The RSO requires that these employees be trained to use radioactive materials. To see that laboratories follow proper safety procedures, the RSO performs quarterly on-site inspections of all laboratories that use radioactive materials. In addition, laboratories are required to perform surveys, usually weekly, to verify that radiation levels are acceptably low. The RSO performs its own weekly surveys in selected laboratories and also monitors environmental releases. We could use a threshold value 10 times higher if we wished.
Similar monitoring is required in areas that use radioactive material for clinical purposes.
The RSO provides body monitors and conducts bioassays for certain medical employees. Unusual doses are reported to a safety officer and reviewed by the safety committee. The RSO also is the distribution center for radioactive materials. It receives all packages of these materials, about 10,500 a year, distributes them to labs and handles waste disposal. Its strength comes from the cooperation of all the users of radioactive materials.