Low-level occupational 14C contamination – results from a pilot study

This paper presents a pilot study in which specific activities of (14)C in hair and urine from 11 radiation workers handling (14)C-containing substances have been measured using accelerator mass spectrometry. Varying degrees of contamination were revealed: up to 63% excess in hair and 400% excess in urine. Although the (14)C excess reported in this study would result in low effective doses, it would be of interest to monitor the situation at other workplaces with potentially higher risks of contamination. Simultaneous measurements of (14)C in hair and urine with additional random measurements of (14)C in faeces and exhaled air could provide a means of improving dose estimates for workers handling different types of (14)C-containing substances.