Radiation Safety Training for Industrial Radiography

IAEA Technical MeetingVienna, 23-27 June 2014Richard van Sonsbeekrichard.vansonsbeek@applusrtd.com

Training for who?

RT Technicians/Operators Qualified and certified at least as RT level 1 Operates the RT equipment

RT Assistants Not necessarily qualified or certified as RT

technician Does not operate the RT equipment

Radiation Protection Officers Qualified according to the requirements of the

licensing authorities May be member of a Radiation Protection Unit /

TeamAny other persons involved in RT

selling, planning, purchasing,…? | 2

Training for what?

Radiation Protection during Normal operation Gamma Radiography X-ray Radiography Local Rules

Radiation Protection during Emergency Situations Emergency Procedures

• How to raise an alarm• How to create a safe situation

– any RT technician• How to retrieve a source

– only dedicated persons / teams

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IAEA

ISEMIR – Initial and Refresher TrainingRT Technicians / Operators

• Initial radiation protection (RP) training appears to be well accepted and established• 98% of the responding

operators had received RP training

• Refresher training was less well established• 70% of Regulatory Bodies

required refresher training• 80% of companies offered

theoretical refresher RP training• 60% of companies offered

practical refresher RP training

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IAEA

ISEMIR – Emergency response trainingRT Technicians / Operators

• 89% of radiographers stated that procedures for emergencies were included in the radiation protection training, and of these:• 65% said that the training included

practical exercises for creating a safe situation until the source is able to be recovered;

• 57% said that the training included practical exercises for source recovery.

• About 75% of radiographers stated that they were not allowed to perform a source recovery on their own without first contacting a specialized source recovery person.

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What does ISO 9712:2012 say?

ISO 9712 defines three competence levels in NDT methods, i.e. level 1, 2 and 3; General Examination for RT level 1 and 2

Where not otherwise addressed by national regulations, there shall be an additional examination on radiation safety for the radiographic test method.

No further requirements are stated for RP training and examination

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IAEA

ISEMIR – Emergency response trainingRadiation Protection Officers

• Almost all responding regulatory bodies (57 out of 59) stated that they require a person wishing to act as an RPO for a company that performs on-site radiography to have had radiation protection training to an acceptable level. Of these• Nearly 70% (39 out of 56) stated

that the regulatory body would require a higher level of radiation protection training for the RPO than that for an operator;

• About 80% (42 out of 52) stated that there was an examination.

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International Standard for RP training?

Should we consider an international standard for RP training similar to ISO 9712?The following slides provide some suggestions / questions that may be consideredPlease note that these do not represent a standpoint of Applus RTD in anyway

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Potential benefits of a standard for RP trainingTraining, Examination Qualification, Certification

Define a minimum level of competence in RP for RT assistants RT technicians RPOs

• Analogy with NDT method level 1, 2 and 3?

Mutual Recognition of RP competence through (3rd party) certification

Easier cross border movement of RT technicians• However we should not forget:

– Verification of competence and authorization by employer is a crucial step

– Additional instruction on national / local rules remains necessary, including emergency procedures

– Additional training in specific equipment remains necessary

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Potential content of a standard for RP training(based on ISO 9712)

Define minimum level of competence Training hours an subjects (syllabus)

• Theoretical• Practical

Examination and subjects• Theoretical• Practical

Qualification• proven field experience

Certification • based on examination and proven field experience

Re-certification (e.g. after 5 years)• Proven continued work experience• Based on yearly re-fresher training and an examination

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IAEA

ISEMIR – Initial and Refresher TrainingStandard for Training Hours

Based on the responses the standard for RP training hours for RT Technicians (“level 2”) could be

Part Duration Unit

Initial Theoretical

30 – 40* Hours

Initial Practical

20 – 40* Hours

Refresher Theoretical

8 Hours

Refresher Practical

8 Hours

Refresher Interval

1 Year

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*Range between in-house and third party providers of RP training

Challenges

Technical competences vs. Behavioral competence For example: RPOs need to communicate

effectively with different stakeholders, Operational Management, Radiographers, Clients, Regulators, etc…

Conflict with existing RP training /qualification / certification / registration / licensing of

RT technicians and RPOs

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