Section R12-1-710. Radiation Safety Officer Training

A.      A licensee shall require an individual fulfilling the responsibil- ities of the radiation safety officer, described in R12-1-705, to be an individual who:

1.        Is certified by a specialty board whose certification pro- cess includes all of the requirements in subsection (A)(2) and whose certification has been recognized by the Agency, NRC, or an Agreement State. To have its certifi- cation process recognized, a specialty board shall require all candidates for certification to:

a.         Meet the following minimum requirements:

i.         Hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in physical sci- ence or engineering or biological science with a minimum of 20 college credits in physical sci- ence;

ii Have five or more years of professional experi- ence in health physics (graduate training may be substituted for no more than two years of the required experience)  including at least three years in applied health physics; and

iii. Pass an examination administered by diplo- mates of the specialty board, which evaluates knowledge and competence in radiation phys- ics and instrumentation, radiation protection, mathematics pertaining to the use and measure- ment of radioactivity, radiation biology, and radiation dosimetry; or

b.        Meet the following minimum requirements:

i.         Hold a master’s or doctor’s degree in physics, medical physics, other physical science, engi- neering, or applied mathematics from an accredited college or university;

ii.        Have two years of full-time practical training and/or supervised experience in medical phys- ics;

(1)     Under the supervision of a medical physi- cist who is certified in medical physics by a specialty board recognized by the Com- mission or an Agreement State; or

(2)     In clinical nuclear medicine facilities pro- viding diagnostic and/or therapeutic ser- vices under the direction of physicians who meet the requirements for authorized users qualified under section R12-1- 710(B), R12-1-721, or R12-1-723;

iii.      Pass an examination, administered by diplo- mates of the specialty board, that assesses knowledge and competence in clinical diagnos- tic radiological or nuclear medicine physics and in radiation safety; or

2.        Has completed a structured educational program consist- ing of both:

a.         200 hours of didactic and laboratory training in the following areas:

i.         Radiation physics and instrumentation;

ii.        Radiation protection;

iii.      Mathematics pertaining to the use and measure- ment of radioactivity;

iv.       Radiation biology; and

v.        Radiation dosimetry; and

b.        One year of full-time radiation safety experience under the supervision of the individual identified as the radiation safety officer on an Agency, NRC, or an Agreement State license or permit issued by a NRC master material licensee that authorizes similar type(s) of use(s) of radioactive material involving the following:

i.         Shipping, receiving, and performing related radiation surveys;

ii.        Using and performing checks for proper opera- tion of instruments used to determine the activ- ity of dosages, survey meters, and instruments used to measure radionuclides;

iii.      Securing and controlling radioactive material;

iv.       Using administrative controls to avoid mistakes in the administration of radioactive material;

v.        Using procedures to prevent or minimize radio- active contamination and using proper decon- tamination procedures;

vi.       Using emergency procedures to control radio- active material; and

vii.     Disposing of radioactive material; or

c.         Has obtained written certification, signed by a pre- ceptor radiation safety officer, that the individual has satisfactorily completed the requirements in subsec- tion (A)(2)(a) and (A)(2)(b) and has achieved a level

of radiation safety knowledge sufficient to function independently as a radiation safety officer for a med- ical use licensee; or

3.        Is an authorized user, authorized medical physicist, or authorized nuclear pharmacist identified on the licensee’s license and has experience with the radiation safety aspects of similar types of use of radioactive material for which the individual has radiation safety officer responsi- bilities.

B.       Exceptions.

1.        An individual identified as a radiation safety officer on an Agency, a NRC, or an Agreement State license or a per- mit issued by the NRC or an Agreement State broad scope licensee or master material license permit or by a master material license permittee of broad scope before the effective date of these rules need not comply with the training requirements in subsections (A)(1) through (A)(3).

2.        A physician, dentist, or podiatrist identified as an autho- rized user for the medical use of radioactive material on a license issued by the Agency, NRC, or Agreement State, a permit issued by a NRC master material licensee, a per- mit issued by an Agency, NRC, or Agreement State broad scope licensee, or a permit issued by a NRC master mate- rial license broad scope permittee before the effective date of these rules need not comply with the training requirements in this Article.

C.      The training and experience required in this Section shall be obtained within the seven years preceding the date of applica- tion or the individual shall have had related continuing educa- tion and experience since the required training and experience was completed.

D.      Individuals who, under subsection (B), need not comply with training requirements described in this Section may serve as preceptors for, and supervisors of, applicants seeking authori- zation on Agency licenses for the same uses for which these individuals are authorized.

Historical Note

New Section adopted by final rulemaking at 5 A.A.R. 1817, effective May 12, 1999 (Supp. 99-2). Section repealed; new Section made by final rulemaking at 13

A.A.R. 1217, effective May 5, 2007 (Supp. 07-1). Amended by final rulemaking at 18 A.A.R. 1895, effec- tive September 10, 2012 (Supp. 12-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 20 A.A.R. 324, effective March 8, 2014

(Supp. 14-1).