Transcript Annual Refresher Training - Programs and Services | ESD

Annual Refresher Training
UGA Radiation Safety
Why do I need to take RSO’s Annual Refresher Training ?
• To keep your Advanced Radiation Worker (ARW) or Radiation Worker (RW)
certificate up to date.
• To inform you of any new changes to the rad materials program.
• It is an annual on-line refresher required by the State of Georgia.
What do I need to do?
• Make sure you registered for this training at the beginning of this
presentation.
• There is no formal exam, however there are random questions you
can answer throughout the refresher if you want.
• After you have finished the refresher, complete and print the
certificate at the end and place in your laboratory’s records.
ORGANIZATION, RULES AND REGULATIONS
UGA’s Radiation Safety Office
Our experienced staff is here to help and advise you with any radiological
question, problem or emergency that you encounter. All you need to do is
contact us via telephone or e-mail.
The Environmental Safety Division receptionist is 542-5801
UGA’s Radiation Safety Staff
Jody Jacobs
Radiation Safety Officer
542-0107
[email protected]
• Radioactive Materials
Permits
• Permit Amendments
Dennis Widner
Radiation Safety Specialist
542-0526
[email protected]
• Training
• B-Number Problems
• Monthly Surveys
• Sealed Sources
• Thyroid Bioassays
Lauren Palmer
Radiation Safety Specialist
542-0077
[email protected]
• Compliance Inspections
• X-Ray Inspections
• Dosimetry
John Pyle
Radiation Safety Technician
Rad Lab Manager
542-7628
[email protected]
• Package Delivery
• Radwaste Pick-up
• Meter Calibrations
UGA’S RADIATION SAFETY MANUAL
Every permitted radioactive materials
laboratory has been issued a hardcopy
of this manual.
An electronic copy is also found at our
website.
This manual contains all the
information needed to successfully run
a rad lab at UGA.
All authorized users and radiation
workers must be familar with this
manual.
Regulations
• Radioactive materials are regulated on the federal level by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC).
• The state of Georgia has made an agreement with the NRC to regulate
radioactive materials at the state level.
• The NRC still has direct authority over radioactive materials security.
Licenses and Permits
• The university has a legally binding license from the state of Georgia to
possess and use certain types and quantities of radioactive materials.
• Individual researchers who are approved by the UGA Radiation Safety
Committee are issued Radioactive Materials Permits authorizing the
possession and use of certain radioactive materials.
• Radioactive Materials Permits were formerly known as licenses; that
terminology is being phased out to prevent confusion with UGA’s state
license.
Authorized Users
• An Authorized User is an individual who has been authorized to possess and
use certain types and quantities of radioactive materials.
• This authorization is granted by the UGA Radiation Safety Committee in
conjunction with the Radiation Safety Office.
• Members of the UGA Radiation Safety Committee are appointed by the
university president.
How does an Authorized User make changes
to an existing Radioactive Materials Permit?
•
Download and complete an
Amendment form from the
ESD/Radiation Safety website.
•
Send the form to Radiation Safety.
•
Most amendments require the
approval of both the Chairman of
the Radiation Safety Committee
and the Radiation Safety Officer.
•
A copy of the approved
amendment will be mailed to the
Authorized User and, if necessary,
the Radioactive Materials Permit
will be revised.
What kind of changes require a Radioactive
Materials Permit Amendment?
• Adding or removing a radioisotope from your list of approved radioactive
materials.
• Changing your possession limit for a radioisotope.
• Changing your approved laboratory locations.
• Changing your approval status for measured sewer (drain) disposal of
slightly radioactive liquids.
• Changing your permit to an inactive status.
• Terminating the permit.
• Changing the name of the Advanced Radiation Worker listed on your
permit.
Which of the following best describes an Authorized User
of radioactive materials at UGA?
a)
Authorized Users have their own radioactive materials
licenses issued by the state of Georgia.
b)
The university has a radioactive materials license and
Authorized Users (AUs) are issued Radioactive Materials
Permits.
c)
Authorized Users are appointed by the university
president.
