What is a Radiation Safety Officer? Roles, Responsibilities, and Basic Duties of an RSO
A Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) is responsible for implementing and enforcing occupational radiation safety protocols within a workplace that handles radioactive materials, such as a hospital or research laboratory. A typical RSO’s overall goal is to implement a compliant radiation protection program, ensuring the enforcement of safety protocols through measures such as dosimetry programs. A lot goes into this position, especially since being a Radiation Safety Officer is not often the sole role for many RSOs.
At LANDAUER, we specialize in dosimetry management and radiation safety, partnering directly with Radiation Safety Officers; in some cases, we even serve as them (check out our RSO support services here). Below, we’ll break down what it means to be a Radiation Safety Officer, including the roles and responsibilities associated with the job, along with the skills required to excel in this position.
Table of Contents
Radiation Safety Officer Job Overview
Radiation Safety Officer Roles: What Does a Radiation Safety Officer Do?
Radiation Safety Officer Responsibilities
A Day in the Life of a Radiation Safety Officer
Who Can Become a Radiation Safety Officer?
Training and Certifications Needed to Become an RSO
Radiation Safety Officer Job Overview
A Radiation Safety Officer is a person designated on a radioactive material license whose job is to monitor, identify, and correct radiation safety problems within an organization that works with radioactive materials. RSOs have delegated authority, or the legal ability to speak for the licensee and guide their organization’s radiation protection plan (RPP). These RPPs are governance documents used as a playbook for radiation safety and are tailored to each organization based on numerous factors including the modalities they use and what states they’re operating in.
“RSOs can delegate,” explains LANDAUER Radiation Safety Support Services Director and RSO Shawn Pickett. “They don’t have to physically do everything, but they can have a team behind them to help conduct those activities.” While RSOs are responsible for implementing RPPs, it’s their job to entrust tasks to others to ensure radiation safety protocols and procedures are followed and meet regulatory compliance, which leads to the safety of the workers, patients, and general public. At the end of the day, the licensee is ultimately responsible.
Radiation Safety Officer Roles: What Does a Radiation Safety Officer Do?
While many Radiation Safety Officers have similar responsibilities, no RSO shares the exact same role as another. Roles can vary based on the specific job that they’re working in, the industry they’re a part of, and their individual expertise. However, all RSOs must have the authority to take necessary actions to ensure safety, such as modifying or halting procedures when radiation exposure needs to be minimized, following ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principles.
The specific role of a Radiation Safety Officer for each company or organization is defined within the radioactive materials license that is submitted to the state or agency. While the licensee is ultimately responsible for regulatory compliance, inspectors will evaluate the RSO and the radiation safety program based on the duties and responsibilities outlined in the license. For example, if an RSO noted that they’d complete a specific number of inspections and surveys in all areas that use radioactive materials, an inspector would check and hold them to that number.
Radiation Safety Officer Responsibilities
There are often some similar responsibilities of RSOs. These include:
- Ensuring radiation exposure is as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and access to radioactive materials is limited only to those deemed necessary
- Supervision of radioactive material (RAM) inventory, orders, and shipments (signing docs, authorizing use, securing materials, following Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Transportation requirements, etc.)
- Managing personnel monitoring often through occupational dosimetry programs
- Managing licenses
- Making sure workers have received proper radiation safety training
- Radiation protection plan audits and audits of other policies/procedures involving radiation
- Ensuring radiation-emitted equipment is calibrated correctly
- Determining proper disposal of radioactive waste
- Labeling of radiation areas with proper signage
- Record keeping including personnel monitoring, leak test, inventory, training, and receipt, transfer, and disposal records
- Point of contact to notify authorities if there are any incidents such as misplaced materials, theft, or fires
- Staying informed with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations
- Any other job duties listed on the license form submitted to the NRC
Currently, the APPM Report 160 NUREG Guide 1556 Volume 9 Revision 3 from the NRC is the most up-to-date resource listing Radiation Safety Officer responsibilities and includes guidance around radioactive material licenses.
A Day in the Life of a Radiation Safety Officer
A day in the life of an RSO can vary vastly. Many RSOs do this dedicated work while balancing regular job duties such as working as a nuclear medicine technologist or medical physicist. Below is an example of a day in the life of an RSO working in the medical field.
When working as an RSO at a hospital, LANDAUER Radiation Safety Support Services Director Shawn Pickett says that he started every day by checking in to see if there were any incidents or changes overnight such as a seed becoming dislodged or going missing which could lead to radioactive contamination. Once any incidents were addressed, he would conduct rounds, checking in with the various departments and work areas to touch base and remind them who their RSO is since employers need to know who to go to for any radiation concerns.
Outside of daily duties, RSOs oversee vital recurring radiation safety tasks such as reviewing dosimeter reports, ensuring the organization’s radioactive materials licenses are up-to-date, and applying for any required amendments or renewals.
Who Can Become a Radiation Safety Officer?
Becoming a Radiation Safety Officer requires specific training and a background in science. RSOs often have previous experience as nuclear medicine technologists, medical physicists, radiologists, or physicians. You can become an RSO by going through education and training without certification or you can go through the certification route with some education and training.
“[An RSO] can be a variety of people with a variety of backgrounds,” explains Shawn Pickett. “The important thing is they do require education and training specifically for the radioactive materials or radiation-generating machines that you have on your site.”
