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Sci‐AM Fri ‐ 06: Boxes, locks and talks: Making Class II compliance in a regulated environment
Author(s) -
Evans M,
DeBlois F,
AbdelRahman W,
Corns R,
Podgorsak E
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.2031022
Subject(s) - audit , certification , officer , medicine , medical physics , operations management , computer science , business , engineering , political science , accounting , law
Class II facilities in general and cancer centers running a radiation therapy program in particular, are being subjected to increasingly more rigorous regulation by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The mission of the CNSC to regulate the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, security and the environment can sometimes run counter to the day‐to‐day reality of running a cancer clinic. The recent division of our hospital radiation safety program into two distinct components: Class II (radiotherapy) and other (diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, research and laboratories, and consolidated), resulted in a significant improvement in the organization and delivery of radiation safety services. Performing the duties of a Class II Radiation Safety Officer to meet compliance requires a delicate balance of paper‐pushing and common sense: two activities that are often at odds with each other. License activities covered by CNSC document C‐120, such as applications and renewals as well as annual compliance reports, will be discussed. Devices we have installed to facilitate compliance for teletherapy and brachytherapy (HDR and manual) licenses will be presented. Procedures accepted by the CNSC for in‐house leak testing and survey meter calibration (R‐116 and R‐117) and suggestions for facilitating CNSC inspections and audits will also be discussed. Finally, a description of our approach to meeting several recent compliance requirements by the CNSC Nuclear Security Division (within the scope of Prescribed Information limitations) at our cancer center will be reviewed.