Answer to Question #2009 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

I am a 58-year-old female. I've been a clerical worker in a radiology firm for almost 10 years. In 1996 I was diagnosed with limited scleroderma, a painful connective tissue disease. I am never directly exposed to any radiation, but walk by the rooms when x rays are taken. Is it possible that even that small amount of exposure (plus the handling of x-ray films on a daily basis) could cause symptoms of radiation poisoning in a person with a predisposition to diseases of the immune system? A friend thinks the scleroderma may have been activated by the exposure to very low doses of radiation cumulatively over the years and that my symptoms won't go away as long as I am still exposed. Is this possible? What are the effects of mild but constant degrees of radiation exposure? What chemicals are in x-ray films? I've asked at work but no one remembers.

A

There is no evidence that scleroderma may be related to radiation exposure, especially at the low dose you have received. There is no way to reconstruct your dose history, but it is extremely unlikely that it has been significantly elevated over unavoidable environmental or background exposure, which averages 3 mSv to all Americans. Radiologists, technologists, etc., generally get more than this; the U.S. average is about 1 mSv per year from occupational sources. No ill effects have been observed in these radiation workers. Your radiation dose from your work is very likely a small fraction of this. X-ray film consists of a mixture, mostly silver bromide, in a gelatin-type emulsion on a sheet of plastic. Silver is a toxic, heavy metal but I am not aware of any reports of injury from handling film. Conclusion: There is really no chance that your scleroderma was caused by your radiation exposure. S. Julian Gibbs, DDS, PhD