[en] This poster displays the latest information and information on the activities and programs organized by the Malaysian Nuclear First Aider Squad. It is a small unit under the Emergency Sub-Committee (JKK), SHE Main Committee of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency. There are 34 members in this unit and all members have a certificate of eligibility to be a First Aider. (author)

[en] Full-text:Malaysian Nuclear Agency through its Radiation Metrology Group, Medical Physics Laboratory has been providing Quality Control services for medical X-ray apparatus used in private clinics and hospitals since 1997. The Medical Physics Groups services is endorsed by the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) and is in accordance with the Malaysian Standard MS 838 and the Atomic Energy Licensing Act, 1984. Until today, the scopes of testing services also include all types of medical x-ray apparatus. The quality control (QC) in diagnostic radiology is considered as part of quality assurance program which provide accurate diagnostic information at the lowest cost and the least exposure of the patients to radiation. Many experience and obstacles were faced by Medical Physics Group. This paper will discuss the experiences and challenges during the providing of QC services to the country of Brunei, so that it can be shared by the citizens of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency. The results of quality assurance inspection of all types of X-ray apparatus for medical conducted by Malaysian Nuclear Agency will be presented in brief. (author)

[en] The main objective of this study is to determine an equivalent decay time for each lead lined tube that will be used in linearity test (shield method) for calibration of dose calibrator. The shield method is very practical in the linearity test due to its relatively very short time of only six minutes to acquire radioactive decay until ten half-lives compared to the normal decay method that takes three days to measure the same number of readings. The equivalent decay time measurement was performed using a vial of ^99mTc with 6.007 hours half-life that was assayed in CRC-15R dose calibrator SN 258797 and lead lined tubes of calicheck kit that were inserted at a time to obtain decay readings from ^99mTc source. Using radioactive decay formula, the equivalent decay time for each lead lined tube was calculated. This measurement should be performed at least once a year to ensure the integrity of the lead lined tubes otherwise the result of linearity test will be affected. Result show that the equivalent decay time for each lead lined tube varies every year with maximum deviation of 0.7 %. (author)

[en] This study was carried out to ensure the adequacy and accuracy of the Dynalyser Digital Display unit for measuring the true kVp from the invasive kVp meter unit during calibration of non-invasive kVp meters. An invasive high voltage divider (dynalyser) coupled to the x-ray system measures the true kilo voltage supplied to the x-ray tube. The kVp output measured was displayed via its digital display unit while its waveform was acquired using a calibrated oscilloscope. The waveform was used to calculate the Practical Peak Voltage (PPV) using the International Standard method adapted from IEC 61676 and treated as the true kVp value. The kVp output was measured at 9 points ranging between 40 kV-120 kV with interval steps of 10 kV and monitored every day. The test result was evaluated for variation of output, intrinsic error and limit of variation in compliance with the IEC standard. Results showed that kVp output measured by the display unit everyday is consistent with variations of not more than ±0.45 kV, intrinsic error of not more than ±0.009 kV and limits of variation of less than 1% which comply with the IEC standard requirement. The kVp output via digital display unit has a total uncertainty of not more than 2.8 kV (k=2) while the PPV output via oscilloscope has total uncertainty of not more than 0.75 kV (k=2). As a conclusion, the dynalyser digital display unit complies with standard requirement and can be used to measure the true kVp output during the calibration of non-invasive kVp meters. (author)

[en] Measurement of output voltage for Philips X-ray Machine is significant in order to ensure that the machine provides accurate voltage that will be used in determination of standard radiation qualities for dose calibration of Diagnostic Radiology equipment. Through this work, measurements of output voltage obtained using a spectrometer system were compared with the dial voltage of Philips X-ray Machine. Study was carried out for 3 consecutive years for the range of 40 to 150 kV. Results showed that the accuracy of output voltage for Philips X-ray machine are within tolerance limit of ±1.5 % as recommended by IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Technical Report Series No. 457. (author)

