Radiation Safety Procedures and Training for the Radiation Safety Officer: Guidance for Preparing a Radiation Safety Program
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About this ebook
John R. Haygood
John R. Haygood earned a B.A. degree in physics at the University of Texas, Austin, and an M.S. degree in Environmental Science, with a major in Health Physics, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He is also a Texas Licensed Medical Physicist. He has over 30 years of experience in regulation of radiation use as well as an additional 10 years of consulting in radiation regulatory and safety processes. He and his wife live in Round Rock, Texas.
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Radiation Safety Procedures and Training for the Radiation Safety Officer - John R. Haygood
Copyright © 2001, 2013 by John R Haygood.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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ISBN: 978-1-4917-0596-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4917-0597-1 (ebk)
iUniverse rev. date: 09/11/2013
Contents
Illustrations
Tables
Preface
About the author
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Introduction to Radiation
Chapter 2
Introduction to Radiation Fundamentals
Chapter 3
Fundamentals of Radiation Protection
Chapter 4
Safe Operations Using Sources of Radiation
Chapter 5
Regulatory Requirements and Processes
Chapter 6
Radiation Safety Officer Duties and Permit Procedures
Chapter 7
Security for Radiation Sources
Appendix 1
List of Training Topics
Appendix 2
Table of Information for Selected Common Radioisotopes Used for Sealed Sources
Appendix 3
Glossary of Radiation Terms
Appendix 4
Generic Procedures for Building a Radiation Safety Manual
References
Illustrations
Figure 2-1: Radiation—Transfer of Energy
Figure 2-2: Structure of the Atom.
Figure 2-3: Decay of Unstable Atoms over Time.
Figure 2-4: Creation of X-Ray
Figure 2-5: Production of X-rays-X-Ray Tube
Figure 2-6: Inverse Square Law
Figure 2-7: Graphic Representation of the Inverse Square Law
Figure 3-1: Film Badge Holder and Film.
Figure 3-2: Landauer TLD Holder and TLD
Figure 3-3: Landauer OSL Holder
Figure 3-4: Pocket Dosimeters and Charger
Figure 3-5: Gas Ionization Detector Instrument
Figure 3-6: Scintillation Crystal and PM Tube
Figure 3-7: Scintillation Detector
Figure 3-8: Ludlum Single Channel Analyzer
Figure 3-9: Typical Survey Instrument
Figure 3-10: Typical GM Probe
Figure 3-11: Scintillation Probe
Figure 3-12: Survey Instrument Example Readings
Figure 3-13: Instrument Calibration Example
Figure 3-14: Typical Check Source
Figure 4-1: White I, Yellow II, and Yellow III Package Labels.
Figure 4-2: Vehicle Placard
Figure 4-3: Placard Placement on Vehicle
Tables
Table 1-1: List of Agreement States
Table 1-2: Units and Subunits
Table 1-3: Basic Unit Conversions
Table 2-1: Comparison of Particle Sizes
Table 2-2: Comparison of Energy Ranges
Table 2-3: Comparison of Particle Travel Ranges in Air
Table 2-4: Shielding Materials for Various Radiations
Table 2-5: Mean Quality Factors and Absorbed Dose Equivalencies
Table 2-6: Mean Quality Factors, Q, and Fluence Per Unit Dose Equivalent
for Monoenergetic Neutrons
Table 2-7: Radiation Levels of Some Common Isotopes
Table 2-8: Summary of Radiation Units
Table 2-9: Regulatory Exposure and Dose Definitions
Table 2-10: Radiation Worker Exposure Limits
Table 2-11: Summary of Radiation Effects
Table 2-13: Comparison of Exposures
Table 3-1: Example of Instrument Calibration Settings
Table 4-1: Examples of Shipments—Form
Table 4-2: Examples of Shipments—A1 and A2 Values, Package Types
Table 4-3: Category of Label to be Applied to Class 7 (Radioactive) Materials Packages
Table 4-4: Examples of Shipments
Table 4-5: Descriptions and Proper Shipping Names, Class and Identification Numbers for Radioactive Materials
Table 4-6: Acceptable Radiation Levels for Types of Transport
Table 4-7: Examples of Shipments
Table 4-8: Potential Emergencies to Consider for Response Preparation
Table 5-1: Federal and State Agencies with Radiation Control Functions in Texas
Table 5-2: Radiation Protection Program Requirements
Table 5-3: Radiation Protection Program Elements
Table 5-4: Percent of Penalty by Severity Level
Table 7-1: Quantities of Concern
Preface
