MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF RADIATION SAFETYAND RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION OF PATIENTS IN ARMENIA

摘要

The events of the last 10 years, Spitak earthquake (1988) and collapse of the Former Soviet Union brought forthrnthe changes of the political situation in Armenia and significant disorder in economy, industry, relations,rnenvironmental and public health, including the radiation safety (RS) and control of patients in general diagnosticrnradiology. In Armenia there are about 750 X-ray rooms, 10 radionuclide diagnostic laboratories, 20 gamma andrnX-ray units. 95 enterprises in industry, science and technology use the Ionizing Radiation Sources (IRSs) withrndifferent purposes; there are 5 electron particle accelerators of different power capacity. About 6,000 individualsrnhave constant contact to IRS: the roentgenologists, radiologists, the staff of Armenian Nuclear Power Plant andrnthat of the accelerators, etc. Besides, more than 3,000 liquidators of the Chernobyl NPP disaster live in Armenia.rnNowadays, the precise infrastructure of RS is established in Armenia. The regulating body is the "State AtomrnAuthority", performing the control, coordination and licensing of both enterprises and specialists. Ministry ofrnHealth, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Ministry of Ecology perform the control of IRSs' delivery into thernRepublic of Armenia and then their proper use and waste disposal in Armenia.