Prime Responsibility for Radiation Safety

Responsibility for Safety Objectives To understand the role of the legal person to provide adequate safety and how specific aspects of the responsibility are delegated within authorized practices

Responsibility for Safety Responsibilities of Legal person holding a license or registration Radiation Protection Officer Workers Suppliers Qualified experts Medical practitioners Ethical review committees

Responsibility for Safety Prime responsibility Legal person holding a license or registration Employers of occupationally exposed workers

Responsibility for Safety Subsidiary responsibility The licensee may appoint other parties or people to carry out actions and tasks, Overall responsibility for protection and safety remains always at the licensee

Responsibility for Safety Subsidiary responsibility Radiation Protection Officer Workers Suppliers Medical practitioners Qualified experts Ethical review committees

Responsibilities of a licensee Licensees and employers shall establish radiation safety objectives develop, implement and document a radiation safety programme ensure compliance with requirements set out in legislation and regulations

Responsibilities of a licensee Radiation Safety Programme (1/2) continuous review of measures needed to achieve radiation safety objectives sufficient allocation of resources for implementing necessary measures regular verification that the radiation safety objectives are achieved

Responsibilities of a licensee Radiation Safety Programme (2/2) identification, prevention and prompt corrective actions of any failures or shortcomings in the radiation safety measures consultation and co-operation between all relevant parties with respect to radiation safety appropriate records regarding the discharge of responsibilities

Responsibilities of a licensee To ensure compliance with requirements Notification, application of authorization Radiation protection performance requirements Verification of protection and safety Occupational, public and medical exposure protection Management requirements Safety of sources

Radiation Protection Officer (RPO) General Shall have undergone radiation protection training; qualification criteria set by the Regulatory Authority Appointed by the licensee Approved by the Regulatory Authority Shall have sufficient powers allocated with the licensees organization for taking care of allocated responsibilities and duties

Radiation Protection Officer (RPO) Typical duties monitoring of radiation protection and safety issuing instructions and ensuring that workers are trained to work safely ensuring that adequate protective equipment, clothing and radiation meters are available and used appropriately ensuring that the license and safety arrangements are up-dated, as necessary providing required information and notifications to the Regulatory Authority

Workers Responsibilities to follow applicable rules and procedures for protection and safety to use properly the monitoring devices, protective equipment and clothing provided co-operate with the employer with respect to protection and safety and the operation of radiological health surveillance and dose assessment programmes

Workers Responsibilities to accept information, instruction and training concerning protection and safety to report to the employer or the licensee of observations of circumstances that could adversely affect compliance with regulations

Suppliers Responsibilities to ensure that sources are transferred only to receivers holding a license to ensure that sources are accompanied with relevant certificates user, maintenance and transport instructions radiation protection and safety instructions to hold records of transfers

Qualified experts Responsibilities to advise the licensee or employer on the observance of regulations may be assigned technical responsibility for tasks related to radiation protection of workers and the public

Medical practitioners Responsibilities / Medical exposures justification of medical exposures medical exposures shall be prescribed by a medical practitioner optimization of protection, e.g. use of guidance levels medical practitioners ensure overall patient protection related to medical exposures

Medical practitioners Responsibilities / Health surveillance of workers to ensure initial and continuous fitness of workers for their intended tasks to assess consequences of possible over exposure and to deliver opinion on the continuity of work medical treatment of persons received high exposures

Ethical review committees Responsibilities to assess justification of and to define dose constraints for medical research purposes not producing direct benefit to exposed individuals to assess justification of screening (e.g. mammography) to assess justification of examinations undertaken for occupational, legal or health insurance purposes

References IAEA-TECDOC-1067