This book is designed to provide radiation safety officers and users/operators of devices using radiation with the tools needed to operate a safe program, construct training materials and courses, AND to comply with regulatory requirements. It is centered primarily around radioactive materials license requirements, but much of the material can be applied to non-healing art x-ray, accelerator, and laser operations and registrations. All of the information consists of either original text created by the author or compilations of regulatory information/requirements and of common knowledge scientific information found in standard tables and references. Comments, suggestions, and recommendations from the reader will be appreciated. This is not a health physics production. Only a minimal amount of radiation principles are provided to provide the reader/user with enough information to proceed through the material. The author recommends that the serious user, desiring a greater degree of knowledge in health physics and radiation principles, obtain and study the references listed in this introductory section.
While the procedures presented stem predominantly from the Texas radiation regulatory program, the book should be applicable in any program operated in any state, except that references to specific regulations will be different. All states are either regulated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or have an Agreement State
status (Agreement State is explained later in the book). In any case, the laws and rules are approximately the same. Under NRC requirements, all agreement states must have rules compatible
with those of the NRC. This is discussed in more detail in the text.
CAUTION: References to and quotes from the Texas Regulations for Control of Radiation (TRCR) and from 25 Texas Administrative Code 289 are subject to change and to interpretation by the (Texas) Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Interpretations of the TRCR are the purview of the TDH and the Texas courts. In some regulatory areas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC) have jurisdiction. Further, references to regulations and procedures of the US DOT and the US NRC are also subject to change and interpretation by those agencies and federal courts. The concepts and information provided here are the opinions and concepts of the author. The user must adhere to the official interpretations and guidance of the agency with jurisdiction (Agreement State or federal government).
The author reserves all copyrights for this presentation of information—including illustrations and photographs created or obtained by the author.
About the author
John Haygood retired in 1997 from the Texas radiation control program managed by the Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC) of the Texas Department of Health (now DSHS) following 25 years of public service. He also worked for the program from 2002 to 2008. During his time of service, he performed many inspections of radioactive materials licensed operations, including Increased Controls security inspections, and registered x-ray and laser use operations, and investigated numerous radiation incidents. He was also extensively involved in the development of many of the current inspection, compliance, enforcement, licensing and registration processes—as well as developing inspector training programs and procedures. Additionally, he has dealt extensively with legal, emergency response, NORM, uranium license, transportation, low level waste, and security processes.
Mr. Haygood would like to continue serving the radiation using public through sharing his experience to help maintain a safe radiation environment.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to the following companies and individuals who graciously reviewed the material and provided comments and/or contributed information incorporated into the manual:
Companies
Ludlum Measurements, Inc.
501 Oak Street
PO Box 810
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
Phone: 800-622-0828 (USA)
Fax: 325-235-4672
Email: ludlum@ludlums.com
Website: http://www.ludlums.com
Health Physicists
Charles R. Meyer, CHP
Round Rock, Texas
Eric Skotak
Austin, Texas
Security
James Wm. Jones Ph.D., P.E
Huntington Beach, California
Thank you to my wife, Jesusa Haygood, for her support in putting this document together.
