X. RADIATION SAFETY TRAINING

The goal of providing radiation safety training to the employees of Duke University and Duke University Medical Center is to empower workers to take personal responsibility for minimizing their exposure to radiation. By providing each employee with knowledge of radiation and its biological effects and the regulations governing its use, the University and Medical Center can help provide an environment that is safe for its patients, students, visitors and workers. The content of radiation safety training courses will be determined by the Radiation Safety Officer and the appropriate Radiation Safety Committee based on applicable regulatory guidance, industry consensus standards, and the specific needs of the target audience.

Authorized Users are responsible for ensuring that their staff members have received instruction regarding the safe use of radioactive material and radiation sources in their specific laboratory settings, both through on-the-job training and through didactic training offered by the Radiation Safety Division. The Authorized User is responsible for maintaining documentation of the completion of required training and will be required to supply such documentation to the Radiation Safety Officer or his/her designee as a condition for continued Authorization to use radioactive material or radiation sources.

  1. INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS REQUIRING TRAINING

    2. Individuals employed by Duke University fall into three general categories with respect to their exposure to radiation:

    1. Radiation Workers*: those workers whose major responsibilities involve working with sources of ionizing radiation or radioactive material.
    2. Ancillary Workers**: All personnel who may come in contact with or enter an area that contains radioactive material or sources of ionizing radiation.
    3. Non-Radiation Workers***: personnel who would not normally be expected to encounter radioactive material or radiation sources in the course of their employment at Duke.

    *"Radiation Workers" would include radiologists; radiographers; nuclear medicine physicians and technologists; radiopharmacy technologists; radiation therapy technologists; cardiology technologists working with fluoroscopy equipment; research scientists who are Authorized Users of radioactive material or radiation sources; faculty, technicians and graduate students in certain campus laboratories; nurses on hospital divisions regularly caring for radionuclide therapy patients.

    **"Ancillary Workers" include non-radiology physicians and residents, phlebotomists, Environmental Services workers, waste processors and animal caretakers.

    ***"Non-Radiation Workers" would include administrators and administrative assistants, Food Service employees, clerical staff, Materials Management and so forth.

    These groups will require different levels and frequencies of training. Authorized Users are required to submit evidence of prior training during the application process for medical or research use of radioactive material and radiation sources. This prior education and training may be applied in lieu of certain initial and update training requirements.

  2. TRAINING FREQUENCY

    3. Training occurs on an as-needed basis. However, the Radiation Safety Division subscribes to some basic guidelines for the frequency and intensity with which different groups receive their training. These include:

    1. All new employees of the Medical Center: safety orientation training, including basic information concerning the existence of sources of ionizing radiation and the Radiation Safety program. This is currently performed at the twice-monthly Medical Center Orientations for New Employees.
    2. Radiation workers: initial training including instruction in the proper use and handling of radioactive material and other sources of ionizing radiation. The content of the initial training may be modified for the specific job responsibilities.
    3. Radiation workers and certain ancillary workers: periodic refresher training.
    4. Re-training of workers whose job responsibilities change concerning their use of or exposure to ionizing radiation, or who request additional radiation safety training.
    5. Special training in connection with incidents involving a spill, accident, misadministration, change in regulations, or a documented overexposure.
    6. Radiologists, radiographers, nuclear medicine technologists, radiation oncology technologists and radiation dosimetrists, by virtue of their professional education, certification, and continuing education requirements will be trained on an "as needed" basis. Training venues will include Grand Rounds, seminars and special in-service sessions.

  3. SPECIFIC UPDATE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR BIOMEDICAL AND UNIVERSITY RESEARCH LABORATORIES

    4. Periodic retraining of all staff in the biomedical research laboratories and in those University research laboratories which routinely employ unsealed radioactive material in research will be required at intervals determined by the Radiation Safety Committees. Currently, update training is required annually. The following guidelines will apply:

    1. "Active" status Authorized Users (see Section IV.B) will periodically complete an update training module that emphasizes radiation laboratory management and policy issues.
    2. Radiation workers, students and other users of unsealed radioactive material will periodically complete a module that emphasizes safe laboratory practices, including measures to minimize external exposure and to avoid ingestion of unsealed radioactive material. Participation in this module by Authorized Users is optional.
    3. Both modules may be offered as lecture-style presentations and on-line self-study presentations. Verification of participation will be by certificates or an electronic record. Participants will be responsible for maintaining verification of their training and providing copies of verification of training to their Authorized Users if required.
    4. Proper maintenance of training records in each laboratory is subject to periodic audit by representatives of the Radiation Safety Division.
    5. Laboratories employing only radiation-producing machines or sealed sources will undergo re-training on an "as-needed" basis, at frequencies to be determined by the Radiation Safety Committees in conjunction with the Radiation Safety Officer.
    6. Individuals working in accelerator facilities will undergo re-training on an "as-needed" basis, at frequencies to be determined by the Accelerator Radiation Safety Committees in conjunction with the Radiation Safety Officer.

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