Workplace Monitoring, Health Surveillance, and Local Rules

Health Surveillance

According to the BSS, the licensee needs to make arrangements for appropriate health surveillance in accordance with the rules established by the national regulatory body. The primary purpose of health surveillance is to assess the initial and continuing fitness of employees for their intended tasks.

The health surveillance programme should be based on the general principles of occupational health.

No specific health surveillance related to exposure to ionizing radiation is necessary for staff involved in nuclear medicine procedures. Only in the case of overexposed workers at doses much higher than the dose limits would special investigations involving biological dosimetry and further extended diagnosis and medical treatment be necessary.

Counselling should be available to workers such as women who are or may be pregnant, individual workers who have or may have been exposed substantially in excess of dose limits, and workers who may be worried about their radiation exposure.

Local Rules and Supervision

According to the BSS, employers and licensees must, in consultation with the workers or through their representatives:

• Establish written local rules and procedures necessary to ensure adequate levels of protection and safety for workers and other persons;
• Include in the local rules and procedures the values of any relevant investigation level or authorized level, and the procedure to be followed in the event that any such value is exceeded;
• Make the local rules and procedures, the protective measures, and safety provisions known to those workers to whom they apply and to other persons who may be affected by them;
• Ensure that any work involving occupational exposure be adequately supervised and take all reasonable steps to ensure that the rules, procedures, protective measures, and safety provisions be observed.

These local rules should include all working procedures involving unsealed sources in the facility such as:

• Ordering radionuclides;
• Unpacking and checking the shipment;
• Storage of radionuclides;
• General rules for work in controlled and supervised areas;
• Preparation of radiopharmaceuticals;
• Personal and workplace monitoring;
• In-house transport of radionuclides;
• Management of radioactive waste;
• Administration of radiopharmaceuticals to the patients;
• Protection issues in patient examinations and treatments;
• Routine cleaning of facilities;
• Decontamination procedures;
• Care of radioactive patients.

It is the responsibility of the licensee of the nuclear medicine facility to ensure that local rules are established, maintained, and continually reviewed. The RPO would have significant involvement in this process.

RPO*: radiation protection offcier