1. The document outlines the responsibilities of various staff in a radiology department to ensure radiation safety for patients, users, and the public. 2. Key responsibilities include establishing a Radiation Safety Committee and Section to oversee policy and monitor compliance. 3. Department chairs must ensure justified, necessary exposures and establish codes of practice. 4. Authorized users, radiation safety officers, and individual staff all have specific duties to ensure equipment safety and minimize exposures.

1. Radiation Protection Course For Radiologists
Lecture 6 of 8
Responsibilities of the Radiology Staff
Prof Amin E AAmin
Dean of the Higher Institute of Optics Technology
&
Prof of Medical Physics
Radiation Oncology Department
Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University

2. Purpose

3. Purpose
The principal purposes of this guideline are:
1. to minimize patient exposure in medical diagnostic radiology;
2. to ensure adequate protection of personnel operating or using
x-ray equipment; and
3. to ensure adequate protection of the general public in the
vicinity of areas where diagnostic procedures are in progress.

4. Radiation
safety
Patients
Users
General
public

5. Purpose (cont.)
To assist personnel in achieving these objectives, this Safety
guideline:
1. specifies minimum standards of safe design, construction
and performance for diagnostic x-ray equipment;
2. presents recommended practices for minimizing patient and
operator exposures and ensuring that diagnostic x-ray
equipment is used in a safe manner;
3. sets out the relative responsibilities of the department,
responsible user, operator and other personnel.

6. Radiation
safety
Objectives
standards
practices
responsibilities

7. Organization

8. Organization
• Radiation Safety Committee
• Radiation Safety Section

9. Radiation Safety Committee
Membership
The permanent membership of the Committee shall include;
• Radiation Safety Officer (RSO)
• A professional user from the Radiology Department and any
other ionizing radiation user department (e.g. Radiotherapy,
Nuclear Medicine, etc. if exist).
• A representative of management should be added to insure that
the financial, legal and business interests of the organization
are being considered.

10. Radiation Safety Committee
Responsibilities
1. To review proposals for the diagnostic, therapeutic and research
use of all forms of ionizing radiations.
2. To authorize professional practitioners having suitable training and
experience for specific radiation activities, subject to the standards
of this guideline and that of the user's department.
3. To provide for adequate monitoring methods of exposed personnel.
4. To formulate training programs for the safe use of radiology
equipment.

11. Radiation Safety Committee
Responsibilities
5. To audit the effectiveness of the radiation safety program.
6. To recommend remedial action where regulations are not
observed.
7. To maintain minutes of Committee activities.

12. Radiation Safety Section
• It is an operating unit of specially trained health physicists
which is responsible for ensuring fulfillment with Ministry of
Health regulations.

13. Radiation Safety Section
Responsibilities
1. Implement policy decisions of the Radiation Safety Committee
and provide information, which leads to compliance with
appropriate regulations.
2. Provide general surveillance of all radiation safety activities,
including personnel, and environmental monitoring.
3. Provide routine training for Hospital personnel at various levels
of responsibility on all aspects of radiation protection

14. Radiation Safety Section
Responsibilities
4. Monitor all Hospital x-ray machines and other equipment
capable of producing ionizing radiation.
5. Distribute and process personnel monitoring devices. Document
personnel exposures, and notify individuals of exposures.
Recommend appropriate remedial actions for exposures
exceeding ALARA investigational levels.

15. Responsibilities

16. Department Chairman
Responsibilities
• The Chairman of each using department shall arrange for the
preparation of specific methodologies and a quality assurance
program for any actual or probable ionizing radiation activities.
in order to ensure the following;

17. Department Chairman
Responsibilities
As concerns medical exposure of patients;
1. Unnecessary exposures should be avoided.
2. Necessary exposures should be justifiable in terms of benefits.
3. Finally, the doses actually administered should be limited to
the minimum amount consistent with the medical benefit to
the individual patient.

18. Department Chairman
Responsibilities
As concerns medical exposure of workers;
this shall remain as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA)
within the dose-equivalent limits of the ICRP.

