Experimental monitoring of ozone production in a PET cyclotron facility

Ozone produced from radiolytic processes was investigated as a possible health hazard in the working environment at the University Hospital “S.Orsola—Malpighi” PET facility. Intense radiation fields can generate ozone, known to be the most toxic gas produced by ionizing radiation around a particle accelerator. To evaluate ozone concentration in air, two different measurement campaigns were conducted with passive diffusion detectors. Comparison of the results with the concentration limits recommended by American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) demonstrated that ozone poses no health hazard to workers around a biomedical cyclotron.