Alabama Administrative Code › Title 420 - ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH › Chapter 420-3-26 - RADIATION CONTROL › Section 420-3-26-.04 - Radiation Safety Requirements For Industrial Radiographic Operations

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) Purpose. This
			 Rule prescribes requirements for the issuance of licenses or registrations for
			 the industrial use of sources of radiation and radiation safety requirements
			 for persons using these sources of radiation in industrial
			 radiography.
(2) Scope. The
			 provisions and requirements of this Rule are in addition to, and not in
			 substitution for, other requirements of the Rules of State Board of Health,
			 Chapter 420-3-26 Radiation Control, Alabama Administrative Code. In particular,
			 the general requirements and provisions of Rules
			 420-3-26-.01,
			 420-3-26-.02,
			 420-3-26-.03,
			 420-3-26-.04,
			 420-3-26-.05, and
			 420-3-26-.10 apply to applicants,
			 licensees and registrants subject to this Rule. Rule
			 420-3-26-.02 applies to licensing
			 and transportation of radioactive material and
			 420-3-26-.05 applies to the
			 registration of radiation machines. Except for sections which are applicable
			 only to sealed radioactive sources, radiation machines and sealed radioactive
			 sources are both covered by this Rule. This rule does not apply to medical uses
			 of sources of radiation.
(3)
			 Definitions. As used in this Rule, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Annual refresher safety training" means
			 a review conducted or provided by the licensee or registrant for its employees
			 on radiation safety aspects of industrial radiography. The review shall
			 include, as a minimum, any results of internal inspections, new procedures or
			 equipment, new or revised rules, and accidents or errors that have been
			 observed. The review shall also provide opportunities for employees to ask
			 safety questions.
(b) "ANSI" means
			 the American National Standards Institute.
(c) "Associated equipment" means equipment
			 that is used in conjunction with a radiographic exposure device to make
			 radiographic exposures that drives, guides, or comes in contact with the
			 source. */
(d) "Cabinet
			 radiography" means industrial radiography conducted in an enclosure or cabinet
			 so shielded that every location on the exterior meets the dose limits for
			 individual members of the public as specified in
			 420-3-26-.03(14).
(e) "Cabinet x-ray system" means an x-ray
			 system with the x-ray tube installed in an enclosure, hereinafter termed a
			 cabinet, that is independent of existing architectural structures except the
			 floor. The cabinet x-ray system is intended to contain at least that portion of
			 a material being irradiated, provide radiation attenuation, and exclude
			 personnel from its interior during generation of radiation. This definition
			 includes x-ray systems designed primarily for the inspection of carry-on
			 baggage at airline, railroad, and bus terminals, and in similar facilities. An
			 x-ray tube used within a shielded part of a building, or x-ray equipment that
			 may temporarily or occasionally incorporate portable shielding, is not
			 considered a cabinet x-ray system.
(f) "Camera" see "Radiographic exposure
			 device".
(g) "Certifiable cabinet
			 x-ray system" means an existing uncertified x-ray system that has been modified
			 to meet the certification requirements specified in
			 21 CFR
			 1020.40.
(h) "Certified cabinet x-ray system" means an
			 x-ray system that has been certified in accordance with
			 21
			 CFR 1010.2 as being manufactured and
			 assembled pursuant to the provisions of
			 21 CFR
			 1020.40.
(i) "Certifying entity" means an independent
			 certifying organization meeting the requirements in Appendix A of this Rule or
			 a state regulatory program meeting the requirements in Appendix A, Parts II and
			 III of this Rule.
(j) "Collimator"
			 means a radiation shield that is placed on the end of the guide tube or
			 directly onto a radiographic exposure device to restrict the size of the
			 radiation beam when the sealed source is cranked into position to make a
			 radiographic exposure.
(k) "Control
			 cable" means the cable that is connected to the source assembly and used to
			 drive the source to and from the exposure location.
(l) "Control drive mechanism" means a device
			 that enables the source assembly to be moved into and out of the exposure
			 device.
(m) "Control tube" means a
			 protective sheath for guiding the control cable. The control tube connects the
			 control drive mechanism to the radiographic exposure device.
(n) "Drive cable" see "Control
			 cable".
(o) "Exposure head" means a
			 device that locates the gamma radiography sealed source in the selected working
			 position.
(p) "Field station" means
			 a facility at which sources of radiation may be stored or used and from which
			 equipment is dispatched.
(q) "Guide
			 tube" means a flexible or rigid tube, or "J" tube, for guiding the source
			 assembly and the attached control cable from the exposure device to the
			 exposure head. The guide tube may also include the connections necessary for
			 attachment to the exposure device and to the exposure head.
(r) "Hands-on experience" means experience in
			 all of those areas considered to be directly involved in the radiography
			 process, and includes taking radiographs, calibration of survey instruments,
			 operational and performance testing of survey instruments and devices, film
			 development, posting of radiation areas, transportation of radiography
			 equipment, posting of records and radiation area surveillance, etc., as
			 applicable. Excessive time spent in only one or two of these areas, such as
			 film development or radiation area surveillance, shall not be counted toward
			 the 2000 hours of hands-on experience required for a radiation safety officer
			 in 420-3-26-.04(15)
			  or the hands-on experience for a
			 radiographer as required by
			 420-3-26-.04(16)(a).
