From: Mubetcel Moorefield <mubetcel**At_Symbol_Here**HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] radiation safety
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2016 21:55:28 +0000
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: BAY406-EAS116863EBAD706A499E3A03CE250**At_Symbol_Here**phx.gbl


Thank you very much for everybody who responded. I have a wealth of information to start with. I am sure I will have more questions as I get into it. I hope you won't mind me asking those also.

Happy 4th of July to all!
Mubetcel


First, it is your employer's responsibility to provide adequate training. It's wonderful you are a self-starter, but if you haven't had prior experience with RAM, they need to make sure you have appropriate training--the onus is on them...

Not sure whether 'deal with' means you're going to be the RSO (Radiation Safety Officer), or you'll be overseeing an RSO, or...

Some states are Agreement States--they have their own regulations rather than follow the NRC regulations. You will need to know whether your state is an Agreement State or not. If not, the NRC regulations are 10 CFR Part 20 (for general use--medical use is another section altogether).

In my state (MA) we are an agreement state and RSOs are required to have 40 hours of training. I attended a weeklong RSO course which helped immensely. I also belong to an academic RSO listserv, and I call my counterpart at the local state university with questions from time to time.

I would think (if you're going to an academic position) the best resource to start with would be the state's flagship university EHS website, and review their radiation safety program. It will give you a good idea of how the regulations are translated into policy and what their safety practices are. However, your workplace may be required to do some things differently--it depends upon the conditions that were accepted in your radioactive materials license. Which you should read, because the conditions (such as agreeing to send detectors to an outside vendor for calibration versus saying calibrations will be performed in-house) are legally binding.

Good luck with your new position, and feel free to contact me offline if you would like to discuss further.
Margaret

On Fri, Jul 1, 2016 at 6:31 AM, Mubetcel Moorefield <mubetcel**At_Symbol_Here**hotmail.com> wrote:
Hi, all,
I am getting ready to start a new job where I will need to deal with radioactive materials. Can anybody direct me to some resources where I can find out about safety rules and regulations for such substances?

Thank you for any help you may offer.
Mubetcel




--
Margaret A. Rakas, Ph.D.
Manager, Inventory & Regulatory Affairs
Clark Science Center
413-585-3877 (p)

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