centres used lead lined wall and 40% had lined doors and 20% used concrete for their diagnostic rooms design. This result further strengthens the Area survey report. Generally, there was a good compliance to the minimum standard requirement in those X-ray diagnosis imaging facilities.