Authorizations
Enforcement Policy
One of the roles of the Radiation Safety Committee is to set policy and oversee the conduct of the University's radiation safety program. To manage its compliance program, the Committee is required to establish an enforcement policy for violations of the Radiation Safety Manual and authorization conditions. Among the enforcement sanctions authorized by the Committee is the temporary suspension of radioactive material use. Please be advised that the Committee requires the Radiation Protection Office to carry out the required suspensions of the use and ordering privileges of an Authorized User within one week of the violation.
During the suspension, all work with radioactive materials under the Authorization is suspended. A Health Physicist from the Radiation Protection Office will visit the laboratory to review safety practice and provide training as appropriate during this period. The health physicist may recommend a provisional reinstatement of the authorization to the Radiation Protection Officer who, in turn, may reinstate the Authorization pending concurrence of the Committee.
The Authorized User will be asked to attend a meeting of the Radiation Safety Committee Enforcement Subcommittee to discuss the violation and corrective actions.
Suspension after one time finding:
- Radioactive material detected in an unlabeled trash container
- Radioactive material not secured against removal
Suspension after 3 findings in 12 month period:
- Evidence of eating, drinking, or smoking in laboratories
- Mouth pipetting of radioactive materials
- Not wearing appropriate protective clothing
- No record of sink disposal of radionuclides
- Failure to report a radioactive spill
- Not performing and documenting required surveys
