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Narrator: Meet Ike Isodope, photofluorograph operator first-class. A pretty smart guy.
He's got a mighty important job helping the doctors in the health department
to find cases of tuberculosis and other chest diseases.
Every day hundreds of people line up at Ike's PF machine to get a chest x-ray.
Every day he shoots the x-rays as fast as the equipment can take it.
Yes, Ike's a first class operator and a valuable guy to have around in x-ray work.
He knows his equipment cold. He knows what it can do and what it can't do.
He's never burned out a tube before its time or shorted out a power line, ever since he's been doing x-ray work.
Ike certainly takes care of his PF machine.
The big question, though, is how well has Ike been taking care of himself?
He's got a protective lead screen, which can stop x-ray radiation cold, but does he use it? The answer is no.
He figures he can save a couple of steps a day by reaching for the control button. In order to make life exciting, Ike plays games.
His favorite one is peek-a-boo with the stray x-rays surrounding his PF unit.
He'll lose though, in the end.
Sometimes Ike likes to play the hero. He lets his positioner shoot him for test purposes,
but they don't hand out gold medals for this kind of heroism.
During his rest periods Ike doesn't like to go far from his machine.
He's conscientious all right, but not very bright about the places he picks to take his smoke,
right alongside a busy machine or in the unprotected cab of a trailer unit.
You see, no one ever put a strong enough label on Ike's equipment,
so he's not fully aware of the danger involved in x-ray work.
Now with high-tension cables, transformers, and switches it's different.
That you've got to respect, says Ike, because they can kill you faster than you can blink an eye.
But x-rays, says Ike, I haven't seen anyone keel over from them yet.
But it could happen, and here's why.
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Like arsenic, the poisonous effects of excessive exposure to X-ray radiation are cumulative.
Take a little today and a little tomorrow and you won't feel it at all,
but go on taking it for a long time and it'll make you very sick.
Overexposure to x-rays can make you anemic.
It can give you a troublesome and painful skin condition.
It can result in cancer of the skin or if you soak up enough of the x-rays,
it can result in sterility or genetic damage.
It won't happen overnight, but carelessness or negligence in protecting yourself
against the harmful effects of x-rays will catch up with you eventually.
It can kill you long before your time.
Medical authorities agree that you can take a small amount of x-ray radiation each week without harmful effects,
but you should not have more than 3/10 of a roentgen per week.
The important thing, if you want to stay well on the job for your entire career,
is that you know the facts about radiation hazards.
Learn the rules of safety and follow them.
Here are the facts.
First, remember that a PF unit normally takes 10 times as many x-ray films in a day's work as a 14 by 17 inch unit.
So that the danger of exposure is multiplied many times over.
Second, remember that every small film photofluorograph requires about 20 times
the amount of x-rays used in conventional 14 by 17 inch radiography.
Thus, the danger of overexposure to x-rays is far greater in a PF unit than in a radiographic installation.
Both can be safe, but one takes more care than the others.
Above all, don't be fooled by the fact that your PF machine uses a ray-proof x-ray tube.
It is true that proper coning and proper alignment of the tube
will keep the primary x-ray beam from spilling off the PF screen.
So if you're operating the equipment properly,
you don't have to worry much about exposure to primary radiation,
but you do have to protect yourself against secondary radiation.
With the primary beam aimed directly at the photofluographic stream;
there will be only a slight amount of secondary radiation.
However, with the patient in position,
there will be a larger amount of secondary radiation.
The patient himself increases the amount of secondary radiation by about five times.
Through the bird's eye view of the PF installation showing the control box and lead screen,
the x-ray tube, and the photofluorographic hood,
with the patient in position,
let's see how much secondary radiation there is at various points and how great a hazard it actually is.
A careless person standing beside the tube would exceed safe radiation after only 75 films per week.
Standing beside the patient he would exceed the limits of safe radiation after only 100 films.
A careless person standing beside the lead screen could take
only 150 films a week before he exceeded 3/10 of a roentgen.
Even at a position 15 feet from the x-ray tube, he'd be in danger after 3,000 films.
However, behind the lead screen or at a distance of at least 20 feet,
the person would not exceed 3/10 of a roentgen per week until after 7,500 exposures were made.
Yes, the photofluographic unit can be a safe place to work.
To be safe, you need follow only a few simple safety rules.
Never remove the cone or diaphragm from the tube housing.
Always be sure that your primary x-ray beam is properly coned
and the tube is properly aligned.
An improperly coned or poorly aligned primary x-ray beam
can increase secondary radiation by two to three times.
In setting up your PF equipment, make sure that the x-rays are beamed toward a window or an outside wall.
Don't make x-ray targets of your next door neighbor.
Walls don't serve as fool-proof shields.
Be sure that all persons working in the PF units are behind the lead screens
or at a safe distance from the equipment during every x-ray exposure.
Be sure the control stand is behind the lead screen so that you're
completely protected when you make the x-ray exposure.
Make sure that all protective screens are tall enough to shield you from head to toe.
Don't play peek-a-boo with secondary radiation. Protect yourself fully.
Expose not even a hand or a finger.
Wait until your positioner has reached the safety of the protective screen before making the x-ray exposure.
A foot switch for the positioner in series with the operator's control switch can be a valuable device.
Placed behind the lead screen, it will prevent exposure until the positioner has reached a safe position.
Don't neglect your hostess or secretary.
Station her at a safe distance, at least 20 feet from the PF machine
where she can greet your customers without danger to herself or to them.
On your release time, don't hang around the PF unit while it's in operation.
Stay behind the lead screen,
or better yet take your smoke or your coffee out of range of the x-rays.
Don't be a hero to test your equipment, and don't ask your positioner to stand in for your test shot.
One of these test shots is enough to put you way over your safety limit of 3/10 of a roentgen per week.
Above all, keep tabs on the amount of radiation you're absorbing
with a strip of dental film or some other detection device.
Wear it.
Each week have it processed and read by an expert.
The density of the film will show whether the radiation
to which you've been exposed is safe or dangerous.
If you've had too much exposure, find out why.
Furthermore, while you're working with x-ray equipment,
your blood count should be checked at least once every six months.
Have a periodic check of actual radiation conditions with an ionization chamber.
This will help to point up exposure hazards before injury can occur.
Remember, you can avoid injury and stay healthy by avoiding exposure.
Learn the rules of photofluorographic safety and live up to them.
A photofluorographic unit can be a safe place in which to work,
but it is safe only when you who work in it take every precaution against x-ray exposure.
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[The End]