Chapter 1
Introduction to Radiation
1. Introduction
This book is intended to provide an understanding of radiation principles and radiation safety practices at a level which will help lay persons
protect themselves and others from unnecessary radiation exposure during operations which require the use of radiation sources. It is not intended to develop radiation experts
or health physicists as that would require considerably more material and study. Nor is it intended to train persons in the operation of specific equipment. Consequently, it has been prepared with the assumption that persons studying this material have at least the equivalent of a high school education and that math and science may not have been their strong points
. With a few minor
exceptions, the math and science learned in high school should provide a sufficient background for the reader.
The book is also intended to provide the trainee/reader with the tools
necessary to comply with the requirements of the radiation control regulatory authority or agency with jurisdiction. In Texas, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is the agency charged with enforcing the Texas Radiation Control Act—which is the radiation control enabling law in the state. However, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has authority relating to waste disposal processes and the Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC) has authority related to oil field radioactive waste disposal. Since the rules/regulations in effect in most states are generally similar, if not identical, the procedures and practices should be applicable for the trainee/reader in any state. Generally, radiation control regulation is set within the state’s health or environmental departments. Often, there is a combination of the two types of agencies with split duties and authorities.
The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is the federal agency that regulates nuclear reactors and most of the uses of radioactive material in the United States. Thirty-seven states have signed an agreement with the NRC allowing them to regulate the use of radioactive materials—except for nuclear reactors and federal operations. Several other states have applied for agreement status. The current agreement states, as of January 2012, are listed in Table 1-1. The NRC requires that each state implement compatible
laws and regulations as part of the agreement. This process has developed a nationwide regulatory system
which allows the use of radiation sources under similar practices throughout the country. The NRC recently began regulation of certain naturally occurring and accelerator produced radioactive materials, but does not regulate machine produced radiation. The U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the latter at the manufacturing/distribution level. There are other organizations which are involved in the radiation regulatory process, and these will be discussed in Chapter 5.¹
The (potential) user of radiation sources should find this book useful in attaining a comfort level
which will help him/her use radiation sources in a safe manner. The book should also be useful to the radiation safety officer (RSO) in most radiation use programs.
Basic Training Tools
In preparing for the use of radiation sources, each agency generally requires appropriate training be provided to the radiation safety officer and the radiation source users (radiation workers). This book is designed to help meet those requirements. Training can be provided by a training provider (in some cases the training provider must be approved) or the licensee/registrant. When developing one’s own training course, in addition to this book, one should consider other training tools/resources, such as a workbook which addresses the areas applicable to the type of radiation being used and audio/visual aids (overhead projections, video tapes, movies, pictures, drawings, and mock-ups). The use of actual radiation sources/equipment is desirable, but not always necessary. After learning the basics
of radiation safety, a good on-the-job-training program supervised by well-trained and experienced persons should properly equip the new radiation worker to operate safely.
2. Math Tools and Units
Scientific Notation—Brief Review
In many situations, dealing with radiation matters requires the use of very large and very small numbers and an extensive use of mathematics. Scientific notation allows us to handle large and small numbers more easily—especially when manipulating or converting units. In keeping with the intent of this book, a low math
approach, scientific notation will be briefly reviewed here. Readers already comfortable with this math and the units can skip this section.
Our system of numbers is base 10
, which relies on multiples of 10
. The number 10 is obviously one 10. It is also 1 times 10. The number 100 is ten 10’s—or 10 times 10. This can be shown as:
10 X 10 (= 100)
or
10² (= 10 X 10 = 100)
The superscripted number 2
of the last 10 is termed an exponent.
Exponential Form
The number is represented in the exponential form. This form is often called scientific notation. Since 10² = 100, and there are two zeroes in 100, then for each number which is a multiple of tens, an exponent can be used to express the 10 with the exponent showing the number of zeroes, such as:
and so on. Note that 10 = 10¹ (one zero, the exponent is 1) and, further, 10⁰ = 1.
On the other hand, if a number is less than 1, the exponent will be negative. For example, 0.1 = 1/10, which is 1 / 10¹. By convention, this can be expressed as 10-1. Further, 0.01 is 10-2, 0.001 is 10-3, and so on.
