State of California Department of Health Services

Radiologic Health Branch

VETERINARY RADIATION SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

In accordance with the California Code of Regulations, Title 17, the x-ray user (registrant) is responsible for radiation safety and for assuring that only competent persons operate the x-ray machine(s) under his or her jurisdiction. The registrant must establish rules for radiation safety and require that each operator demonstrate familiarity with the rules.

Items Pertinent to Radiation Safety Include: 1. The operator is responsible for clearing the x-ray room of nonessential persons prior to generating x-rays. 2. No individual shall be regularly employed to hold or support animals during radiography. Operating personnel shall not perform this service, except only in cases for which no other method is available. 3. Personnel monitoring devices must be worn when they are provided or required. The monitoring device must be worn on the outside collar area of the apron. 4. The operator must make use of appropriate protective devices, e.g., leaded aprons and leaded gloves or protective shields. Note: Aprons and gloves must be regularly inspected to insure that tears or animal bites have not damaged the protective material 5. Pregnant or potentially pregnant women, and individuals under 18 years of age, should NOT be utilized to hold animals during radiography. To the extent possible, restraints or anesthesia should be used so that no one has to hold an animal. 6. Careful collimation shall be used to restrict the x-ray beam to the size of the film or smaller.

Posting Requirements: California Code of Regulations, title 17, section 30255 requires, in part, conspicuous posting of: instructions to personnel, radiation safety instructions, Form RH 2364 Notice to Employees, a Caution X-ray sign on the door or inside the x-ray area, and having available a current copy of the California Code of Regulations, title 17.

Personnel Monitoring The purpose of your radiation safety program is to minimize risk from ionizing radiation. The Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, section 20.1201 established an annual occupational exposure limit of 5 rem. One way to evaluate occupational exposure is by monitoring each potentially exposed person with a monthly or quarterly personal dosimeter. Records of exposure histories must be kept indefinitely. Personnel monitoring is supplied by many commercial dosimetry services such as: Radiation Detection Co., (408) 735-8700; R.S. Landauer Co., (800) 323-8830; ICN Dosimetry Service, (800) 251-3331 and others.

Provided to CVMA by the California Department of Health Services, Radiologic Health Branch Post near x-ray equipment along with form RH 2364, Notice to Employees.

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State of California Department of Health Services

Radiologic Health Branch

VETERINARY RADIATION SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS (page 2)

Radiation Protection Barriers or Walls Conventional building materials in walls, partitions, floors and ceiling may provide adequate radiation shielding. However, there are situations where lead shielding may be required due to high workload, office design or other circumstances. The Department recommends that the shielding design for your particular application be developed by a qualified expert (a person having the knowledge and training to evaluate veterinary radiation protection requirements). A list of individuals and/or companies who perform such services is available from the Department at (916) 445-0931. Ordinarily, a wall constructed of two layers of 5/8 gypsum board can be assumed to provide the minimum protection from scattered radiation (considering occupancy and workload factors) if the use of the x-ray equipment does not exceed the following operating parameters: a) 60 seconds/week of actual beam on-time at 90 kVp, or b) 100 seconds/week of actual beam ontime at 65 kVp. NOTE: If your facility is located in either of the following counties, you must contact them prior to construction or remodel. Los Angeles (213) 738-4059 San Diego (619) 694-2169

Unprocessed Film Storage Protection of unexposed x-ray film requires special consideration, since exposure to either primary or scatter radiation will produce artifacts or fogging. If film is not stored in a lead lined box or bin, the darkroom walls receiving radiation exposure should contain the equivalent of 1/16 inch lead.

Additional Methods for Reducing Radiation Exposure to Individuals Include: a) Use of lead equivalent clear acrylic shielding panels that allow visualization of the animal while protecting the operator from radiation. b) Use of rare earth (400 speed or higher) film/screen systems. Such systems reduce exposure times by approximately 50% over high-speed systems. c) Strict attention to proper time/temperature film developing technique for manual processing and/or carefully following the manufacturers guide for your automatic processor. d) Maintaining maximum distance between you and the animal being x-rayed.

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Provided to CVMA by the California Department of Health Services, Radiologic Health Branch Post near x-ray equipment along with form RH 2364, Notice to Employees.

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