Quality assurance of lead aprons for radiation protection

Radiation protection is essential to minimize the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. Lead equivalent apron is one of the common protective devices to reduce the occupational risk of radiation exposure. The aim of the study is to analyse the percentage attenuation of 0.5 mm lead equivalent apron. Twenty aprons were used for calculating the percentage of attenuation. The computed tomography (CT) phantom was placed on the radiography and CT table at 1 m from the X-ray tube. The readings were taken from the phantom using a detector at 1-m distance with and without lead equivalent aprons. The readings were tabulated and analysed. The mean percentage attenuation of 0.5 mm lead equivalent apron is 95.66 ± 0.61 in radiography (100 kVp), 95.64 ± 0.57 in CT (130 kVp), respectively. The percentage attenuation of lead equivalent aprons is permissible comparing with the literature.