Chapter 481. Virginia Radiation Protection Regulations

Records of tests for leakage or contamination of sealed sources (required by 12VAC5-481-740) shall be kept in units of becquerel or microcurie and maintained for five years after the records are made. Statutory Authority§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.

The licensee or registrant shall retain the records of prior occupational dose and exposure history as specified in 12VAC5-481-680 on an occupational radiation exposure form provided by the agency or equivalent until the agency terminates each pertinent license or registration re…

A. For each use of the provisions of 12VAC5-481-690 for planned special exposures, licensees shall maintain records that describe the following: 1. The exceptional circumstances requiring the use of a planned special exposure; 2. The name of the management official who authorized…

A. Licensees shall maintain records of doses received by all individuals for whom monitoring is required pursuant to 12VAC5-481-760 and records of doses received during planned special exposures, accidents, and emergency conditions. These records shall include, when applicable: 1…

A. Each licensee or registrant shall maintain records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the dose limit for individual members of the public per 12VAC5-481-720. B. The licensee or registrant shall retain the records required by subsection A of this section until the agency…

A. Each licensee or registrant shall maintain records of the disposal of licensed or registered materials made pursuant to 12VAC5-481-920 through 12VAC5-481-950, Part XI (12VAC5-481-2330 et seq.) of this chapter, and disposal by burial in soil, including burials authorized before…

A. Each licensee or registrant shall maintain records of tests made on entry control devices for very high radiation areas. These records must include the date, time, and results of each such test of function. B. The licensee or registrant shall retain the records required by sub…

Each record required by Part IV (12VAC5-481-600 et seq.) of this chapter shall be legible throughout the specified retention period. The record shall be the original or a reproduced copy or a microform, provided that the copy or microform is authenticated by authorized personnel …

Article 13 Reports A. Each licensee or registrant shall report to the agency by telephone as follows: 1. Immediately after its occurrence becomes known to the licensee, stolen, lost, or missing licensed or registered radioactive material in an aggregate quantity equal to or great…

A. Each licensee and registrant shall afford the agency at all reasonable times opportunity to inspect sources of radiation and the premises and facilities wherein such sources of radiation are used or stored. B. Each licensee and registrant shall make available to the agency for…

A. Notwithstanding any other requirements for notification, licensees shall immediately report each event involving radioactive material possessed by the licensee that may have caused or threatens to cause any of the following conditions: 1. An individual to receive: a. A total e…

A. Licensees shall notify the agency as soon as possible but not later than four hours after the discovery of an event that prevents immediate protective actions necessary to avoid exposures to radiation or radioactive materials that could exceed regulatory limits or releases of …

The licensee or registrant shall submit a written report to the agency within 30 days following any planned special exposure conducted in accordance with 12VAC5-481-690, informing the agency that a planned special exposure was conducted and indicating the date the planned special…

A. This section applies to each person licensed or registered by the agency to: 1. Possess or use sources of radiation for purposes of industrial radiography pursuant to Parts III (12VAC5-481-380 et seq.) and V (12VAC5-481-1170 et seq.) of this chapter; or 2. Receive radioactive …

A. Requirements for notification and reports to individuals of exposure to radiation or radioactive material are specified in 12VAC5-481-2280. B. When a licensee or registrant is required pursuant to 12VAC5-481-1110 to report to the agency any exposure of an individual to radiati…

The licensee or registrant shall file a report within five days with the agency if the test for leakage or contamination required pursuant to 12VAC5-481-740 indicates a sealed source is leaking or contaminated. The report shall include the equipment involved, the test results and…

A. Each licensee who manufactures a nationally tracked source shall complete and submit a National Source Tracking Transaction Report. The report must include the following information: 1. The name, address, and license number of the reporting licensee; 2. The name of the individ…

Article 14 Additional Requirements

A. General provisions and applicability. 1. This part applies to the decommissioning of facilities licensed under this chapter. 2. This part does not apply to sites that: a. Have been decommissioned before the effective date as stated in 12VAC5-481-160; or b. Have previously subm…

Article 1 General Requirements This part 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. Statutory Author…

The provisions and requirements of this part are in addition to, and not in substitution for, other requirements of these regulations. In particular, the general requirements and provisions of Parts I (12VAC5-481-10 et seq.); II (12VAC5-481-260 et seq.); III (12VAC5-481-380 et se…

A. Uses of certified and certifiable cabinet X-ray systems are exempt from the requirements of this part except for 12VAC5-481-1200 and the following: 1. For certified and certifiable cabinet X-ray systems, including those designed to allow admittance of individuals: a. No regist…

A. The agency will approve an application for a specific license for the use of licensed material or a registration for use of radiation machines if the applicant meets the following requirements: 1. The applicant satisfies the general requirements specified in Part II (12VAC5-48…

