Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive Packages

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages

• Centre for Environmental
• Health Safety Management

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
PackagesTRAINING OBJECTIVES

• Procedures to deal with incorrect deliveries of
  packages with radioactive materials

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages WHAT IS RADIATION?

• What is Radiation?
• Health effects
• Types of shipments of radioactive materials to
  Ryerson
• Procedures for dealing with Packages containing
  Radioactive Materials at Ryerson

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages WHAT IS RADIATION?

• Radiation is Energy from an Atom

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
PackagesRADIOACTIVITY

• Atoms try to become stable by releasing energy
  from the nucleus
• This atomic energy is called RADIATION

Radioactive Nucleus
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages RADIOACTIVE DECAY

• Radioactive energy is released until the atom is
  stable and becomes not radioactive
• Process called radioactive decay
• Some radioactive materials may decay for only a
  few seconds some may take days or years to
  become non radioactive

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages Where Do You Find Radiation?

• Nature
• Radiation is all around us, and has been present
  since the birth of this planet.
• artificially made by humans

Both man-made and natural radiation are a part of
our lives . called BACKGROUND RADIATION
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages Where Do You Find Radiation?

• We are all exposed to radiation every day, all
  the time.
• It comes from
• The foods we eat
• The earth and sun
• Building materials
• Radon
• Medical uses of radiation
• Consumer products e.g. smoke detectors

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages HEALTH EFFECTS

• How will all this affect me?
• How much will I be exposed???

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages HEALTH EFFECTS

• Radiation is one of the best-investigated
  hazardous agents

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages HEALTH EFFECTS
TYPICAL EXPOSURES AT RYERSON ARE AT BACKGROUND
LEVELS (i.e., same as walking around and living
in Toronto)
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages HEALTH EFFECTS

• If penetrates tissue, may be absorbed by cells
• if enough absorbed, then cells may not be able
  to repair themselves and can be changed or
  damaged.
• can cause genetic damage or disease these effects
  are most likely when person exposed to high
  levels

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages HEALTH EFFECTSSmall Dose

• no observable effects for levels 50 times above
  background

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages HEALTH EFFECTS

• Large Doses
• (NOT AT RYERSON)
• At doses gt 2500 times above background, skin
  begins to show sunburn
• Eye damage (cataracts) can results at doses gt
  3000 times above background

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesHEALTH EFFECTS Risk of
Cancer

• does not cause any unique forms of cancer that
  are not normally observed in humans
• Evaluation of risk
• From small doses, risk is so low that it cannot
  be separately and distinguished from natural
  causes
• estimates the risk of developing cancer to be
  0.8 greater for one time exposure 50 times above
  background levels in Toronto
• low risk

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages RYERSON SOURCES
Arrive in small quantities in shielded containers
(less than a teaspoon of liquid)
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesSOURCES

• Common isotopes
• Phosphorus 32 (P - 32) weak to moderate beta
• Sulphur 35 (S - 35) weak beta emitter
• Carbon 14 (C - 14) - weak beta
• Phosphorus 33 (P- 33) weaker beta emitter
• Tritium (H - 3) - beta emitter
• low energy particles
• unshielded sources barely penetrate outer layers
  of skin (e.g. S-35)
• Depending on the energy may need few mm of
  plastic shielding

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Receiving Packages RADIATION PROTECTION

• Can reduce exposure to radiation
• Time
• Distance
• Shielding

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages RADIATION PROTECTION Time

• If you decrease the amount of time you spend near
  the source of radiation, you will decrease the
  amount of radiation exposure you receive.
• (To imagine this, think of a trip to the beach
  and exposure to sun as a comparison).
• Decrease Time, Decrease Exposure

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages RADIATION PROTECTION
Distance

• The farther away you are from a radiation source,
  the less exposure you will receive.
• (Compare this to an outdoor concert.)
• Increase Distance, Decrease Exposure

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages RADIATION PROTECTION
Shielding

• If you increase the shielding around a radiation
  source, it will decrease your exposure.
• (If you use an umbrella to shield you from the
  rain, you will remain dry and protected.)
• Increase Shielding, Decrease Exposure

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training Radioactive
Packages RADIATION PROTECTION Shielded
Containers

• Shipments will be in similar shielded containers
  with radiation levels at or near natural
  background.

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages RECEIVING PACKAGES

• Identification of Radioactive Packages
• What to do

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesIDENTIFICATION OF PACKAGES

• Boxes containing radioactive materials can be
  identified by
• Shipping name
• UN number
• Label (sometimes)

Rayonnement - Danger - Radiation
Packaging for the shipment of radioactive
material is designed to contain the material
during transport and to reduce exposure of
transport workers (shippers and receivers) to
radiation.
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages Common Shipping Names
).  

• Treat as radioactive package when
• The words RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL in shipping name
• Class 7 in shipping documents (means radioactive)
• UN number matches below

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesTypes of Labels

• MAJORITY OF SHIPMENTS TO CAMPUS WILL HAVE THIS
  shipping name with no Radioactive Label
• Used when amount of radioactivity is very low and
  exposure is close Background levels
•                                                   
                              

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesTypes of Labels
                                                 
                              WHITE
LABEL Indicates a higher amount of radiation and
the exposure on the outside surface of the
package
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesTypes of Labels
Yellow II Label
Yellow III Label

•                                                   
                                      
• Other labels are used when the dose is much
  higher than background.
• The higher the number on the label, the higher
  the radiation level
• These types of shipments are not expected for
  Ryerson

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesTypes of Packages
Excepted Package MOST COMMON PACKAGE
No label means no significant radiation levels
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive PackagesTypes of Packages
Type A Package
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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages Incoming Radioactive
Packages
Deliveries of radioactive packages are requested
to be delivered by the shipper DIRECTLY TO THE LAB

• PROCEDURES
• If possible, send the courier to the laboratory
  directly.
• Otherwise, place package into locked designated
  area in receiving area.
• Contact lab immediately.
• Release package only to people with Ryerson ID.

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages Incoming Radioactive
Packages

• PROCEDURES - DAMAGED PACKAGES
• If package is damaged, do not accept package.
  Contact the lab personnel and the Radiation
  Safety Officer (RSO) immediately (ext 4212).
• If damage is noticed after courier has left
• do not touch package
• wash your hands
• and keep your distance
• CONTACT LAB and RSO IMMEDIATELY

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Radiation Safety Awareness Training
Radioactive Packages Security for Radioactive
Packages

• Only authorized users may have access to
  radioactive packages list provided by RSO
• Radioactive materials must be secured at all
  times.
• Missing packages or theft reported to Security
  and RSO immediately

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Centre for Environmental Health and Safety
Management
Radiation Safety Officer
Liz Krivonosov ekrivono_at_ryerson.ca Phone
4212 EPH 419