If 100 is multiplied by 1000, a result of 100,000 is yielded (it is, after all, one-hundred one-thousands). The equivalent exponential form can be substituted:
100 X 1000 = 100,000
or
10² X 10³ = 10⁵
Note that the exponent 2 of the first term plus the exponent 3 of the second term, added together result in the number 5 which is the exponent of the third term. This is because the product of a number expressed as an exponential number with exponent a, and a number expressed as an exponential number with exponent b, can be expressed as an exponential number with exponent (a + b).
Xa • Xb = Z(a+b)
(using the convention that A • A represents multiplication)
Without further explanation, it should be noted for division the following is true:
Xa ⁄ Xb = Z(a-b)
In other words, the exponent of the divisor can be subtracted from the exponent of the dividend when using scientific notation or exponential form. For example:
1000 / 100 = 10³ / 10² = 10(3 - 2) = 10¹ = 10
To work with a number that is not exactly a multiple of ten requires a simple manipulation. For example, the number 1200.0 can be expressed as 1.2 X 1000. This is the same as 1.2 X 10³. Note that if one counts from the position of the decimal to the left and repositions the decimal just to the right of the last figure (after the one but in front of the two), the result is 3. This is the same as the exponent of 10³. Now if the number were smaller than 1, say 0.034, one would count the other way (to the right but to the same position) and show a NEGATIVE exponent.
0.034 = 3.4 X 10-2 (exponent of -2, counting from decimal to right)
These steps can be put together to have:
1200.0 X 0.034 = 1.2 x 10² X 3.4 10-2
= 1.2 X 3.4 X (10³ x 10-2)
= 4.08 X 10¹ = 40.8
Use of exponential form will allow one to work less painfully with very large and very small numbers. Radiation related units and terms rely heavily on this type of notation.
Significant Figures
Significant figures are the non-zero numbers to the right of the decimal. For 0.3480, the significant figures would be 3, 4, and 8.
Units and Terms
Although radiation units and terms will be discussed in a later chapter, certain basic units and terms should be reviewed (or learned) to assure better understanding.
Unit Modifiers
The difference between a meter and a kilometer is quite straightforward. Simply, one kilometer equals 1000 meters. The kilo
prefix stands for 1000
—representing the multiples of tens. Using the prefix for the unit to show magnitude greatly simplifies communications and facilitates better understanding when dealing with science and math. Fortunately, there are a number of prefixes, taken from the Greek, which are universally accepted as unit modifiers.
Many of the prefixes above will be used frequently in radiation related matters.
Note: The author prefers to label units with prefixes as subunits
. For example the kilometer and millimeter would be subunits of the basic unit of meter.
Conversion of Common Units
Most persons educated in the United States learned the British system of measurement (foot, pound, second) as the primary system and metric as secondary. This is slowly being reversed. In matters of radiation, the SI (International System of Units) and MKS (metre – kilogram – second) systems are used more extensively—but there is a mixture of all systems in common use. Below is a table listing some of the standard or basic units of measurement and their conversion equivalent that may be used in this book.
The following are the standard relationships between the Celsius and British systems.
Temperature Conversion (Note: C = Centigrade and F = Fahrenheit, Degrees C = EC and Degrees F = EF.)
Centigrade to Fahrenheit: EC = (EF - 32) / 1.8
Fahrenheit to Centigrade: EF = 1.8 EC + 32
3. Uses of Radiation
The medical, educational, and industrial uses of radiation are numerous and new techniques constantly appear. X-ray machines, radioactive materials, and lasers are used in so many ways that volumes would be required to describe them. Without these tools, our lives would be shorter and less healthful and our quality of life
would be less than we currently enjoy. Surgical removal of a cancerous limb instead of radiation treatment, for example, would make a persons daily routine far more arduous. Many physical systems and objects that could be dangerous are made far safer by x-raying them to eliminate hidden faults. A brief review of the various uses follows.