ANSWER
b
If an Authorized User is moving their radioactive materials
use location to a different laboratory, the proper
procedure is to:
a)
Submit a permit amendment form to Radiation Safety
before moving any radioactive materials or potentially
contaminated equipment.
b)
Move all equipment and radioactive materials, then
contact Radiation Safety to post the proper signs and
close out the old lab.
c)
Properly dispose of all radioactive materials prior to
moving.
ANSWER
a
RADIATION DOSE
What are the common types of radioactive
materials encountered at UGA?
99% are dispersable β emitting radioisotopes
such as H-3, C-14, P-32, P-33, and S-35.
Of these, highly energetic P-32 has the most
potential of causing skin and eye dose.
1% are dispersable gamma emitting
radioisotopes such as I-125 or I-131
All radioisotopes are an internal dose hazard !
NO EATING, DRINKING, SMOKING OR CHEWING
IN RAD-USE LABORATORIES !
What kind of damage can radiation exposure
cause in the human body?
• Radiation exposure at normal occupational levels
causes no measureable health effects.
• Higher levels of radiation exposure have been
indicated to increase cancer risk, cause cataracts,
and shorten the lifespan under some
circumstances.
• Extremely high radiation exposures may cause
illness and even death.
Radioiodine users should
get a thyroid bioassay
within 10 days of using
radioiodine (I-125 & I-131) to
measure thyroid uptake and
to establish dose
assessment.
All potential Radioiodine
users should get a baseline
count before using the
material.
Dosimetry Badges are used to monitor
personnel radiation exposure
Dosimetry badges are worn
between the neck and waist
to monitor radiation exposure.
The badges are sent off
campus to a qualified vendor
laboratory to determine the
amount of radiation exposure
received.
Radiation exposure is
measured in units of REM or
milliREM.
Radiation Exposure Limits and Action Levels
Exposure
Acronym
Federal/State
Limit
UGA Action
Level 1
UGA Action
Level 2
DDE and TEDE
5000
mrem/year
125
mrem/quarter
375
mrem/quarter
SDE and SDEME
50,000
mrem/year
1875
mrem/quarter
5626
mrem/quarter
LDE
15,000
mrem/year
750
mrem/quarter
2250
mrem/quarter
Exposure Acronyms
DDE = deep dose equivalent (whole body penetrating exposure)
TEDE = total effective dose equivalent (DDE plus dose from any intake of
radioactive material)
SDE = shallow dose equivalent whole body (skin dose, whole body)
SDEME = shallow dose equivalent monitored extremity (extremity dose)
LDE = lens dose equivalent (lens of eye exposure)
Dosimetry badges are not required for persons
working exclusively with low energy beta emitting
radioactive materials.
Low Energy Beta
Emitters
(no badge required)
H-3
C-14
P-33
S-35
High Energy Beta
and/or Gamma
Emitters
(badge normally required)
P-32
I-131
I-125
Monitoring Radiation Exposure to the Hands
Finger ring dosimetry badges
are used to measure radiation
exposure to the hands and
should be worn on “holding”
hand under your gloves.
Ring badges are used
infrequently and only required
for certain situations, such as
for persons handling >1mCi
of the radioisotopes P-32 and
I-125.
Dosimetry Badge Reminders:
• Your badge is only to be used to measure radiation
exposure received at UGA.
• Please be cooperative with your dosimetry badge
coordinator during the badge exchange process.
• If you no longer need to be monitored for radiation
exposure, notify Radiation Safety to have your
badge service discontinued. Badge services may
also be discontinued on a temporary basis when
appropriate.
Radiation levels in the work area are measured
by using portable instruments
Users of high energy beta (P-32) or
gamma emitting isotopes must
survey their work areas for radiation
levels.
Portable instruments typically read
out in units of milliRem per hour
(mR/hr).
Dose rate surveys are performed by
holding the GM counter at waist level
at the lowest setting and measuring
with the probe 1 foot away from the
items to be surveyed. Some items
like radwaste containers must be
surveyed on contact.
RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION
What is radioactive contamination?
Radioactive contamination is the presence of
radioactive material in an unwanted location.
Types of Radioactive Contamination
Transferable
•Most common type of
contamination.
•May be spread from one
surface to another.
•Easily removed by normal
surface cleaning methods.
•Significant risk of personnel
contamination.
•Easily found by wipe testing.
Fixed
•Most frequently occurs after
liquid spills on porous
surfaces.
•Not easily spread or
removed by cleaning.
•May become transferable by
physical or chemical
interactions.
•Not detectable by wipe
testing.
•May be found by scanning
with a portable instrument.
Scanning for contamination
Contamination scan considerations
• Scanning must be done slowly with the probe close
to the surface (low and slow).
• Scanning may detect either transferable
contamination, fixed contamination, or both.
• The presence of other sources of radiation may
interfere with contamination scans.
Wipe testing for transferable contamination
• Wipe testing is a technique used to test a surface
for transferable contamination.
• The standard wipe test covers a surface area of
100 cm2.
• Wiping a “lazy S” pattern about 16” long is the
standard practice.
• An appropriate number of wipes are needed to give
a representative sampling of area conditions.
Wipe testing a surface
Liquid Scintillation Counters (LSC) and Gamma counters
are used to measure wipe results. Instrument readouts
in cpm are converted to dpm using our counting
efficiency of 33%. Final results are expressed as
dpm/100cm2.
Large Area Wipe Testing for Contamination
• Large area wipe testing is normally done with a
disposable paper towel.
• The area wiped should cover several square feet;
bench tops and floors are typical of areas checked
by this method.
• This technique is only used as a positive/negative
test for contamination on a surface that is not
known to be contaminated.
Large area wipe testing
Checking a large area wipe with a portable
instrument.
Radioactive Contamination Hazards
• The main risk associated with contamination is the
potential for radioactive materials to be ingested,
inhaled, or absorbed through the skin of an
unprotected person.
• Once an intake of radioactive materials occurs, the
affected person is continuously exposed to the
radiation from that material until (if) it is eliminated
from their body.
• Contamination may also cause high radiation
exposure to the skin, especially if left undetected or
if high concentrations are in direct skin contact.
How do we manage the risks associated with
radioactive contamination?
Contamination
Control
•Cover benches with
absorbent paper in
radiological work areas.
•Use catch trays when
working with radioactive
liquids (secondary
containment).
•Wear protective
clothing.
Contamination
Monitoring
•Perform transferable
contamination surveys of
work areas.
•Perform personnel
contamination monitoring
(minimum hand/shoe
scan) after working with
radioactive materials
and/or prior to exiting the
area.
Personnel Contamination Monitoring
• You can’t see or otherwise detect radioactive
contamination without using an instrument.
• A properly used portable instrument can detect all
radioisotopes commonly found at UGA except for
tritium (H-3).
• Checking your hands and shoes only takes a
minute of your time.
• Don’t you want to be sure you are “clean” before
you leave the lab?
Personnel Contamination Monitoring
Scan your hands and shoes after working with
radioactive materials.
Gloves and labcoats are primarily used to
protect a radiation worker from the hazards
associated with:
a) Radioactive contamination
b) Low energy beta emitters
c) X-rays and gamma radiation
ANSWER
a
Can exposure to beta, gamma, alpha
radiation, or x-rays cause contamination?
• No, contamination is radioactive material. Radiation
is the energy emitted by radioactive material.
• Beta, gamma, alpha radiation, and x-rays are
energy. This energy is either scattered or absorbed
by whatever material it interacts with. If the energy
is absorbed, it most commonly causes ionization.
• Beta, gamma, alpha radiation, and x-rays do not
make the materials they interact with radioactive.
RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL ANALYSIS
Measuring Radioactivity
• The rate of radioactive events (disintegrations)
occurring in a substance is the quantity of
radioactivity of that substance. This is a different
measurement than the amount or type of radiation
emitted.
