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Volume 5.1 For the University of Maryland Campus January 2003
As the new year begins our office will be sending you an inventory form to complete in February. This form will enable you to check on your current inventory of items and help us maintain the required records under the Code of Maryland Regulations 26.12.01.01. Any items that you have disposed of will not appear on the form. As a reminder, items that you have disposed of must be reported back to our office by using the Radioactive Materials Control Card issued to you at the time you picked up your package. Items not reported back to us remain on your inventory.
Our license to possess and use radioactive material currently requires that personnel using P-32 are required to wear ring badges. This is a condition of our license and an extension of COMAR 26.12.01.01 regulations that require individuals be monitored if they may potentially receive 10% of the exposure limits. Individuals are required to be monitored if they are utilizing radiation-producing machines as well. Our office is currently rethinking our policy on issuance of dosimetry to personnel on campus based on past performance and exposure results for users of radioactive material and radiation producing machines. For example: individuals that have not exceeded their limits over the past several years and have not changed their routine of work may not be required to wear dosimetry in their normal daily use of material or devices. Our office is investigating this aspect of exposure monitoring in accordance with the regulations. Further information will appear in the February Newsletter.
As a reminder on dosimetry requirements, be sure to return all dosimeters within 1 week of receiving your new batch. The University has been cited by the Maryland Department of the Environment Radiological Health Section for not having dosimeters returned by individuals on the campus that use material and devices under the Code of Maryland Regulations. Our office currently has a strict policy concerning the return of badges; however in order to achieve full compliance from all users we are amending the policy. Beginning with the return of the January 25th, 2003 batch of badges, due no later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the March 25th batch, our office will charge a late/lost/unreturned fee to each individual user who has not returned their badge. Look for further details on this in the February Newsletter. If you have questions concerning the receipt and return of your badges call (301) 405-3984.
September 11th changed many aspects of security in the research world. The security of radioactive materials under our license has not changed - we are still required to ensure that material is secured from unauthorized access. Please remind your students and staff to secure the lab by locking the doors when they are not present. Our inspectors have still found occasional instances where the room is open and no personnel are present. This is a violation and is so noted on the citation that you receive from our office. On the subject of violation notices (citations) we are considering the use of email in the future for all notices and replies. Some of you already reply by email, and this seems to provide an easier and more efficient method of communication between our office and yourself.
If you have any comments or would like to discuss any issues concerning your authorization please contact me at (301) 405-3985.
Steve Hand
Radiation Safety Officer
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