Dalhousie University Radiation Safety Office

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Dalhousie UniversityRadiation Safety Office

• Refresher Training
• 2006

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Principal Investigator Responsibilities

• It is the responsibility of the P.I. to ensure
  that all workers in their research group who will
  be handling nuclear substances are registered
  with the Radiation Safety Office and have
  completed required radiation safety training.
• Workers within the research group who carry out
  their duties in a registered radiation lab must
  receive instruction relating to the radiation
  hazards even if they will not be handling nuclear
  substances themselves.

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Canadian Regulations

• The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)
  regulates the use of nuclear energy and materials
  to protect health, safety and the environment and
  to respect Canadas international commitments on
  the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
• http//www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca

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Dalhousie UniversityRadiation Safety Program
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Radiation Safety Committee

• Dr. Stan Cameron Chemistry
• Dr. A. Chatt SLOWPOKE
• Dr. M. Dobson (Chair) Biochemistry
• Dr. R. Dunlap Physics
• Prof. K. Hall - Physics
• Dr. K. Hewitt Physics
• Dr. D. Hoskin Pathology
• P. Jones (Secretary) RSO
• Dr. W. Louch EHS
• Ms. K. Murphy Pharmacology
• Dr. N. Ridgway ARC
• Dr. M. Zentilli Earth Sciences

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Instructions

• Refresher training is intended for those
  nuclear substance workers who have previously
  attended the Radiation Safety Training course
  prior to May of 2004. The refresher training
  module is not intended to substitute for the full
  day training session required of all new or
  previously untrained workers. Refresher training
  must be documented by submitting the required
  form and quiz found in the Forms section of the
  EHS web site at http//www.dal.ca/safety

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An Overview of Bill C-45

• The Government of Canada, through the
  Department of Justice, should institute a study
  of the accountability of corporate executives and
  directors for the wrongful or negligent acts of
  the corporation and should introduce in the
  Parliament of Canada such amendments to
  legislation as are necessary to ensure that
  corporate executives and directors are held
  properly accountable for workplace safety.
• Report of the Westray Mine Public Inquiry,
  Recommentation 73

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New Legal Duty to Prevent Harm

• New section 217.1 of the Criminal Code creates a
  legal duty not only in relation to work but to
  all tasks
• Everyone who undertakes, or has the authority,
  to direct how another person does work or
  performs a task is under a legal duty to take
  reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that
  person, or any other person, arising from that
  work or task.

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Application of Legal Duty

• Applies to all activities of an organization, not
  just employment-related tasks
• Duty is imposed upon individuals who have control
  and direction over others (or authority to do so)
  in the performance of a task
• Duty is owed to people performing the task and
  those who may be affected by the task (i.e. the
  public)

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Consequences for individuals

• Personally exposed to charge of criminal
  negligence causing death or bodily harm where
• Contravene the new duty in failing to take
  reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm
• Demonstrate a wanton or reckless disregard for
  the lives or safety of others
• Penalty on Conviction
• 10 years in prison in the case of injury
• Life imprisonment in the event of death

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Receiving Nuclear Substance Shipments

• Section 21.(1) of the Packaging and Transport of
  Nuclear Substances Regulations state
• No person, other than the consignor or the
  consignee of the package, shall open the package
  unless
• a) measures are taken to prevent persons from
  receiving doses higher than the radiation dose
  limits prescribed by the Radiation Protection
  Regulations and
• b) the package is opened in the presence of an
  expert in radiation protection

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Transport Index (TI)

• The transport index is the maximum radiation
  level in microsieverts (µSv) per hour at one
  metre from the external surface of the package,
  divided by 10.
• 1 µSv/h at 1 metre equals a TI 0.1

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Identifying Packages Containing Nuclear Substances

• On Excepted Packages , no external labeling is
  required, and the safety mark RADIOACTIVE must
  be visible upon opening the package. The
  radiation level at any point on the external
  surface of the package must not exceed 5 µSv/h.

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Identifying Packages Containing Nuclear Substances

• Category I White
• Radiation level does not exceed 5µSv/h at any
  location on the external surface of the package

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Identifying Packages Containing Nuclear Substances

• Category II Yellow
• Radiation level does not exceed 500 µSv/h at
  any location on the external surface of the
  package and the transport index does not exceed
  1.