• The Curie, or more typically the milliCurie (mCi) or
microCurie (µCi), is the unit of measure for the
quantity of radioactivity present.
RAD COUNTING PREREQUISITES
20 ml
vial
7 ml
max
7 ml
vial
2 ml
max
Liquid Scintillation Fluid (LSF)
is actually the detector and
has a finite sample capacity.
Sample volume should not
surpass 33% of the counting
vials capacity. 67% should be
LSF for proper counting
technique . In either type vial,
the vial should be full.
NOTE: Liquid Scintillation sample should be liquid with no solids or with
extreme color, these will “quench” the results giving you less radiation than
what’s really there.
RAD COUNTING PREREQUISITES
Proper dark adaption of samples or wipe tests is very important in achieving
correct values for your background and sample results.
Store your sample racks in complete darkness for 10-15 minutes before
counting. This can be achieved by making a Dark Adaption (DA) Protocol and
counting this rack before your sample/wipe test rack.
Pre and Post Backgrounds, B1 and B2 should read about the same after
proper dark adaption.
COUNTING TIMES
• All wipe tests, should be counted
for 2 minutes (120 seconds) minimum.
• All liquid radwaste samples
should be counted for 10 minutes (600 seconds)
minimum.
• Counting results are statistically better if counting
times are longer and sample volumes are larger.
DPM and Curie Units
• 1 µCi is equal to a rate of 2.22E6 disintegrations per minute
(dpm) of radioactivity.
• Dpm is the unit most often used to quantify transferable
contamination.
• The UGA “clean area” limit for radioactive contamination is
200 dpm/100 cm2, where 100 cm2 represents the amount of
area that is wipe tested.
Quantities of radioactive material are normally
measured using which of the following units?
a) mCi, µCi, or dpm
b) Cpm, mCi, or mR/hr
c) MilliRem and dpm
ANSWER
a
Radioactive Half Life
Radioactive half life is the amount of time required
for the radioactivity of a substance to be reduced
to one half of it’s original activity.
Half life is very important
and is used to classify
radwaste as either
short-lived or long-lived.
Half Life Values for Commonly Used Isotopes
C-14
5730 years
H-3
12.3 years
S-35
87.5 days
P-33
25.3 days
P-32
14.3 days
I-125
59.9 days
I-131
8 days
RADIATION SURVEY REPORTING
Rad surveys are
performed after using
rad materials or rad
waste. This means
documentation of
several surveys per
month. All rad users
must do wipe testing
for contamination, but
P-32 and Gamma
users must also do
dose rate surveys as
well. See Chapter 6
in the Rad Manual.
Radiological surveys are to be performed in the month that they are due and all
must be reported by the end of the month to the Radiation Safety Office.
Surveys can be submitted with signature by campus mail, scanned and emailed
or emailed from the surveyor’s UGA mail account without signature.
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS SECURITY
Radioactive Materials Security
• Federal and state
regulations require that
radioactive material be kept
secure from unauthorized
access.
• Access by anyone who is not
a trained Radiation Worker,
Advanced Radiation Worker,
or Authorized User is
considered unauthorized
access.
Compliance with radioactive materials
security can be achieved by using one or
more of the following options:
• Keep the doors locked for all rooms where radioactive
materials are located,
• keep all radioactive materials (including radwaste) in locked
enclosures, and/or;
• ensure that all radioactive materials are continuously
controlled by individuals with training in radiation safety
who are willing to challenge other personnel who might be
attempting unauthorized access.
Other Security Considerations
• Radioactive material in the form of small quantity sealed
sources that are an integral part of a non-portable piece of
equipment (i.e. liquid scintillation counters and gas
chromatographs) are considered secure from unauthorized
access when the equipment is located in an approved
location.
• The security requirements are not mandatory for exempt
quantities of concentrations of radioactive materials.
Lost or missing radioactive materials?
• Any lost or missing radioactive materials must be reported
to Radiation Safety immediately.
