BERTHOLD TECHNOLOGIES Uni-Probe LB 490, User Manual

Page: 31 / 730

Uni-Probe LB 490
BERTHOLD TECHNOLOGIES GmbH & Co. KG
1 – 31
Volume 1 6 Radiation Protection
1
6
Radiation Protection
6.1
General Information and Guidelines
In order to prevent adverse health effects caused by working with
radioactive substances, limits for the maximum permissible radia-
tion exposure of operating personnel have been agreed upon on an
international level. Appropriate measures in designing the shield-
ings and arranging the measuring system at the measuring site will
ensure that the radiation exposure of the personnel will remain
below the maximum permissible value of 1mSv (100mrem) per
year.
To ensure safe operation and compliance with the legal regulations,
the company has to appoint a Radiation Safety Manager who is
responsible for all questions relating to radiation protection. He will
monitor handling of the radiometric measuring system and, if nec-
essary, formalize the safeguards and any special precautions appli-
cable to a given establishment in formal procedural instructions,
which in special cases may serve as a basis for radiation protection
guidelines. This may be necessary, for example, when a container
can be accessed and it has to be ensured, therefore, that access
shall be permitted only after the useful beam on the shielding is
closed. Radiation protection zones outside the shielding must be—if
they are accessible—marked and guarded. These instructions
should also include checks of the shutter device of the shielding
and actions in case of accidents - such as fire or explosion. Any
special event has to be reported to the Radiation Safety Manager
immediately. He will then investigate any damage and immediately
take suitable precautions if he detects defects that may adversely
affect the safe operation of the system.
The Radiation Safety Manager has to make sure that the provisions
of the Radiation Protection Regulations are observed. In particular,
his duties include instructing the staff on the proper precautions
when working in the vicinity of radioactive substances.
Radioactive sources that are no longer in use or have reached the
end of their service life must be returned to the national radioactive
waste disposal center or to the manufacturer.
Generally, every member of staff should endeavor to minimize any
radiation exposure—even within the permissible limits—by careful
and responsible action and by observing certain safety standards.
The total sum of the radiation dose absorbed by a body is deter-
mined by three factors. On the basis of these factors, certain fun-
damental radiation protection rules can be derived: