Washington Administrative Code

(1) In addition to any notification required by WAC 246-221-250, each licensee or registrant shall submit a written report to the department within 30 days after learning of any of the following occurrences:(a) Incidents for which notification is required by WAC 246-221-250; or(b…

(1) The licensee or registrant shall submit a written report to the department within 30 days following any planned special exposure conducted in accordance with WAC 246-221-030. The written report shall:(a) Inform the department that a planned special exposure was conducted;(b) …

(1) Each specific licensee shall notify the department in writing of intent to vacate, at least 30 days before vacating or relinquishing possession or control of premises which may have been contaminated with radioactive material as a result of licensed activities. (2) Each licen…

Each licensee or registrant shall notify the department of changes in any room or area in a facility where a source of radiation is used. Changes of interest to the department include, but are not limited to, new or replacement equipment containing or emitting radiation, increase…

(1) Requirements for notification and reports to individuals of exposure to radiation or radioactive material are specified in WAC 246-222-040.(2) When a licensee or registrant is required pursuant to WAC 246-221-260 to report to the department any exposure of an identified occup…

Operating modeAssigned Protection FactorsI.Air-Purifying Respirators (Particulate b only) c: Filtering facepiece disposable dNegative Pressure . . . .(d) Facepiece, half e. . . .Negative Pressure . . . .10 Facepiece, full . . . .Negative Pressure . . . .100 Facepiece, half . . . …

For each radionuclide, Table I indicates the chemical form which is to be used for selecting the appropriate ALI or DAC value. The ALIs and DACs for inhalation are given for an aerosol with an activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) of one µm (micron) and for three classes (D…

Minimum Quantities1 of Radioactive Material Requiring LabelingRadionuclideQuantity*(µCi)Actinium-2241Actinium-2250.01Actinium-2260.1Actinium-2270.001Actinium-2281Aluminum-2610Americium-2371,000Americium-238100Americium-2391,000Americium-240100Americium-2410.001Americium-24210Amer…

This chapter establishes requirements for notices, instructions and reports by licensees or registrants to individuals engaged in work under a license or registration and options available to such individuals in connection with department inspections of licensees or registrants t…

(1) Each licensee or registrant shall post current copies of the following documents:(a) The regulations in this chapter and in chapter 246-221 WAC;(b) The license, conditions or documents incorporated into the license by reference and amendments thereto;(c) The operating procedu…

(1) All individuals likely to receive in a year an occupational dose in excess of 1 mSv (100 mrem):(a) Shall be kept informed of the storage, transfer, or use of sources of radiation in the licensee's or registrant's facility;(b) Shall be instructed in the health protection consi…

(1) Radiation exposure data for an individual and the results of any measurements, analyses, and calculations of radioactive material deposited or retained in the body of an individual shall be reported to the individual as specified in this section. The information reported shal…

(1) Each licensee or registrant shall afford to the department at all reasonable times opportunity to inspect materials, machines, activities, facilities, premises, and records pursuant to these regulations.(2) During an inspection, department inspectors may consult privately wit…

(1) Department inspectors may consult privately with workers concerning matters of occupational radiation protection and other matters related to applicable provisions of department regulations and licenses to the extent the inspectors deem necessary for the conduct of an effecti…

(1) Any worker or representative of workers who believes that a violation of the act, of these regulations, or of license conditions exists or has occurred in work under a license or registration with regard to radiological working conditions in which the worker is engaged, may r…

(1) If the department of health, office of radiation protection determines, with respect to a complaint under WAC 246-222-070 that an inspection is not warranted because there are no reasonable grounds to believe that a violation exists or has occurred, the office of radiation pr…

The purpose of this chapter is to regulate sources of ionizing radiation as required by RCW 70A.388.040 and 70A.388.050. This chapter provides for the registration of all radiation machine facilities located in Washington state.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040 and 2020 c 20. W…

The definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms in this section and in WAC 246-220-010 apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.(1) "Agent" means a person, company, or dealer that sells, leases, transfers, lends, disposes of, assembles, repairs, r…

A registrant shall register each radiation machine facility with the department. A registrant shall include each radiation machine they own or control in a radiation machine facility registration except if:(1) The radiation machine produces incidental X-rays with an equivalent do…

(1) A registrant shall register each radiation machine facility even if these facilities are under one administrative control, for example, several satellite clinics operated by one health care institution.(2) Each radiation machine facility must have a designated contact person.…

(1) A registrant shall register a radiation machine facility with the department through submission of a business license application and appropriate addendum used by BLS no later than fifteen calendar days after initial use unless a shielding plan review is required.(2) When a r…

A registrant shall:(1) Comply with this chapter and the requirements under:(a) Chapter 246-225 WAC;(b) Chapter 246-225A WAC;(c) Chapter 246-226 WAC;(d) Chapter 246-227 WAC;(e) Chapter 246-228 WAC; and(f) Chapter 246-229 WAC.(2) Comply with general radiation protection rules and s…

A registrant shall submit any change to the registration information to BLS and the department within thirty days.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20B.020, 43.70.110, 43.70.250, and 70.98.080. WSR 19-05-074, § 246-224-0070, filed 2/19/19, effective 3/22/19. Statutory Authority: RCW 7…

(1) A registrant shall renew their registration annually by submitting renewal information and the applicable fees to BLS.(2) If a registrant does not receive a renewal notice, the registrant shall contact BLS.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20B.020, 43.70.110, 43.70.250, and 70.98.…

(1) A registrant that closes a radiation machine facility or removes a radiation machine from service shall notify the department and BLS within thirty days.(2) If a radiation machine is disposed of or transferred within Washington state, the registrant shall provide the departme…

