RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

This web page provides links to on-line resources required in safety management and regulatory compliance of the use of radiation sources within the University.

• Radiation Safety Committee
• Policy & Procedures
• Legislation
• Licensing
• Registration
• Training
• Waste disposal
• Warning signs
• LASER - Policy & Procedures
• LASER - Legislation

The Radiation Safety Committee is responsible for overseeing the safe use of ionizing radiation within the University.
The Committee has prepared the following information sheets on radiation safety procedures:

• Procedures– EPA Licensing & Registration
• The Radiation Safety Committee [RSC]
• Local Radiation Safety Responsibilities
• Risk Assessments for Projects Involving Ionizing Radiation

The University has a Radiation Safety Policy, and Radiation Safety Procedures
to ensure compliance with our regulatory obligations and provide a basis for a uniform approach to radiation safety throughout the University.

One basic requirement of the University Procedures is that a Risk Assessment for all projects involving ionizing radiation is completed prior to the commencement of any work.

Completion of a risk assessment is a mandatory requirement for all new research grant applications for projects involving the use of ionizing radiation. Risk assessments will be assessed by the Radiation Safety Committee.

The possession and use of radioactive material and irradiating apparatus in NSW is governed by the Radiation Control Act 1990 & Radiation Control Regulation 2003 which are now administered for the EPA by the Department of Environment and Climate Change [DECC].

This legislation requires persons to have a licence to use or possess radioactive material or irradiating apparatus and requires premises using or storing radioactive material to be registered.

The Radiation Control Act requires users of radioactive material or irradiating apparatus to possess an DECC license to use.
Further information including a licence application form can be obtained from the EPA licensing web page.

The only exemptions from licensing apply to students working under supervision of an appropriately licensed person OR persons working with amounts of radioactive material that are below specified limits as prescribed by the Radiation Control Regulations.

The Radiation Control Act requires premises where radioactive material is used or kept to be registered. Further information including a registration application form can be obtained from the EPA Registration web page.

Also certain Irradiating Apparatus and all Sealed Source Devices need to be registered.

A typical Registration has conditions attached to it. Compliance with these conditions is mandatory and penalties can be applied by the DECC for any non-compliances.

Compliance of laboratories using unsealed isotopes can be checked using a checklist.

Where laboratories have multiple users the use of radioacative materials can be tracked by using a material usage log and a laboratory bookings.

The University requires all persons working with radioisotopes to attend a radiation safety training course. The training course is provided free of charge to staff and students. Courses are usually conducted early in each semester. Details can be found under OHS Training and enrollment is only accepted ectronically through this site.
The course is also accepted by the DECC as a qualifiaction for obtaining a radiation licence.

Similar courses are available from ANSTO, on a user pay basis.

The Radiation Safety Committee determined that staff should attend a half day refresher course if they have not recieved training in the previous 5 years. These sessions will be run in house and local radiation safety officers will be advised of the session times.

Only low activity radioactive material can be disposed of through the University's Hazardous Waste disposal service. To meet this "low level" requirement the Specific Activity of the material must be below 100 Bq/gm.
Forms to request disposal of radioactive waste must be completed and forwarded to the OHS&IM office for processing.

Radioactive waste that does not meet the above requirement must be stored. Storage times can range from a few months [until the waste decays to below the 100 Bq/gm level] to indefinitly. Isotopes such as P-32, S-35 & I-125 may need storage for up to one year to decay to an acceptable level. Longer half life isotopes such as H-3 & C-14 may require long term storage.
In either situation it is the research group's responsibility to arrange for the secure storage of this waste.

Area hazard signs including the radiation warning label must be displayed at or near the entrance to radiation laboratories. Signs can be ordered from OHSIM.

• AS2243.4-1998: Safety in Laboratories - Part 4 - Ionizing Radiations
• AS 2982.1 1997: Laboratory design & construction - General requirements

Australian Standard AS 2243.4 provides details about general safety requirements for laboratories where sources of radiation are used or kept.

Australain Standard AS 2982.1 provides details of the design criteria for radioisotope laboratories.

These and other Standards can be accessed on library on line web site.

LASER SAFETY

The University does not currently have a central policy on the use of lasers.

A comprehensive Policy & Procedures document for the safe use of lasers has been developed by the Optical Fibre Technology Centre [OFTC].

The Radiation Safety Committee supports the adoption of this document by other users who do not have laser safety policy and procedures currently in place.

Detailed safety requirements for both design and use of laser equipment are contained in the AS/NZS AS 2211 series of Standards, on Safety of laser products as listed below.

All laser research users should comply with the the requirements of AS/NZS 2211.1:2004 and other applicable Standards.

• AS/NZS 2211.1:2004. Safety of laser products - Equipment classification, requirements and user’s guide
• AS/NZS 2211.2:2006. Safety of laser products - Safety of optical fibre communication systems (OFCS)
• AS/NZS 2211.3:2002. Safety of laser products - Guidance for laser displays and shows
• AS/NZS 2211.4:2002. Safety of laser products - Laser guards
• AS/NZS 2211.5:2006. Safety of laser products - Manufacturer’s checklist for AS/NZS 2211.1
• AS/NZS 2211.6:2002. Safety of laser products - Safety of products with optical sources, exclusively used for visible information transmission to the human eye
• AS/NZS 2211.7:2002. Safety of laser products - Safety of products emitting infrared optical radiation, exclusively used for wireless 'free air' data transmission and surveillance
• AS/NZS 2211.9:2002. Safety of laser products - Compilation of maximum permissible exposure to incoherent optical radiation
• AS/NZS 2211.10:2004. Safety of laser products - Application guidelines and explanatory notes to AS/NZS 2211.1
• AS/NZS 2211.12:2006. Safety of laser products - Safety of free space optical communication systems used for transmission of information

These Standards can be accessed through the library Standards on line web page.

Laser equipment is not regulated under provisions of the Radiation Control Act. Lasers therefore do not need to be registered or operators licenced, as is the case with X-ray equipment and sealed source devices.

However safety requirements in the above Standards are enforcable under the general provisions of OH&S legislation.

Notes
For further information please contact OHS & Injury Management
Tel: 9351 4335, e-mail: ohsim@usyd.edu.au

Notes
Last updated: 6 August 2007
Page maintained by: Howard Ackland