Fleishman A B, Notley H M, Wilkinson J M
Br J Radiol. 1983 Oct;56(670):737-44. doi: 10.1259/0007-1285-56-670-737.
The ICRP system of dose limitation requires radiation exposures to be kept "as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA). The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) advocates a form of cost benefit analysis for this purpose, in which a comparison is made between the costs of protective measures and the benefits of reduced radiation exposure. In the UK, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) has been developing a framework for the practical application of cost benefit techniques to aid the evaluation of investments in radiological protection. One such investment, being undertaken at a number of radiotherapy centres, concerns remote after-loading equipment to replace the use of radium in the treatment of gynaecological cancers. The introduction of such equipment can offer a complete solution to the radiological protection problems associated with manual radium insertions but involves large capital expenditures on equipment and shielded treatment rooms. This paper describes a cost benefit analysis of introducing remote after-loading equipment at the Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute in Manchester. In accordance with the NRPB framework, it is shown that the introduction of after-loading equipment, when housed in appropriately protected rooms, should result in a substantial net benefit and would therefore be justified on radiological protection grounds according to the ALARA principle.
国际放射防护委员会（ICRP）的剂量限制体系要求将辐射暴露保持在“合理可行尽量低”（ALARA）的水平。国际放射防护委员会为此提倡一种成本效益分析形式，即对防护措施的成本与减少辐射暴露的益处进行比较。在英国，国家放射防护委员会（NRPB）一直在制定一个框架，以便实际应用成本效益技术来协助评估放射防护方面的投资。在一些放射治疗中心正在进行的一项此类投资涉及使用遥控后装设备来取代在妇科癌症治疗中使用镭。引入这种设备可以为与手动插入镭相关的放射防护问题提供一个完整的解决方案，但需要在设备和屏蔽治疗室方面投入大量资金。本文描述了在曼彻斯特的克里斯蒂医院和霍尔特镭研究所引入遥控后装设备的成本效益分析。根据国家放射防护委员会的框架，结果表明，将后装设备安置在适当防护的房间内，应会带来可观的净效益，因此根据ALARA原则，从放射防护角度来看是合理的。