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Identifying Packages Containing Nuclear Substances

• Category III Yellow
• Radiation level does not exceed 2 mSv/h at any
  location on the external surface of the package
  and the transport index does not exceed 10.

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Receiving Nuclear Substance Shipments Basic
Radiation Safety Principles

• TIME
• DISTANCE
• SHIELDING

• ? A as
• ? L low
• ? A as
• ? R reasonably
• ? A achievable

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Receipt of the Shipment

• Upon receipt of a shipment by the receiving
  clerk, the package is examined for any damage or
  leaks prior to signing for the package.
• Once received and signed for the shipment is
  placed on a dolly and delivered to the permit
  holders laboratory.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Once received in the laboratory the trained
  worker should once again perform a visual
  inspection of the shipping container for any
  evidence of damage or leakage

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Here the worker is shown wearing appropriate PPE
  for the shipment received, i.e. lab coat, gloves
  and a personal TLD. In some instances protective
  eyewear may be advisable.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Prepare in advance materials to conduct your wipe
  test, including filter paper or Q-tips, tongs and
  an appropriate number of counting vials that have
  been pre-numbered to avoid any mix ups.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Shipment must be placed in an appropriate area
  for opening
• ? a fume hood where practical particularly if
  the material is volatile
• ? behind appropriate shielding

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Receipt of shipment contd

• If an appropriate survey monitor is available,
  monitor the radiation fields around the package
  and note any discrepancies.
• Most Dalhousie nuclear substance laboratories
  have contamination monitors available only,
  however, it remains good practice to note the
  maximum count rate on the exterior surfaces of
  the package. This information can be used as a
  baseline for future shipments of the same
  material.
• e.g. if a routine shipment normally measures 5000
  cpm at the surface, a same shipment received at a
  later date measuring 50,000 cpm at the surface is
  obviously in error or alternatively a same
  shipment measuring only background levels of
  radiation is similarly in error. Both situations
  need to be reported to the RSO.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Worker is opening the shipment behind appropriate
  shielding

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Once the package has been opened the worker
  verifies the nuclear substance, the quantity and
  other details with the information on the packing
  slip with the purchase order.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Wipe test 1
• ? exterior surfaces of the box

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Wipe test 2
• ? container packing material

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Wipe test 3
• ? exterior surfaces of the pig

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Wipe test 4
• ? exterior surfaces of the primary container
• Please note if the material received is
  highly radioactive it would be appropriate to
  handle the primary container with tongs.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Wipe test 5
• ? interior surfaces of the pig

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Receipt of shipment contd

• At this stage a clean or control wipe should be
  identified as wipe 6
• Monitor and remove gloves used to open the
  package before continuing with next steps

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Proper Glove Removal

• With both hands gloved, peel one glove off from
  top to bottom and hold it in the gloved hand
• With the exposed hand, peel the second glove off
  from the inside, tucking the first glove inside
  the second
• Dispose of the gloves promptly
• Never touch the outside of the glove with bare
  skin
• Wash hands as soon as possible

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Proper Glove Removal
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Receipt of shipment contd

• If you must transport your samples to another
  floor for counting ensure that you do not leave
  the laboratory and enter common areas such as
  elevators wearing gloves.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Ensure that your liquid scintillation or gamma
  counter are on appropriate settings to count your
  wipes.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Loading the samples for counting

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Interpreting your wipe test results

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Receipt of shipment contd

• If your wipe tests on the package and packing
  materials are negative prior to this material
  being disposed of any reference to radioactive
  must be defaced or removed.

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Log the shipment receipt on the Nuclear
  Substance Shipment Receipt log in your yellow
  records binder

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Receipt of shipment contd

• Log all relevant data on the inventory control
  sheet which is unique to each shipment received.
  For easy cross referencing of stock solutions
  against inventory control sheets a numbering
  system of duplicate labels is used one is
  affixed to the pig and the second to the
  inventory control sheet.

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Inventory Record Sheet
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Receipt of shipment contd

• Used vials containing the wipe test samples are
  placed in an appropriate storage container to
  await solvent pick up by the EHS office.