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Health Reporter

Over 2500 Zimbabwean workers in the medical, industrial and research sectors have been placed under monitoring by the Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe (RPAZ) as part of measures to ensure the safety of workers from harmful effects of radiation.

The authority launched a nationwide worker monitoring programme to ensure occupationally exposed workers in the country are safe.

RPAZ corporate communications officer Mr Shingirai Huni said the Authority has the mandate to monitor all occupationally exposed workers in Zimbabwe.

“It is the Authority’s mandate to protect the people and the environment against the harmful effects of radiation, therefore, RPAZ will continue to ensure that all occupationally exposed workers are under radiation monitoring. In the discharge of this function, the Authority runs a Dosimetry laboratory responsible for individual monitoring of all occupationally exposed workers. The laboratory operates in line with international guidelines for worker protection. To date, over 2500 workers from the medical, industrial and research sectors are under this monitoring exercise,” he said.

He said RPAZ was using a dose management system to improve the management of worker records and occupational exposure control.

The Authority has also come up with a national dose registry where it stores information of current and past occupational exposed radiation workers for referencing.

“As such, the Authority issues safety standards and guidelines to limit radiation exposure to workers who work around or use radiation technology or equipment. According to the Authority’s requirements, the radiation doses received by workers must be below the approximate limits as guided by IAEA standards. In terms of the radiation Protection Act, it is the primary responsibility of operators who use radioactive materials to ensure radiation doses received by occupational workers remain under the stipulated threshold,” said Mr Huni.