Radiation Safety Training for Industrial Radiography
IAEA Technical MeetingVienna, 23-27 June 2014Richard van [email protected]
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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