GUIDELINE

Risk Assessment for Radiation Sources

1. Introduction
The hazardous nature of ionising radiation is well known and a system of regulation has been established aimed at minimising those hazards while taking advantage of the useful properties of radiation. The legislation requires that people should be protected from unnecessary exposure through the enforcement of dose limits for exposure of workers and the public and the application of standards for equipment and premises in which radiation sources are used. While most of the practices involving radiation sources used at the university have established engineering and procedural controls from which the user should not depart, there are some research practices in which users must look more closely at the hazards and decide on the appropriate control measures. Such an assessment process will require review by a school or centre Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) and the University Radiation Protection Adviser (URPA).

2. Who needs to carry out a risk assessment?

Persons in the following radiation practice categories are required to carry out an individual risk assessment: Users of unsealed sources in biomolecular research. Users of analytical X-ray equipment that is not fully enclosed. Persons wanting to use radioactive sources or X-ray machines for research projects other than those described above.

Examples of the latter could include setting up and using fixed industrial radiation gauges in research; developing new X-ray analysis or imaging techniques; using a mobile X-ray unit for nonmedical imaging applications; using unsealed sources for environmental or industrial field tracer studies. In what form should the risk assessment be recorded? Specific forms have been produced by the University Radiation Protection Adviser for this purpose. They are available at the Occupational Health and Safety Unit web site. At the University of Queensland, persons who fall into the following categories are not required to undertake individual risk assessments for the radiation-related aspects of their work: Persons who are licenced to carry out dental diagnostic radiography in accordance with an approved Radiation Safety and Protection Plan Persons who are licenced to carry out veterinary radiography in accordance with an approved Radiation Safety and Protection Plan Persons who are licenced to use soil moisture and density gauges in accordance with an approved Radiation Safety and Protection Plan
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Risk Assessment for Radiation Sources Occupational Health & Safety Division

Persons who are licenced to use bone mineral density apparatus in accordance with an approved Radiation Safety and Protection Plan Persons who are authorised to use approved self-contained irradiators in accordance with an approved Radiation Safety and Protection Plan Persons who are authorised to use fully enclosed analytical or cabinet X-ray equipment in accordance with an approved Radiation Safety and Protection Plan

Risk assessment may be required for aspects of the above tasks that present hazards other than radiation exposure.

3. Identification of hazards
The forms ask the user to consider what radiation hazards are present in the task. These can be classified as follows. External exposure (whole-body or partial-body) to X-rays, gamma rays, beta particle radiation and neutron radiation Internal irradiation following ingestion, inhalation, skin absorption or wound entry of any type of radioactive substance A combination of internal and external irradiation

4. Evaluation of the risks

The relationship between exposure to radiation and the occurrence of particular health effects is reasonably well characterised and dose limits aimed at controlling these effects have been set by the International Commission on Radiological protection (ICRP). These limits have been given legislative effect in all Australian jurisdictions. In addition to set dose limits, both the ICRP and the state legislation enjoins users to ensure that all doses are kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). This process is called optimisation. The risks associated with the use of radiation in research and teaching will be greatly influenced by the skills, training, and experience of the user and the standard of the associated facilities and equipment. Legislation requires compliance certification for certain types of facilities and equipment prior to use. The following factors will need to be considered: Whether the practice is routine, well-established or newly developed The type of radiation to be used (alpha, beta, gamma, X-ray, neutron) Selection of appropriate isotopes and maximum activities to be used in unsealed source work The nature of the equipment in which a sealed source is to be used Possible exposure to the direct or unattenuated beam in X-ray analysis work.

6. Treatment of risks
Radiation risks may be controlled by a combination of engineered and procedural measures, often supplemented by the use of personal protective equipment. For most practices the measures to be selected will be very largely generic to the practice category and individual users will not need to depart
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from them. The assessment forms identify the most significant risks for the category of work and the questions are designed to allow researchers to indicate how they will control the risks that are relevant to the type of project concerned.

7. Review and monitoring of the risk

The duties of Radiation Safety Officers include responsibilities for continuing oversight and review of radiation safety in their organisational unit. The RSO assists individual users in choosing appropriate control measures and monitors their compliance with them. The duties of the RSO with regard to surveillance and review are set out in Section 37 of the Radiation Safety Act 1999.

Contact for Additional Information

Radiation Protection Adviser Email: v.leach@uq.edu.au Phone: 07 3365 4504 (ext 54504)

Risk Assessment for Radiation Sources Occupational Health & Safety Division

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