Radioactive Material Workers

Personnel are considered radioactive material workers if their work involves entry into a restricted area or direct handling of radioactive material sources or radiation generating devices. This includes the following individuals:

  • department heads and faculty members
  • staff members or visiting researchers
  • undergraduate research students

The above list does not include those personnel who happen to have duties that cause them to pass by but not be involved in radioactive material work or analytical x-ray equipment use.

Initial Training
All radioactive material workers will receive training prior to handling of the radioactive material. Likewise, all operators of radiation generating devices will receive training prior to the utilization of the equipment. All training will be designed to ensure the student can meet specific objectives as stated in each training program.

Annual Training
Annual 'refresher' training will be provided to all workers and will consist of:

  • A summarization to reinforce the initial training objectives
  • A summary of license and procedure changes and their impact on the users of radioactive materials and the operators of radiation generating devices
  • A review of incidents, audit results and assessments and associated corrective actions since the last training session
  • A review of emergency response actions and procedures

Radiation Safety Officer

Initial Training
The Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) must be qualified through previous training and experience with sources of ionizing radiation. Otherwise, the RSO requires an initial forty hour RSO course which is approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or comparable state agency/organization and ensures that the following topics are covered.

  • Fundamentals of radiation and radioactivity
  • Interaction and detection of radiation including hands on use of detection equipment
  • Administrative exposure control methods
  • ALARA and optimization and their application for radiation safety programs
  • Engineering exposure control methods
  • Regulatory requirements related to the use, disposal or transport of radioactive materials; in general EPA, US NRC, DOT and applicable state or local regulations
  • Program audits and assessments
  • Biological effects of ionizing radiation
  • Emergency response to radiological incidents
  • Radioactive material management, disposal, and transport

Annual Training
Annual training is not required as the RSO will be providing or attending the annual training of the radioactive material workers. An eight hour RSO "Refresher" course will be completed as needed. The course should provide a summary of the topics covered in the initial training and also changes to regulations.

Faculty Members

Initial Training
The training should be the same as that of the radioactive material workers.

Annual Training
The training should be the same as that of the radioactive material workers.

Ancillary Workers

Ancillary workers are those workers who by virtue of their routine job duties do not come in direct contact with radioactive materials or analytical x-ray equipment or enter a radioactive materials restricted area.

Initial Training
All ancillary workers will receive training prior to their assignment to tasks near where radioactive material is being stored or processed. The training will be designed to ensure the worker can meet the following objectives:

  • Identify radiation source use areas and explain the meaning of postings, signs and other warning labels
  • Explain ancillary worker rights and responsibilities relative to the Materials License and 10 CFR 19,20 requirements
  • Describe the actions to be taken in the event of an incident involving radioactive materials

Annual Training Ancillary workers should receive annual "refresher" training, which should consist of the following:

  • A summarization to reinforce the initial training objectives
  • A review of incidents, audit results and assessments and associated corrective actions since the last training session that are related to the ancillary worker activities