19. Department Responsibilities
• The collaboration between the using department
and the Radiation Safety Department should result
in a code of practice that satisfies the criteria of the
Radiation Safety Committee and features the
following:

20. Department Responsibilities
• The collaboration between the using department
and the Radiation Safety Department should result
in a code of practice that satisfies the criteria of the
Radiation Safety Committee and features the
following:

21. Code of Practice
–Detailed procedures for patient, worker and visitor safety.
–Identification of all "Controlled Areas", displaying
schematically the location of all external radiation devices.

22. Controlled Areas
• This is an area where it is
necessary to follow special
procedures to restrict exposure to
ionising radiation, or
• An area where any person is likely
to receive 1/10th of the dose limit
or more.

23. Controlled Areas
The specific requirements are:
1. The area must be secured when it is not occupied by
responsible personnel.
2. The area must be posted with proper signs indicating the
radiation zone(s) and the sources which is present.
3. Personnel monitoring must be provided where appropriate,
as determined by the Radiation Safety Office.
4. Surveys must be performed to maintain surveillance on the
hazards which might be present, and records kept.
5. Personnel must receive written instructions as to the hazards
present in the area.

24. Code of Practice
–Radiation dose information to patients for all routine
diagnostic examinations, as determinate by direct
measurement.
–Establishment of a quality control program to maintain
optimum standards for quality and safety.

25. Authorized User Responsibilities
1. ensuring that the equipment is maintained properly and
functions correctly;
2. ensuring that the equipment is used and maintained only by
competent personnel;
3. ensuring that the equipment is used correctly;
4. establishing safe operating procedures for the equipment
and ensuring that operating staff are adequately instructed
in them;

26. Authorized User Responsibilities
5. Propagating rules of radiation safety and ensuring that staff are
made aware of them;
6. investigating any high x-ray exposures received by personnel;
7. ensuring that radiation levels outside controlled areas don't
exceed the radiation permissible limits given above
(Appendix I in the Guidelines); and
8. ensuring that the Radiation Protection (Safety) Officer and all
operators receive, or at least have access to, a copy of this
Safety Guideline.

27. Radiation Safety Officer
Responsibilities
1. ensuring that the installation complies with all applicable
regulatory requirements;
2. “certifying” the safety of an installation at the time of planning
and/or construction;
3. the establishment of safe working conditions according to the
recommendations of this Safety Guideline where applicable;
4. ensuring that established safety procedures are being followed and
reporting any non-compliances to the Responsible User;

28. Radiation Safety Officer
Responsibilities
5. reviewing the safety procedures periodically and updating
them to ensure optimum patient and operator safety;
6. instructing personnel in proper radiation protection practices;
7. carrying out routine checks of equipment and facility safety
features and radiation surveys;
8. ensuring that appropriate radiation survey instruments are
available, serviceable and properly calibrated;

29. Radiation Safety Officer
Responsibilities
9. keeping records of radiation surveys, including summaries of
corrective measures recommended and/or instituted;
10.organizing participation, where necessary, in a personnel
radiation monitoring service, such as that provided by the
Radiation Protection Bureau, Cairo, Egypt;

30. Radiation Safety Officer
Responsibilities
11.declaring who is to be considered as an occupationally
exposed person (i.e., all operators of x-ray equipment,
together with persons (e.g., nurses) who routinely participate
in radiological procedures and others likely to receive a
radiation dose in excess of 1/20th of the radiation limits);
12. keeping records of occupational exposures received by
personnel;

31. Radiation Safety Officer
Responsibilities
13.investigating each known or suspected case of excessive or
abnormal exposure to determine the cause and to take
remedial steps to prevent its recurrence;
14.assuring that all safety devices recommended by this
Guideline are functioning and that appropriate warning signs
are properly located; and
15.ensuring that operators understand the contents of this
Guideline.

32. Individuals Responsibilities
1. be aware of the contents of this Safety Guideline;
2. be aware of the radiation hazards associated with their work
and that they have a duty to protect their patients, themselves
and others;
3. have a thorough understanding of their profession, of safe
working methods and of special techniques;

33. Individuals Responsibilities
4. through conscientious use of proper techniques and
procedures, strive to eliminate or reduce to lowest practical
values all patient exposures; and
5. be 18 years of age or older;

34. Individuals Responsibilities
6. A female operator should be encouraged to notify her
department chairman if she believes herself to be pregnant,
in order that appropriate steps may be taken to ensure that
her work duties during the remainder of the pregnancy are
compatible with accepted maximum radiation exposure.