[en] Lead equivalent thickness test of a shielding material in diagnostic radiology is very important to ensure radiation protection principles to the patients, employees and members of the public are met. From the Malaysian Standard MS 838, each medical X-ray room must be constructed using appropriate shielding materials with sufficient thickness, for example the shielding thickness for general radiography, panoramic dental radiography and mammography rooms shall have a minimum thickness of 2.0 mm lead (Pb) equivalence, 1.5 mm Pb equivalence and 1.0 mm of Pb equivalence, respectively. In this paper, the data on the service of lead equivalent thickness test for medical X-ray rooms that have been conducted in health centres from 2010 to 2018 will be reported. (author)

[en] Lead equivalent thickness test of a shielding material in diagnostic radiology is very important to ensure that requirements for the purpose of radiation protection of patients, employees and the public are met and shall be performed as stated in Malaysian Standard MS 838. The Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) has established that the irradiation room must have sufficient shielding thickness, for example for general radiography it must be at least equal to 2.0 mm of Pb, for panoramic dental radiography at least equal to 1.5 mm of Pb and for mammography should be a minimum of 1.0 mm of Pb. This paper presents a report on lead equivalent thickness test conducted on X-ray rooms at health centers for company's application services outside the Nuclear Agency of Malaysia every year from 2010 to 2020. Fees charged for testing services it contributes to agency income every year. (author)

[en] An inter-comparison study was conducted to compare the counting efficiency (CE) and minimum detectable activity (MDA) of thyroid monitoring systems from hospitals and Nuclear Malaysia. In this study, the CE and MDA were assessed using three standard sources of ⁵⁷Co, ¹³³Ba and ¹³⁷Cs having traceability to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), United Kingdom. The CE and MDA were determined at a fixed measurement setup of 100 s counting time and 21 cm neck phantom - detector distance, in which the source was placed in the neck phantom. A total of 5 thyroid monitoring systems from 2 government hospitals and Nuclear Malaysia were involved in this study. The overall results of CE vary within 0.0018-0.0038 cps/ Bq, 0.0009-0.0030 cps/ Bq and 0.0003-0.0006 cps/ Bq for to ⁵⁷Co, ¹³³Ba and ¹³⁷Cs , respectively. The variations that occur may be due to differences in technical specifications and designs of the system. Although, all radionuclides of interest shows a large variation of MDA in which 45 %, 65 % and 80 % for ^57Co, ¹³³Ba and ¹³⁷Cs, respectively. All units of the thyroid monitoring system demonstrated that the MDA of ¹³³Ba was within the range of 209-894 Bq; these values are comparable with other units of the thyroid monitoring system which participated in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) intercomparison program. (author)

[en] The Malaysian Nuclear Agency's role is to assist Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) in providing technical services for testing the functionality of irradiation apparatus for cases to be prosecuted for violation of Act 304. Among the common offenses committed by consumers is selling, possessing, and operating irradiation apparatus without a valid license. A qualified specialist performed the technical test to determine whether the case item could emit ionizing radiation and function properly as a radiation device. Active and passive dosimeters such as survey meters, TLD dosimeters, OSL dosimeters, and diagnostic radiology films are among the options used for validation testing. However, the OSL nanoDot dosimeter is the most practical and effective because it is easy to use and compatible with all irradiation apparatus tested. The advantages of using OSL nanoDot in the confirmation test of the presence of ionizing radiation are presented further in this paper. (author)

[en] Measurement of lead equivalent thickness for ionizing radiation exposure room wall shall be performed as stated in Malaysian Standard MS 838. A few numbers of sample blocks with different mixture of barium plaster compositions based and varies certain thickness as a shielding material for exposure room wall belong to a local company were tested by using Cs-137, Co-60 and Am-241 with different activities . Radiations passed through the samples were detected with calibrated survey meter. The distance between radiation source and the detector is about 40 cm. Lead uniformity test on the samples was also determined at three labeled points on the samples. Lead equivalent thicknesses for the samples were evaluated based on a calibration graph that was plotted with lead sheets and with the radiation sources. Results shown that lead equivalent thickness for the samples with same actual physical thickness represent different values for different sources. (author)