• Maintaining proper inventory records is essential to this
process.
• In addition to state regulations, licensed radioactive
materials that may have been lost or stolen are subject to
investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRC) and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
6 Month Inventory Verification
By regulation, every 6
months, each rad
permitted lab will have to
do a physical inventory to
verify the rad materials
on hand in the lab. This
is compared to the RSO
inventory records for
accuracy.
Laboratory Door Caution Signs
Locations where
radioactive materials are
used or stored must have
a “Caution, Radioactive
Materials” sticker on the
standard laboratory door
sign posted at the
entrance.
Required Posting: Notice to Employees
The “Notice to
Employees” must be
posted in a location
where it is readily visible
to anyone entering or
exiting the Radioactive
Materials Area.
Either of the two notices
displayed here are
acceptable.
Caution Labels Used Within the Laboratory
Closed cabinets or similar containers, such as
refrigerators, must be labeled if they contain
radioactive materials.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Liquid Radioactive Waste (LRW) must be
placed in 2.5 gallon carboys and
segregated by isotope.
Dry Active Waste (DAW) form must indicate the
% of glass contained in the drum. (NEW)
What is wrong with this DAW Drum?
A. Looks good to me.
B. Improper use of rad tape.
C. No activity statement.
D. No generator labeling.
answer
B, C & D
What’s wrong with this DAW drum?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Looks good to me !
Liner outside of drum.
No Radiation Stickers.
No Generator Info.
No activity statement.
No locking band.
answer
B, C, D, E & F
What’s wrong with this Liquid Radwaste
Carboy?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Looks good to me !
Doesn’t have Rad Stickers.
Doesn’t have a cap.
Doesn’t have an activity
statement.
E. Doesn’t have Generator
Info.
answer
C, D & E
No containers with liquids are allowed in
DAW drums !
Scint vials that
contain liquids
If found, the drum will
be returned to the lab
for you to sort out. The
liquids must be poured
into carboys and
analyzed.
Radwaste containers must indicate the
maximum activity for isotopes contained
Isotope
Maximum
Activity
Mixed wastes must have Chematix waste
card affixed before pick-up
Chematix
waste
card
We are changing to clear liners for DAW
(Call RSO for more info)
Radwaste containers must have
Generator’s Information
Labeling Empty Radwaste Containers
Empty containers should
always be marked
“empty”, in addition to
the standard labels.
This practice allows the
radioactive materials
labels to be reused and
helps prevent containers
with potential internal
contamination from being
improperly used.
RADWORKER RIGHTS AND REPORTING
Rights and Responsibilities
• As a Radiation Worker, you have both the right and
the responsibility to report unsafe conditions or
unrecognized radiological hazards.
• Radiation Workers should report initially to the
Authorized User, but may report directly to the RSO
or to the Georgia EPD Radioactive Materials
Program.
• All Radiation Workers are encouraged to report
concerns directly to the lowest practical level of
management for prompt resolution.
When to contact Radiation Safety
• Any incident of lost or missing radioactive
materials.
• Any incident of contamination involving a person or
their personal clothing.
• Any spill of radioactive material that you need
assistance with, or that is defined as a major spill in
the Radiation Safety Manual.
• Any time you have concerns about your exposure
to radiation or radioactive materials.
• The Radiation Safety staff is also available for
routine consultations and support services.
How to contact Radiation Safety
• During normal business hours call the main office
of the Environmental Safety Division at either (706)
542-0113 or (706) 542-5801.
• For after hours emergency response, contact the
UGA Police at (706) 542-2200. If you tell them you
have a radiation emergency, they will notify ESD’s
24/7 Hazard Assessment Response Team (HART).
• For routine consultations you may use the campus
directory or the staff directory on the ESD website
(http://www.esd.uga.edu/info/directory.htm)
ON-LINE TRAINING CERTIFICATE
Click the link below to record your participation
and print a certificate. A record will be emailed
to you and the Radiation Safety Office.
CLICK HERE