Radiation safety training and certification

Radiation Safety: There is a potential update regarding the time frame and content relating to radiation safety training and certification and BINDT is offering to work with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to assist in the preparations for updating PCN-certificated testers. It is understood that HSE is now in talks to mandate/ introduce that all persons, not just PCN-certificated testers, who hold any form of radiation safety certification will be required to undergo refresher training at periods not exceeding three years.

It would imply that any person who is required to undertake a recertification examination for any level of radiation safety certification, now known as BRS or ARS in the PCN Scheme, would be required to attend refresher training in addition to taking the examination updating them on the new and revised requirements contained within the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) and any subsequent revisions.

At some point in the not too distant future, PCN may have to increase the frequency of recertification examinations to comply with HSE requirements. A move from recertification every five years to recertification every three years with compulsory refresher training has been mooted.

Prior to this, HSE will need to establish a defined and standardised training programme, which is in itself a huge task, as the people covered under IRR17 perform such a wide range of tasks – from working in areas with a high radon-222 concentration, through dental and medical radiographers, persons using X-ray fluorescent (XRF) analysers, industrial radiographers using gamma and high-energy X-ray machines and radiotherapists to nuclear workers employed in RCA vessel entry programmes. The significant problem is that the UK has never operated the system that is widespread throughout the rest of the world by which radiation workers are required to be licensed by either their country or state. This is the system favoured by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), which may be one of the reasons that HSE is under pressure from IAEA to change.

Secondly, it would probably require a new raft of legislation to be introduced at government level because, at the moment, HSE (operating under government guidelines regarding the restriction of practice) cannot ‘goldplate’ any existing legislation – one of the reasons that the seven-day notification to HSE for any site radiography was withdrawn from the current regulations.

None of the above has been finalised and should not be considered a done deal at this time, more as a potential set of changes. When further information becomes available updates will be posted.

Does this mean that there is another nail in the coffin for industrial radiography? There are advances in ultrasonic testing (UT) that may replace some radiographic testing (RT); however, different materials, both metallic and non-metallic, are more suitable for RT so it will probably be used for many more years but in a more controlled manner.

Comments by members

This forum post has no comments, be the first to leave a comment.

Submit your comment

You need to log in to submit a Comment. Please click here to log in or register.

<< Back