Topic 6: Radiation Work Permit Pros and Cons

Let’s discuss a Personnel Monitoring Program.

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Years of historical data in many industries has shown minimal, or very low doses, in most industries.  These doses are well below 500 mrem per year, which is 10% of the maximum annual dose limit.  If you are interested in shedding dosimeters, use independent studies to document your justification for badges.

For instance, the Florida Institute of Phosphate Research published a study in 1997 showing phosphate radiation workers in Florida received less than 100 mrem per year.  Now the phosphate industry no longer requires badges.

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If you are able to shed using dosimeters, you should use your survey meter to measure the exposure rates of the work areas.  Then record the amount of time in those areas.  For special projects, use the Radiation Work Permit to calculate doses.  The RSO then transfers these dose amounts to the individual radiation worker’s record.

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If you are able to shed using dosimeters, you should use your survey meter to measure the exposure rates of the work areas.  Then record the amount of time in those areas.  For special projects, use the Radiation Work Permit to calculate doses.  The RSO then transfers these dose amounts to the individual radiation worker’s record.

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The disadvantage of badges are their costs.  There is also the likelihood of loss or damage making it impossible to record the dose for that particular time period.  Badge use today in some industries are a carry over from previous procedures which are blindly being followed.  If you are such an industry, it may be worth a look at your program to see if it can be modified.

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Using the Radiation Work Permit is a relatively new procedure.  It has been accepted in several agreement states because typical doses were minimal.  Using a 40-hour trained radiation worker and using the RWP can provide a fairly accurate dose estimate to radiation workers.  It also provides a log of who worked and what dose they received.