(s) "Independent certifying organization"
			 means an independent organization that meets all of the criteria of Appendix A
			 of this Rule.
(t) "Industrial
			 radiography" means an examination of the structure of materials by the
			 nondestructive method of utilizing ionizing radiation to make radiographic
			 images.
(u) "Lay-barge radiography"
			 means industrial radiography performed on any water vessel used for laying
			 pipe.
(v) "Offshore platform
			 radiography" means industrial radiography conducted from a platform over a body
			 of water.
(w) "Permanent
			 radiographic installation" means an enclosed shielded room, cell, or vault, not
			 located at a temporary jobsite, in which radiography is performed.
(x) "Pigtail" see "Source
			 assembly".
(y) "Pill" see "Sealed
			 source".
(z) "Practical
			 examination" means a demonstration through application of the safety rules and
			 principles in industrial radiography including use of all procedures and
			 equipment to be used by radiographic personnel.
(aa) "Projection sheath" see "Guide
			 tube".
(bb) "Projector" see
			 "Radiographic exposure device".
(cc) "Radiation machine" means any device
			 capable of producing radiation except, those devices with radioactive material
			 as the only source of radiation.
(dd) "Radiation monitor badge" means an
			 individual personnel dosimeter used to measure the radiation dose to the
			 individual's whole body and is processed and evaluated by a dosimetry processor
			 meeting the requirements of
			 420-3-26-.03(17)(c)1
			  and 2.
(ee) "Radiation safety officer for industrial
			 radiography" means an individual with the responsibility for the overall
			 radiation safety program on behalf of the licensee or registrant and who meets
			 the requirements of
			 420-3-26-.04(15).
(ff) "Radiographer" means any individual who
			 performs or who, in attendance at the site where the sources of radiation are
			 being used, personally supervises industrial radiographic operations and who is
			 responsible to the licensee or registrant for assuring compliance with
			 requirements of Agency rules and the conditions of the license or
			 registration.
(gg) "Radiographer
			 certification" means written approval received from a certifying entity stating
			 that an individual has satisfactorily met the radiation safety, testing, and
			 experience criteria in
			 420-3-26-.04(16).
(hh) "Radiographer's assistant" means any
			 individual who under the direct supervision of a radiographer, uses
			 radiographic exposure devices, sources of radiation, related handling tools, or
			 radiation survey instruments in industrial radiography.
(ii) "Radiographic exposure device" means any
			 instrument containing a sealed source fastened or contained therein, in which
			 the sealed source or shielding thereof may be moved, or otherwise changed, from
			 a shielded to unshielded position for purposes of making a radiographic
			 exposure.
(jj) "Radiographic
			 operations" means all activities performed with a radiographic exposure device,
			 or with a radiation machine. Activities include using, transporting except by
			 common or contract carriers, or storing at a temporary job site, performing
			 surveys to confirm the adequacy of boundaries, setting up equipment, and any
			 activity inside restricted area boundaries. Transporting a radiation machine is
			 not considered a radiographic operation.
(kk) "Radiography" see "Industrial
			 radiography."
(ll) "S-tube" means a
			 tube through which the radioactive source travels when inside a radiographic
			 exposure device.
(mm) "Sealed
			 source" means any radioactive material that is encased in a capsule designed to
			 prevent leakage or escape of the radioactive material.
(nn) "Shielded position" means the location
			 within the radiographic exposure device, source changer, or storage container
			 that, by manufacturer's design, is the proper location for storage of the
			 sealed source.
(oo) "Source
			 assembly" means an assembly that consists of the sealed source and a connector
			 that attaches the source to the control cable. The source assembly may include
			 a ballstop to secure the source in the shielded position.
(pp) "Source changer" means a device designed
			 and used for replacement of sealed sources in radiographic exposure devices.
			 They may also be used for transporting and storing sealed sources.
(qq) "Source stop" see "Exposure
			 head."
(rr) "Storage area" means
			 any location, facility, or vehicle that is used to store and secure a
			 radiographic exposure device, a radiation machine, or a storage container when
			 it is not being used for radiographic operations. Storage areas must be capable
			 of being locked or have a physical barrier to prevent accidental exposure,
			 tampering, or unauthorized removal of the device, machine, or
			 container.
(ss) "Storage container"
			 means a device in which sealed sources or radiation machines are secured and
			 stored.
(tt) "Temporary jobsite"
			 means a location where radiographic operations are performed and where sources
			 of radiation may be stored other than the location(s) of use authorized on the
			 license or registration.
(uu)
			 "Underwater radiography" means radiographic operations performed when the
			 radiographic exposure device or radiation machine and/or related equipment are
			 beneath the surface of the water.