Radiation safety program manager

I also serve as the University's

Radiaiton safety officer and laser safety officer

The largest program area within radiation safety

Is radioactive materials

This includes 50 principle investigators

285 research staff and 233 locations

On the Iowa State University campus

Contamination monitoring is required

To maintain our license conditions

But makes good sense as a way to manage

Radiaiton exposure

Radiation workers are exposed to

Radiaiton and this can add to their

Lifetime cancer risk

By reducing radiation exposure through monitoring

We can imrpove the health of workers

Who rely on radioactive materials to complete their work

The radiation hazard of radioactive materials

Has the potential to impact areas beyond the lab

Material can migrate from containment

And once uncontained this material has the potential

To move outside the lab to public areas

To cars, and buses, even homes where it can expose the public

It should be the goal of all staff

Using radioactive material to ensure that radiation

Exposure is kept as low as possible

To themselves and the general public

One of the most important services the

Radiation safety group provides is

Radiation contamination and exposure monitoring

Monitoring is completed to evaluate and minimize

Risk from the use of radioactive material

Upon arriving to the lab

Monitoring is completed in two phases

The first phase involves a meter survey

To assess areas greater that background levels

And to assess and radiation exposure hazards

Meter selection is determined by the types of

Materials that are contained in the lab

And may require more than one type of meter

To go ahead and take the survey

The second monitoring phase includes

Collecting a series of smears to

Monitor for removable contamination

And to check for materials that can not

Be detected with portable instruments

Smear samples are collected from work areas

Equipment, enterences, and areas with

Potential loose material such as door handles

Faucets, and refridgerators

Once the lab survey is completed the smears are

Returned to EH&S for further analysis

Using proportional and liquid simulation counters

Through smear sampling the radioactivity of an area

Can be derived and analyzed for decontamination

Contamination monitoring improves the labs ability

To keep exposures as low as possible

While the workers reap the greatest benefits

From good monitoring practices, we are also

Protecting the public from the invisible hazard