Research Compliance

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Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Working with Radiation

If you will be working with radiation or radiation producing machines in the scope of your research or job duties at the University, you will need to obtain approval from the Radiation Safety Committee. Please follow the procedures outlined below to receive approval.   More information can be found on the Radiation Safety Committee home page.

Requirements for Approval to Work with Radiation

  • For the purpose of this document, “radiation” means any work with radioactive material, radiation emitting equipment, or radiation of any kind in the course and scope of the mission of the University. This can include both work done on and outside of the campus.
  • These procedures apply to faculty, staff, research associates, contract workers (not contractors), visiting faculty and staff, graduate and undergraduate students.
  • The Radiation Safety Committee (RSC) must approve your work with radiation before it may commence. Principal Investigators (for research oriented work) or faculty/staff overseeing work with radiation (for non-research oriented work) must download Radiation Use Application Form (RUAF) and complete the needed information.
  • Once completed, you  must  submit the RUAF to the Radiation Safety Officer or Administrator for routing and approval.
  • If applicable, the RSC meets once monthly to review RUAF documents and vote on their approval. You should realize that the RSC may hold any RUAF approval pending additional information or investigation.
  • Your approval will be for the length of the project, with an annual report of radioactive materials and radiation producing equipment disposition. When you have changes in scope, location of materials, radioactive materials, methods or personnel you must submit an addendum to the approved application. The addendum will be made on the originally approved form. Personnel changes will be a notification with confirmation of training. All other changes will be reviewed by the committee.

Training Requirements

  • Everyone working with radiation must take a basic radiation safety training course. The basic course is taken via CD on a computer. You must score 100% on the questions in this course in order to print a PDF of the completion certificate. You can email the PDF of the completion certificate to the RSO or the Administrator.
  • If you will be working with unsealed isotopes, NORM or X-rays, you must also complete a specialized training module through the Moodle website. You should contact the Radiation Safety Administrator for access to the Radiation Safety Training courses on Moodle. In the specialized courses, you will view a video, and successfully complete a quiz (80% passing) in order to print a PDF of the completion certificate.  These trainings must be complete before radiation work is approved and commences.
  •  Your radiation safety training is good for three years from the date on the certificate. The RSO will notify you when you need to refresh this training.

Procedures Regarding Radiation Procurement

  • When you require radioactive material or equipment that emits radiation, you must have each purchase request approved by the RSO. This includes any material procured with a credit card.
  • Shipments of radioactive material will be sent to a pre-determined, dedicated location, unless alternate arrangements are made with the RSO. For more information regarding this, please contact the RSO or the Radiation Safety Administrator. The RSO (or his designee) will inspect the shipment packages to ensure there is no radiation leakage before delivering the material to the ordering department.

Laboratory Inspections

  • You should prepare your laboratory for inspection via self-inspection using the Radiation Inspection Form.
  • All areas on the campus where work with radiation is being conducted will be inspected formally at least once annually by the RSO. The principal investigator and/or the supervising faculty/staff member will be given a copy of that inspection.
  • The RSO reserves the right to halt all work with radiation for issues of safety related to these inspections.

Inventory of Radioactive Materials

Please ensure that anyone under your supervision is aware of these procedures. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me via email or at 482-5357.