The EEAE is the competent body responsible for coordinating the individual dosimetry of workers professionally exposed to ionising radiation and for maintaining the National Dose Register (Law 4310/2014, Government Gazette 258/A/2014).
The data in the National Dose Register are held by the EEAE throughout the working lives of employees involving exposure to ionising radiation, as well as thereafter, until they reach or would have reached the age of 75, but in any event for a period of not less than 30 years following the cessation of work involving exposure.
The organisation has the primary and exclusive responsibility for establishing and implementing procedures and measures for the radiation protection of exposed workers.
More specifically, the organisation:
a) takes measures to ensure that exposed workers adopt a safety culture, which includes an individual and collective commitment to safety and protection against ionising radiation,
(b) establishes and implements a programme for protection and safety against ionising radiation that is appropriate to each exposure situation. The programme shall include the establishment of protection and safety objectives, as well as the implementation of appropriate procedures and measures commensurate with the radiation risks associated with the exposure situation,
c) systematically reviews the protection and safety programme for its effectiveness, identifies any malfunctions or shortcomings and takes measures to prevent their recurrence,
(d) ensures that the measures are sufficient to achieve the objectives set.
The exposed worker:
(a) whilst carrying out their duties, shall comply with the instructions concerning safety and protection rules and the instructions concerning radiation protection measures provided to them
b) shall ensure that they are kept up to date, informed and trained in radiation protection so that they are able to identify and propose ways of improving their work in relation to radiation protection. The proposed measures shall be examined by the organisation.
Exposed workers, for the purposes of surveillance and monitoring, are classified into the following categories:
Category A: exposed workers who may receive an effective dose higher than 6 mSv per year or an equivalent dose higher than 15 mSv per year to the lens of the eye or greater than 150 mSv per year to the skin or extremities.
Category B: those exposed workers who are not classified as Category A exposed workers.
In accordance with the radiation protection regulations (Presidential Decree 101/2018, Government Gazette 194/A/20 November 2018), Category A workers must be monitored systematically on the basis of individual measurements. The monitoring of Category B workers must at least demonstrate that the workers in question have been correctly classified in this category. The EEAE may require individual monitoring and, if it deems it necessary, individual measurements by a dosimetry service for Category B workers.
Special provision is made for external workers. An external worker is defined as any exposed worker who is not employed by the organisation responsible for the supervised and controlled areas, but who carries out activities in those areas, including apprentices and students. The personal dosimetry system applied to these workers should ensure protection equivalent to that of exposed workers permanently employed by an organisation.
Internal dosimetry
For exposure from internal radiation due to a radionuclide or a mixture of radionuclides, appropriate algorithms are used to estimate the effective dose, taking the quantities and physicochemical characteristics of the radionuclides and their respective carriers, the manner and duration of their uptake, their biokinetics, as well as appropriate conversion factors to effective dose or any other factors deemed necessary.
External individual dosimetry
For external irradiation, the following physical quantities are used:
- the individual equivalent dose at a depth of 10 mm, Hp(10), is used as a conservative estimate of the effective dose where personal protective equipment is not used. Where protective equipment is used, appropriate conversion algorithms are applied,
- the 3 mm depth personal dose equivalent, Hp(3), to estimate the equivalent dose to the lens of the eye,
- personal equivalent dose at a depth of 0.07 mm, Hp(0.07), for estimating the equivalent dose to the skin and extremities from whole-body uniform external irradiation. In the case of irradiation of part of the skin or the extremities, appropriate conversion algorithms are used.
Individual dosimetry services are provided in Greece by the Dosimetry Department of the Hellenic Atomic Energy Commission (EEAE) or by authorised dosimetry services.
Dose limits
The dose limits for occupational exposure apply to the sum of annual occupational exposures, occupational exposure to radon and other occupational exposures.
National Dose Register
The National Dose Registry is maintained by the EEAE, where all data relating to partner organisations, laboratories, exposed workers and their individual monitoring.
Investigation of elevated doses
The EEAE, utilising the results of personal dosimeter measurements, is investigating cases where it is considered likely that the effective dose may exceed predefined investigation thresholds.
MOREAnnual statistics
Every year, the data from the National Dose Registry is analysed statistically.