Medical Uses
Diagnosis: Imaging, Lab Tests
Radiation (ionizing radiation) is used in hospitals and clinical labs to identify and treat health problems. Almost everyone knows of the use of x-ray machines to peer within the body and pin-point broken limbs, tumors, and enlarged organs. But few are aware of the other medical tools available. A process called "scanning or imaging is used a great deal in hospitals throughout the US. Radioactive material (called radiopharmaceuticals) can be tagged or attached to the molecules of certain substances that, when injected into the human body, will concentrate in specific organs. A large detector (called a
gamma camera") is then placed over the patient to detect the locations where the specific substance, and hence the radioactive material, has concentrated. A two or three dimensional computer representation of the organ or organs will then show the physician areas that may indicate tumors or poorly functioning organs. If the liver were the organ of interest, then the physician might expect to see a uniform pattern displayed. The presence of lighter areas might indicate a tumor as the tissue of the tumor fails to absorb the tagging agent and the radioactive material—emitting less radiation. A darker area could indicate abnormally rapid absorption. In either case, areas of abnormal tissue can be more readily identified. Tests can be performed without exposing the patient to radiation. Blood samples are taken from the body and tested in the laboratory (in vitro) with techniques involving radioactive material.
Treatment (therapy):
After a successful diagnosis has been made, the patient can be treated with radiation to cure the disease, or at least reduce the problem. Radioactive material may be introduced into the body orally, such as using Iodine-131 to treat hyperthyroidism. As a concentrated mass sealed within a stainless steel encapsulation, radioactive material may be inserted directly into tumors in the body (brachytherapy) for a period of time. Radiation can be also used by directing a beam into the affected area or organ. Units containing large quantities of Cobalt-60 emit intense beams of gamma radiation (teletherapy) which can be directed into the area of the body needing treatment. This technique minimizes the radiation exposure of healthy tissues. Accelerators (electronic/electrical devices that can accelerate particles in tight beams) are being used more and more each year.
Lasers, Cosmetic: Laser devices are rapidly expanding into the medical tool arena—although they emit a different form of radiation (non-ionizing radiation). Often, laser devices are used in conjunction with other radiation exposure devices to properly align radiation beams
so that the tissues being exposed to a radiation beam are only those that need to be exposed. Lasers can be used to treat diseased tissues (such as polyp removal in the mouth and throat) and to allow rapid, low pain cosmetic treatments. Laser radiation generally presents a different type of radiation hazard than ionizing radiation.
Educational Uses: Teaching, Research
Many educational facilities (high schools, colleges, and training institutions) use radiation sources for research and training. Physics, chemistry, and biology labs have many radiation devices and procedures available. Radioactive materials are used to trace flow in systems, provide radiation beams for materials analysis, develop instruments, test systems, and to teach students the benefits and hazards of using radiation. Accelerators and x-ray devices are also used for materials analysis and other research. Electron microscopes emit low-energy x-rays in their operation. Many laser types, uses, and processes are researched and developed at educational facilities. Most of these tools are also used in the classroom and laboratories for teaching students. Since younger people are present and may be exposed, even greater care must be taken (the limits for radiation exposure to persons under 18 years of age are lower).
Industrial Uses
Non-Destructive Testing:
Industry also finds a great deal of use for radiation and radiation sources. Industrial radiographers use Iridium-192 and Cobalt-60 devices (usually called cameras
) to x-ray
steel and other dense objects. This is generally called "non-destructive testing" because the tests are accomplished without changing the materials being tested. Most oil and gas pipeline welds are radiographed.
In well logging, instruments containing radioactive material and sensitive detectors are lowered into oil and gas wells to evaluate and analyze the geology under the surface and find crude oil, natural gas, and water formations.
Gauging: Measuring, Analysis
Radiation beams are emitted from "nuclear gauges", passing through steel vessels and indicating or measuring fluid levels and densities electronically at remote locations—all without disturbing