This month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new x-ray standards for all federal facilities that use diagnostic and interventional X-ray equipment. Developed by the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) Work Group, Federal Guidance Report No. 14: Radiation Protection Guidance for Diagnostic and Interventional X-Ray Procedures offers recommendations for keeping patient doses as low as reasonably achievable without compromising the quality of patient care.
First issued in 1976, the X-ray standards outlined in Federal Guidance Report No. 9 was due for an update because of two trends in X-ray technology: the rise of digital imaging technology and computed tomography (CT) scans. X-ray film has been replaced by digital imaging, which does not suffer from the problems of overexposure obscuring the image. Increased use of CT scanning has also caused concern, as there have been cases where radiation doses were not adjusted for children, resulting in unnecessarily high exposure.
The EPA states that the report’s recommendations “are not binding on any agency, but, at an agency’s discretion, may be incorporated in whole or in part into their standard operating procedures or orders.” State and private facilities are also encouraged to use the report as a reference to improve their safety procedures.