Radiation Exposure Due to X-Rays Increasing in Britain

The average X-ray radiation exposure to each individual in Britain has increased over the last decade from 1997 to 2008 thanks to an increasing number of x-rays taken during the same period. According to figures released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the number of medical and dental x-rays taken during the period between 1997-2008 increased by 10 percent to 46 million.

CT scans saw a huge jump of more than 140 percent during the period with the number increasing from 1.4 million in 1997 to 3.6 in 2008. Consequently, the average radiation exposure increased from 0.33 millisieverts (mSv) in 1997 to 0.4 mSv in 2008.

However the director of HPA’s center of radiation, Dr John Cooper said that the radiation exposure was lower than the global average.

“Despite the increased use of diagnostic X-rays in medicine in the UK, the average dose to the population is still considerably lower than in comparable countries. This is because in the UK we carry out fewer X-ray examinations per head of population and because radiology departments are well managed by healthcare professionals”, he added.




Source-Medindia