(1) Within fifteen calendar days, any agent who sells, leases, transfers, lends, disposes of, assembles, repairs, replaces, or installs radiation machines or components in Washington state shall notify the department of the:(a) Recipient's name and radiation machine facility addr…

(1) A registrant shall notify the department at least three business days prior to in-state use when bringing a radiation machine into the state for any temporary use. The department may waive the time requirement upon a hardship request by the owner. Notification to the departme…

This chapter establishes requirements, for which a registrant is responsible, for use of X-ray equipment by or under the supervision of an individual authorized by and licensed in accordance with state statutes to engage in the healing arts. The provisions of this chapter are in …

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:(1) "Accessible surface" means the external surface of the enclosure or housing provided by the manufacturer.(2) "Accidental radiation exposure incident" means an exposure to a patient, an operator, or a member of the publi…

(1) No person shall make, sell, lease, transfer, lend, or install X-ray equipment or the accessories used in connection with such equipment unless such accessories and equipment, when properly placed in operation and properly used, shall meet the requirements of this chapter.(2) …

(1) Before construction, the floor plans and equipment arrangement of medical installations (new or modifications of existing installations) utilizing X-rays for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes shall be submitted to:(a) A qualified expert for determination of shielding require…

In addition to other requirements of this chapter, diagnostic X-ray systems shall meet the following requirements:(1) Warning label. The control panel containing the main power switch shall bear the warning statement, legible and accessible to view: "warning: This X-ray unit may …

Fluoroscopic X-ray systems shall meet the following requirements:(1) Limitation of useful beam.(a) The fluoroscopic tube shall not produce X-rays unless the primary barrier is in position to intercept the entire useful beam at all times.(b) The entire cross section of the useful …

The useful beam shall be limited to the area of clinical interest and show evidence of collimation. This shall be deemed to have been met if a positive beam limiting device has been properly used or if evidence of collimation is shown on at least three sides or three corners of t…

(1) Timers. Means shall be provided to terminate the exposure at a preset time interval, preset product of current and time, a preset number of pulses, or a preset radiation exposure to the image receptor. In addition, it shall be impossible to make an exposure when the timer is …

(1) Limitation. All radiographic systems shall be provided with a durable, securely fastened means to limit the source-to-skin distance to not less than 23 centimeters. The requirement can be met when the collimator or cone provides the required limits.(2) Source to receptor dist…

The exposure produced shall be reproducible to within the following criterion: When all technique factors are held constant, the coefficient of variation shall not exceed 0.05.(1) For manual exposure control mode, this shall be deemed to have been met if when four exposures at id…

Radiation emitted from the X-ray tube when the exposure switch or timer is not activated shall not exceed a rate of 2 milliroentgens per hour at 5 centimeters from any accessible surface of the diagnostic source assembly, with the beam-limiting device fully open.[Statutory Author…

(1) Equipment requirements.(a) Leakage radiation. When the tube is operated at its leakage technique factors, the leakage radiation shall not exceed the value specified at the distance specified for the classification of that X-ray system:(i) Contact therapy systems. Leakage radi…

Chapter 246-229 WAC except WAC 246-229-100 (3) and (4) shall apply to medical facilities using therapy systems with energies 1 MeV and above.(1) Definitions. In addition to the definitions provided in WAC 246-225-010, the following definitions shall be applicable to this section.…

(1) Equipment.(a) The protective tube housing shall be of diagnostic type.See WAC 246-225-040(4).(b) Diaphragms, cones, or a stepless adjustable collimator shall be used for collimating the useful beam to the area of clinical interest and shall provide the same degree of protecti…

Compliance with this section is required of healing arts registrants and is designed to ensure the patient and operator exposure is minimized, and to produce optimum image quality and diagnostic information.(1) Manual processing of films:(a) The following relationship between tem…

(1) The use of a special purpose X-ray machine designed and used solely for mammography is required. Exempted from this requirement shall be X-ray equipment using xerography for evaluation of breast implant integrity. (2) All mammographic calibration, evaluation, service, and qua…

The following are areas in which the department considers it important that an individual have expertise for the competent operation of X-ray equipment.(1) Familiarization with equipment.(a) Identification of controls.(b) Function of each control.(c) The use of a technique chart.…

Persons requesting that the department approve a healing arts screening program shall submit the following information and evaluation:(1) Name and address of the applicant and, where applicable, the names and addresses of agents within this state.(2) Diseases or conditions and fr…

This chapter establishes facility design and operation requirements for the use of dental X-ray equipment according to chapter 70A.388 RCW. The scope of this chapter pertains to dental intra-oral and extra-oral radiography and establishes radiation safety requirements for patient…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Artifact" means an undesirable optical density or blemish on a radiographic image that detracts from the diagnostic information.(2) "Barrier" (see "protective barrier"…

The registrant is responsible for directing the operation of the X-ray system and assuring the provisions of chapter 246-222 WAC (Radiation protection—Worker rights) are met. In addition, the registrant shall:(1) Verify that any operator of the X-ray equipment is trained and able…

(1) The department may require the registrant to adopt a written X-ray system radiation safety procedure if there is reason to believe the registrant needs increased attention because of:(a) Inadequate operator training;(b) Extremely high workload;(c) Increased risk of exposure d…

Any individual proposing to conduct a healing arts screening program shall obtain approval from the state health officer as required in WAC 246-225-99930 before conducting the screening program.[Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050 and 70.98.080. WSR 08-14-074, § 246-225A-026, file…