Potentially hazardous areas are monitored and a system of interlocks prevents unauthorized entry into the radiation cell when the source is exposed. Worker safety further rests upon strict operating procedures and proper training. All radiation plants must be licensed. In most countries, regulations require periodic inspection of facilities to ensure compliance with the terms of operating licenses. More radioactive materials will need to be transported if more food irradiators are built.
Radioactive material required for irradiators is transported in lead-shielded steel casks.
These are designed to meet national and international standards modelled upon the Regulations for Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Large quantities of radioactive material are safely shipped all over the world to supply some 170 irradiators processing a variety of goods, mainly medical products such as syringes, physician gloves, sutures, and hospital gowns. From 1955 to early 1988, for example, Canada shipped approximately 190 million curies of cobalt-60 in 870 separate shipments without any radiation hazard to the environment or release of radioactive materials. Over the same period, approximately one million shipments of radioisotopes for industrial, hospital, and research use were made in North America without radiation accidents. This excellent safety record far exceeds that of other industries shipping hazardous materials such as toxic chemicals, crude oil, or gasoline.