Assessment of radiation level and potential risk to public living around major hospitals in central and western Bangladesh

Human beings are continuously bathed in radiation coming from natural and artificial sources. Although the use of radiation in medical applications is beneficial to patients, it also contributes significantly to the health hazard for radiation workers and the public if radiation-generating equipment and radioactive sources are not handled properly. 96% dose contributed from medi-cal uses of ionizing radiation in the US population among man-made sources as per NCRP Report No. 160. There is no extensive study conducted on the large hospitals in Bangladesh following the In-Situ method. We used a real-time digital portable radiation monitor with Garmin eTrex Global Positioning System at 320 monitoring points for radiation monitoring and positioning around the ten largest hospitals in central & western Bangladesh from September to November 2021. The mean radiation dose rates around Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Evercare Hospital, Khulna Medical College Hospital, Mitford Hospital, National Institute of Cancer Research Hospital, Popular Hospital, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, and Square Hospitals were measured as 0.145 +/- 0.012 mu Sv/h, 0.135 +/- 0.009 mu Sv/h, 0.148 +/- 0.008 mu Sv/h, 0.139 +/- 0.01 mu Sv/h, 0.133 +/- 0.007 mu Sv/h, 0.153 +/- 0.011 mu Sv/h, 0.144 +/- 0.012 mu Sv/h, 0.137 +/- 0.008 mu Sv/h, 0.145 +/- 0.01 mu Sv/h, and 0.153 +/- 0.009 mu Sv/h, respectively. The mean excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) of the public who lives nearby the hospital's boundary was estimated at 1.05 x 10-3, 0.983 x 10-3, 1.071 x 10-3, 1.004 x 10-3, 0.964 x 10-3, 1.084 x 10-3, 1.043 x 10-3,0.996 x 10-3, 1.051 x 10-3 & 1.112 x 10-3 respectively. ELCR in most of the locations around the ten largest hospitals in central & western Bangladesh is higher than the global average value. Radiation monitoring is significant for minimizing the public's radiation risk and keeping hospital environments as radiation-free as possible.