A. Equipment used in industrial radiographic operations must meet the following minimum criteria: Each radiographic exposure device, source assembly or sealed source, and all associated equipment must meet the requirements specified in American National Standard Institute, N432‑1…

The maximum exposure rate limits for storage containers and source changers are 2 mSv (200 mrem) per hour at any exterior surface, and 0.1 mSv (10 mrem) per hour at one meter from any exterior surface with the sealed source in the shielded position. Statutory Authority§ 32.1-229 …

A. Each radiographic exposure device must have a lock or outer locked container designed to prevent unauthorized or accidental removal of the sealed source from its shielded position. The exposure device and/or its container must be kept locked, and if a keyed-lock, with the key …

A. The licensee or registrant shall keep sufficient calibrated and operable radiation survey instruments at each location where sources of radiation are present to make the radiation surveys required by this part and by Part IV (12VAC5-481-600 et seq.) of this chapter. Instrument…

A. The replacement of any sealed source fastened to or contained in a radiographic exposure device and leak testing of any sealed source must be performed by persons authorized to do so by the agency, the NRC, or another agreement state. B. The opening, repair, or modification of…

A. Each licensee or registrant shall conduct a quarterly physical inventory to account for all sources of radiation, and for devices containing depleted uranium received and possessed under the license. B. The licensee or registrant shall maintain records of the quarterly invento…

A. The licensee or registrant shall perform visual and operability checks on survey meters, radiation machines, radiographic exposure devices, transport and storage containers, associated equipment and source changers before each day's use, or work shift, to ensure that: 1. The e…

A. Each entrance that is used for personnel access to the high radiation area in a permanent radiographic installation must have either: 1. An entrance control of the type described in 12VAC5-481-780 that causes the radiation level upon entry into the area to be reduced; or 2. Bo…

A. Licensees may not use a source changer or a container to store radioactive material unless the source changer or the storage container has securely attached to it a durable, legible, and clearly visible label bearing the standard trefoil radiation caution symbol conventional c…

Sources of radiation shall be subject to impounding pursuant to § 32.1-238 of the Code of Virginia. Statutory Authority§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.

Article 2 Radiation Safety Requirements A. Whenever radiography is performed at a location other than a permanent radiographic installation, the radiographer must be accompanied by at least one other qualified radiographer or an individual who has at a minimum met the requirement…

A. The radiation safety officer shall ensure that radiation safety activities are being performed in accordance with approved procedures and regulatory requirements in the daily operation of the licensee's or registrant's program. B. The minimum qualifications, training, and expe…

A. The licensee or registrant may not permit any individual to act as a radiographer until the individual has received at least 40 hours of training in the subjects outlined in subsection G of this section in addition to on the job training consisting of hands-on experience under…

A. Operating and emergency procedures must include, as a minimum, instructions in the following: 1. Appropriate handling and use of sources of radiation so that no person is likely to be exposed to radiation doses in excess of the limits established in Part IV (12VAC5-481-600 et …

The radiographer's assistant shall be under the personal supervision of a radiographer when using sources of radiation or conducting radiation surveys required by subdivision 2 of 12VAC5-481-1360 to determine that the sealed source has returned to the shielded position or the rad…

A. The licensee or registrant may not permit any individual to act as a radiographer or a radiographer's assistant unless, at all times during radiographic operations, each individual wears, on the trunk of the body, a direct reading dosimeter, an operating alarming ratemeter, an…

The licensee or registrant shall: 1. Conduct all surveys with a calibrated and operable radiation survey instrument that meets the requirements of 12VAC5-481-1240; 2. Conduct a survey of the radiographic exposure device and the guide tube after each exposure when approaching the …

During each radiographic operation, the radiographer shall ensure continuous direct visual surveillance of the operation to protect against unauthorized entry into a radiation area or a high radiation area, as defined in Part I (12VAC5-481-10 et seq.) of this chapter, except at p…

All areas in which industrial radiography is being performed must be conspicuously posted as required by 12VAC5-481-860. The exceptions listed in 12VAC5-481-870 do not apply to industrial radiographic operations. Statutory Authority§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.

Article 3 Recordkeeping Requirements Each licensee or registrant shall maintain a copy of its license or registration, documents incorporated by reference, and amendments to each of these items until superseded by new documents approved by the agency, or until the agency terminat…

A. A hand-held fluoroscopic screen shall not be used with X-ray equipment unless it has been listed in the Registry of Sealed Source and Devices or accepted for certification by the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health. B. Shoe-fitting fluorosc…

A. Each licensee or registrant shall maintain records showing the receipts and transfers of sealed sources, devices using DU for shielding, and radiation machines, and retain each record for three years after it is made. B. These records must include the date, the name of the ind…

Each licensee or registrant shall maintain records of the calibrations of its radiation survey instruments that are required under 12VAC5-481-1240 and retain each record for three years after it is made. Statutory Authority§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.