SA0300 – Ionizing Radiation Safety

SA0300 – Ionizing Radiation Safety

Objective:

Each campus or institute that possesses or uses ionizing radiation sources shall establish policies and procedures governing the generation, use, storage, transport, or disposal of such sources. Sources of ionizing radiation include, but are not limited to: radioactive materials (both naturally occurring and man-made), radiation producing devices (including x-ray machines, accelerators and cyclotrons), and equipment or devices intended for other uses, but which emit ionizing radiation as a by-product of their primary function (e.g. generally licensed devices). Additionally, where applicable, the campus/institute shall provide for the appointment of a radiation safety officer and/or a radiation safety committee at each location.

Policy:

1. The University of Tennessee system and its locations which generate, store, use, transport or dispose of ionizing radioactive materials, shall do so in accordance with federal, state and local regulations governing the use of these sources. A radiation safety officer and a radiation safety committee shall be appointed for each location as appropriate for the licensed or registered use of these materials.
2. The extent of the program at each location shall be determined by the specific ionizing radiation hazards in use at that location and the requirements of all applicable regulatory bodies. At a minimum, the chancellor or vice president of each location, where radiation sources are used, shall designate a radiation safety officer (RSO) to ensure safety and compliance in the use of those materials.
3. The chancellor or vice president shall establish an institutional radiation safety committee, as appropriate for the ionizing radiation hazards being used at that location, in accordance with the guidance of the appropriate regulatory agencies.

Responsibility:

1. The appointed radiation safety officer shall have those duties and responsibilities for the safe-handling, licensing, registration and disposal of ionizing radiation sources as may be required under the location’s license(s) or registration(s). The radiation safety officer and the campus safety officer shall assume those duties and responsibilities as may be necessary to ensure the safe use of those facilities containing these ionizing radiation sources.
2. As directed by regulatory guidance and applicable regulations the appointed radiation safety officer shall have the authority to halt unsafe activities or those not in compliance with regulatory or license requirements and report to the appropriate university official.
3. In the event of any cited violation of Federal, state, or local regulation concerning ionizing radiation, immediate notification and proposed remedy shall be made to the designated radiation safety officer for that campus or institute.