2.3 Background and motivation
It is noted that RPII and ARPANSA guidance on radiation protection in veterinary medicine are mentioned as well as IAEA and HERCA documents and activities, on page 11. Guidance is also provided within the professional sector eg in UK, the British Veterinary Association has published guidance for the safe use of ionising radiations in veterinary practice.
Section 5
This section makes some good general points in identifying shortfalls in current approaches to radiation protection in veterinary practice compared with human medicine.
6.1.2 Justification of non-medical investigations
Some discussion here on the use of veterinary radiography during scientific research on animals where such procedures do not benefit the animal (but provide experimental data) may be worth considering in addition to routine screening of racehorses etc.
6.3 Application of Dose Limits
Attention is drawn in the document to a suggested dose constraint for carers of human patients of 5 mSv (1598-1599) without further discussion. It would be difficult to justify use of such a high constraint in veterinary applications particularly where mechanical restraint or anaesthesia are options in veterinary practice. Even when they are not (eg in equine and other large animal scenarios) it would be difficult to justify, in most situations, any person exceeding 1 mSv in a year through assisting with veterinary procedures.
References
Example guidance is provided on pages 60 and 61 and it is noted that the radiography area is described as a supervised area. Elsewhere the text (eg page 39, 1345) correctly discusses the designation of controlled areas. While this may be simply down to a difference in terminology it is potentially misleading to a wider readership.