Basic Course in Radiation Protection in Research and Teaching

Provided for those who are intending to use unsupervised (or might be exposed to), radiation or radioactive material in research and teaching.

This course is held around four times a year and it includes video, talks, and practical demonstrations. The Introduction Module , Regulation Module and Module A are available on Learn, to be completed at anytime.

For new workers, attendance at the course is mandatory and unsupervised work involving ionising radiation is not permitted until the course has been completed.

Syllabus

This course provides instruction on the nature of radiation and radioactivity, the hazard and risk it presents, the necessary control measures, and the application and method of compliance with relevant radiation safety legislation.

Introduction	Scientific background and units in radiation protection Structure of matter, nuclear stability Interaction of radiation with matter Principles of protection The effects of radiation What we need to measure and how it is quantified
	Hazard and risk from radiation External and internal radiation hazards Penetrating powers of radiation Routes of entry into the body Surface and air contamination General control of the radiation risk
	Measuring the risk Choice and use of monitoring instruments Personal monitoring Monitoring the internal risk
Regulation	Official requirements for work with ionising radiation History of regulatory control The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and associated Guidance Controlled and Supervised Areas Chain of responsibility University arrangements
Module A	Radioactive Tracers
Module B	Sealed Sources and X-ray sources (including gamma irradiators and general x-ray)
Assessment	Each module has a short 10 question assessment to demonstrate competency.
Module C	X-ray Analysis (XRD, XRF etc.). This is now a standalone course Basic Radiation Protection Course for Analytical X-ray Equipment Users

Suitability

Those wishing to work with radiation should undertake the Introduction and Regulation modules plus any Application Modules that are relevant to their work. If you have undertaken, and have evidence of, a basic radiation protection course from another establishment you will need to undertake the Regulation module only.

The information provided in the course must be supplemented by training and instruction in practical procedures in the department before a worker submits a "Proposed Scheme of Work" application for approval.

Workers who have come to the University from other establishments can undergo unsupervised radiation work without attending the full course, provided that:

they have received formal instruction in radiation protection elsewhere and that training covers the matters listed in the above syllabus;
they can provide confirmatory evidence of their training along with, where appropriate, previous radiation dose records;
they receive local instruction appropriate to their work at the University;
they attend the "Regulation" section at the first opportunity - this is because training at another establishment does not inform them of the safety arrangements at the University of Edinburgh.

If they are unable to meet these conditions, they must attend the whole course and not undergo unsupervised radiation work until they have done so.

Course Attendance

Online training

STAFF

Each module is presented as a separate course in P&M, to allow P&M to register completion of individual modules.  All of the modules can be found in the "Health and Safety: Radiation (Basic protection in research & teaching) community by clicking on the link below.

STAFF: Basic course in radiation protection in teaching and research training

STUDENTS

This course is available in Learn Ultra. Matriculated students have the ability to self-enrol. Click the link below for step-by-step instructions:

How to enrol on Learn Ultra from the course catalogue

If you encounter any problems please email -safety.training@ed.ac.uk quoting your name, student number and the course you wish to be enrolled on.

Face to face training

Registration

If you are a University of Edinburgh student/staff member please log on to MyEd and locate the course within the Event Booking channel.

If you are from outside the University please send an email to Health.Safety@ed.ac.uk including your name, organisation, contact details, supervisor's name and contact details.

Attendance fees

Attendance is free to members of the University and Health Board departments and of other institutes that have appointed the University Radiation Protection Adviser as their Radiation Protection Adviser. A small charge will be payable for others attending. For details, please contact the Health and Safety Radiation Protection Unit.

Further details

If you require further details please contact the University Radiation Protection Unit.

Tel: +44 (0)131 650 2819/651 4583

Email: radiation@ed.ac.uk

This article was published on 2024-07-22