There are also ARSOs which are known as alternate or associate Radiation Safety Officers. ARSOs are required to have all the same qualifications as RSOs to be added to a license. They can serve as an RSO if the current RSO is out on vacation or out sick.
Training and Certifications Needed to Become an RSO
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, RSOs and ARSOs need to have certain education, training or experience to be named on a license and work as safety officers. In some cases, RSOs may be listed on a license with a temporary status, but they’ll need to complete any additional training to meet the full qualification requirements and serve safely as an RSO.
When it comes to education, RSOs typically need a bachelor’s or graduate’s degree in physical or biological sciences. For some RSO roles, a master’s degree or doctorate in fields like physics, engineering, or mathematics may be preferred on top of that. In addition to their degree, 200 hours of classroom or laboratory training is generally required. These 200 hours are commonly completed in three different ways:
- College credit: 16 hours per semester college credit; 12 hours per quarter semester college credit
- RSO training course: several programs offered around the country (most are 40 hours)
- Education/CEU within last 7 years: (graduate of accredited nuclear medicine program)
These are just some of the requirements necessary for the job. The NRC has a full breakdown of the training and certification requirements for RSOs.
Skills Required for RSOs
While some of these soft skills below may not be official requirements for serving as an RSO, they can be essential to being a successful RSO.
- Strong organizational skills for recordkeeping
- Data analysis for understanding reports
- Strong follow-through
- Attention to detail
- Leadership and delegation skills
- Troubleshooting technical or procedural issues that could lead to radiation safety concerns
Technical skills that can be important for RSOs include:
- Strong radiation protection experience
- Physics background
- Radioactive waste management experience
- Emergency response knowledge
- Familiarity with national and state regulations
- Previous licensing and documentation experience
- Audit and inspection preparedness
Challenges of Being an RSO
There are a lot of challenges to working as an RSO, and many RSOs find themselves in the tough position of keeping track of difficult rules and regulations that they haven’t had experience managing before. RSOs are often in high demand because they are required for any workplace that has a radioactive materials license. With many RSOs doing the job on top of their regular duties, finding the time, energy, and ability to complete the RSO work and keep up to date with radiation safety regulations can be difficult.
RSOs also need to be organized to ensure their organization stays within compliance and is prepared for any potential audits or inspections. One specific challenge is when it’s time for a license to be renewed. Since radioactive materials licenses must be renewed anywhere from five to 10 years, many RSOs may not have experience with the process or know how to rewrite the license from scratch. In some cases, RSOs may even quit rather than try to figure out how to do the renewal.
How LANDAUER Helps RSOs
The good news is RSOs don’t have to go through their work alone. As specialists in radiation safety and radiation protection plans, LANDAUER is more than just a trusted provider for dosimeters; our team of experts can help RSOs with everything from dosimetry management to regulatory compliance and radiation protection plans, saving companies time and money. While in some cases LANDAUER can even serve as an RSO, our team’s main goal is to assist RSOs in completing their work and help relieve the pressure when it comes to tedious technical tasks that come with the job.
On top of providing whole-body dosimeters such as the Luxel+, our LANDAUER team can also help with additional reports beyond dosimetry reports. These reports can include ALARA memos and annual forms 4 or form 5 (check out this webinar on how to transition to a paperless Form 5 process via myLDR) as well as quarterly reviews of the dosimetry program for RSOs to present at committee meetings. Radiation safety consulting services can give RSOs access to experts to discuss everything from employee issues to licensing concerns and other radiation safety issues.
Radiation Safety Officer FAQs
When is a Radiation Safety Officer required?
Radiation Safety Officers are required whenever radioactive materials are present. This can include anywhere from hospitals to research laboratories and nuclear power plants.
What industries need Radiation Safety Officers?
Industries that have Radiation Safety Officers include but aren’t limited to healthcare, research, pharmaceutical, nuclear power, manufacturing, and industrial industries.
What’s the difference between a Radiation Safety Officer and the individual responsible for radiation protection (IRRP)?
RSOs are the designated position required by regulatory bodies such as the NRC for organizations that use radioactive materials or work with radiation-producing equipment. Meanwhile, the person responsible for radiation protection is a less formalized version of an RSO that often helps with the safety practices for lower-risk radiation sources like X-ray machines.
Can there be more than one RSO?
No, there is only one RSO named per radioactive materials license (RML). However, in larger or more complex organizations, there may be additional support roles. For instance, an Assistant Radiation Safety Officer (ARSO) can be named on the license to assist the RSO with specific responsibilities. In some cases, separate RMLs may exist for different operations, such as one for nuclear medicine and another for radiation therapy, each with its own designated RSO.
What are the different types of radioactive materials licenses (RMLs)?
There are numerous licenses an RSO can be listed on including, but not limited to:
- Broad scope licenses
- Limited scope licenses
- Medical licenses Manufacturing licenses
- Academic research licenses
What’s the difference between a broad-scope license and a limited-scope license?
Broad-scope licenses have a committee that decides what materials are used and approves users. These licenses allow the organizations more authority locally to conduct business and approve uses faster, but that comes with a higher cost, oversight, and inspections. In limited-scope licenses, users are more beholden to the state and must get approval before being able to move forward with changing use types, adding users, and other changes.
How much do Radiation Safety Officers make?
RSO salaries vary based on the industry they’re working in, their organization, and experience. Some RSOs who are doing the job on top of their regular job duties may get additional compensation for the additional work they’re doing.
Looking for more resources?
Contact LANDAUER to get help with radiation safety training and support with radiation safety services.