Radiation testing in facilities outside CERN EDMS document version 2.0 Heinz Vincke - RadWG meeting 6/7/2010

Basic principles of radiation protection... from CERNs Safety code F issued 2006 by the Director-General Radiological protection is based on three principles: Justification, Optimisation and Limitation.  Justification any practice involving exposure to radiation should produce sufficient benefit to the exposed individuals or to society to offset the radiation detriment it causes  for radiation tests...like for irradiation at CNGS (EDMS No ): Any group intending to make a radiation test need to submit a justification and a complete and detailed description of the planned work in writing to DGS-RP and the RSO of the department concerned who will jointly review the request.  Optimisation Individual as collective dose have to be reduced to a reasonable minimum. (ALARA = "As Low As Reasonable Achievable"). The principle of optimisation shall be regarded as satisfied for activities which under no circumstances lead to an effective dose of more that 100  Sv per year for occupationally exposed persons or more than 10  Sv per year for persons not occupationally exposed.  Limitation The dose of any individual must not exceed the legal limits

... and one principles about radioactive waste  The production of radioactive waste from the operation of accelerator and experimental apparatus shall be kept to the minimum practicable, in terms of both its activity and volume, by appropriate design measures and operating practices.

Team of Experimentalists  DEFINITION OF A TEAM  The experimentalists that will be conducting a specific radiation test will form a team.  The minimum number of persons in a team is 2.  Each team will be represented by a Team Leader who is a CERN staff member.  ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A TEAM MEMBER  Each member of the team is responsible for complying with all safety provisions that apply to the radiation experiment.  Upon arrival at the host institute, the team member has to make himself aware of the safety rules and regulations that apply at that facility or institute.  The instructions of the beam line physicist have to be followed strictly at all times.  ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TEAM LEADER  The Team leader has to ensure that each member of the team is familiar with the safety provisions that apply.  He will represent the team during the entire duration of the experiment (from the preparation of the test setup until the transport of activated material after the experiments) and will act as the contact person responsible for the experiment towards CERN and towards the radiation facility.  In addition, the team leader will ensure that all radiation passports will be signed by the Radioprotection unit of the local institution (or representatives thereof) and validated by a stamp or signature.

RADIATION FACILITIES  Radiation tests should be conducted in radiation facilities that have been approved by DGS/RP and the RSOs of the departments concerned.  The present list of approved radiation facilities is given in the appendix. To add a facility to the list of approved facilities, approval from DGS/RP and the Radiation Safety Officers Committee (RSOC) is required. APPENDIX : APPROVED FACILITIES  TSL – The Svedberg Laboratory  PSI – Paul Scherrer Institute  UCL – Centre de Recherches du Cyclotron  IONISOS – PARC DOMBES COTIERE ACTIVITES …. ‘green light’ has been given for PTB in addition.

Medical Aptitude and Classification  All members of the team should be in possession of a valid medical certificate that declares the aptitude of the person to work in areas with ionising radiation.  To obtain the certificate, a blood test and a consultation with a medical doctor is required.  The certificate will be valid for 1 year and will be delivered by the CERN medical service* given at least 1 month notice before departure.  The person needs to be classified as Class B radiation worker * comment received by the medical service: for staff members only!

RP TRAINING  All members of the team must have followed the CERN radiation protection course and pass the test successfully.  Each team member should be in possession of a valid declaration of the attendance to the course during his official travel.  Such a document can be delivered by the CERN dosimetry service given at least 1 month notice before departure.

SHIPPING OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS INTO/OUTSIDE THE CERN PREMISES  The standard CERN procedures for the import and export of radioactive material from or to radiation facilities outside CERN apply at all times and are outlined on the RP-shipping web page:  For the import of radioactive goods, a web based form must be filled in. At the end of use of the source/radioactive material at CERN, the team leader will be responsible for the elimination of the source or activated material.  For the export of radioactive goods, it is required to contact the CERN person in charge of radiation protection in the zone from where the shipping is to take place and to ensure that the addressee institute or organisation is authorised to receive and handle radioactive materials.

Personal dosimetry CERN staff members participating in irradiation tests outside of CERN must be regularly monitored by the CERN personal Dosimetry service. The following provisions may apply also to Users and other members of the associated personnel under regular monitoring by CERN’s Dosimetry service, if their home institute does not provide personal dosimeters and/or the required documents.  RADIATION PASSPORT  If required by the host facility, the members of the team must be in possession of a CERN radiation passport.  The passport is established by the CERN Dosimetry service and needs to be completed with a valid medical certificate.  If the host institute provides a Dosimetry service for visitors, it records the dose received at the end of the radiation experiment in the radiation passport or on a dose record form. This entry must be validated by a stamp or a signature.  USE OF CERN DOSIMETERS  If the host facility does not provide a personal Dosimetry service for visitors, then the team members shall carry their CERN dosimeter in the host facility.  The CERN dosimeter shall be read out immediately before and immediately after the travel to the host institute. CERN’s Dosimetry service shall be informed of the travel to the host institute and of the read-out dates of the personal dosimeters.

WORKING HOURS  The maximum working hours for any member of the team will not exceed 12 hours per day over a maximum of two consecutive days and/or 62 hours per week and/or 116 hours per two-week period.  Only in exceptional circumstances, a team member can work 12 hours per day over a maximum of two consecutive days.  In case an experiment requires long exposure times, the team leader must plan the experiment in such a way that no team member will work more than 12 hours in a 24 hour period.  After completing an irradiation test, the team members must take sufficient rest before travelling back to the CERN laboratories.

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