Virginia Law

Except as provided in 12VAC5-481-1780, licensees shall require an individual fulfilling the responsibilities of the radiation safety officer (RSO) or an individual assigned duties and tasks as an associate radiation safety officer as provided in 12VAC5-481-1700 to be an individual who:

1. Is certified by a specialty board who has been recognized by the agency, the NRC, or an agreement state and who meets the requirements of subdivision 5 of this section. The names of board certifications that have been recognized by the NRC or an agreement state are posted on the NRC's Medical Uses Licensee Toolkit Web page. To have its certification process recognized, a specialty board shall require all candidates for certification to (i) hold a bachelor's or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in physical science or engineering or biological science with a minimum of 20 college credits in physical science; (ii) have five or more years of professional experience in health physics (graduate training may be substituted for no more than two years of the required experience) including at least three years in applied health physics; and (iii) pass an examination administered by diplomates of the specialty board that evaluates knowledge and competence in radiation physics and instrumentation, radiation protection, mathematics pertaining to the use and measurement of radioactivity, radiation biology, and radiation dosimetry; or

2. Holds a master's or doctorate degree in physics, medical physics, other physical science, engineering, or applied mathematics from an accredited college or university; has two years of full-time practical training or supervised experience in medical physics (i) under the supervision of a medical physicist who is certified in medical physics by a specialty board recognized by the agency, NRC, or an agreement state or (ii) in clinical nuclear medicine facilities providing diagnostic or therapeutic services under the direction of physicians who meet the requirements for authorized users in 12VAC5-481-1780, 12VAC5-481-1940, or 12VAC5-481-1980; and has passed an examination administered by diplomates of the specialty board that assesses knowledge and competence in clinical diagnostic radiological or nuclear medicine physics and in radiation safety; or

3. Has completed a structured educational program consisting of provisions, as follows:

a. 200 hours of classroom and laboratory training in the following areas:

(1) Radiation physics and instrumentation;

(2) Radiation protection;

(3) Mathematics pertaining to the use and measurement of radioactivity;

(4) Radiation biology; and

(5) Radiation dosimetry;

b. One year of full-time radiation safety experience under the supervision of the individual identified as the RSO on an agency, NRC, or another agreement state license or permit issued by an NRC master material licensee that authorizes similar types of uses of radioactive material. An associate radiation safety officer may provide supervision for those areas for which the associate radiation safety officer is authorized on an agency, NRC, or another agreement state license or permit issued by an NRC master material licensee. The full-time radiation safety experience must involve the following:

(1) Shipping, receiving, and performing related radiation surveys;

(2) Using and performing checks for proper operation of instruments used to determine the activity of dosages, survey meters, and instruments used to measure radionuclides;

(3) Securing and controlling radioactive material;

(4) Using administrative controls to avoid mistakes in the administration of radioactive material;

(5) Using procedures to prevent or minimize radioactive contamination and using proper decontamination procedures;

(6) Using emergency procedures to control radioactive material; and

(7) Disposing of radioactive material; and

c. This individual must obtain a written attestation signed by a preceptor radiation safety officer or associate radiation safety officer who has experience with the radiation safety aspects of similar types of use of radioactive material for which the individual is seeking approval as a radiation safety officer or an associate radiation safety officer. The written attestation must state that the individual has satisfactorily completed the requirements in subdivisions 3 a, 3 b, and 5 of this section and is able to independently fulfill the radiation safety-related duties as a radiation safety officer or has an associate radiation safety officer for a medical use licensee; or

4. Meets the following qualifications:

a. Is a medical physicist who has been certified by a specialty board whose certification process has been recognized by the agency, NRC, or an agreement state under subdivision 1 of 12VAC5-481-1760 and has experience in radiation safety for similar types of use of radioactive material for which the licensee is seeking the approval of the individual as RSO or an associate radiation safety officer and who meets the requirements in subdivision 5 of this section; or

b. Is an authorized user, authorized medical physicist, or authorized nuclear pharmacist (i) identified on an agency, NRC, or another agreement state license; a permit issued by a NRC master material licensee; a permit issued by an agency, NRC, or another agreement state board scope licensee; or a permit issued by a NRC master material license board scope permittee; (ii) has experience with the radiation safety aspects of similar types of use of radioactive material for which the individual has RSO or associate radiation safety officer responsibilities; and (iii) meets subdivision 5 of this section; or

c. Has experience with the radiation safety aspects of the types of use of radioactive material for which the individual is seeking simultaneous approval both as a radiation safety officer and the authorized user on the same new medical use license or new medical use permit issued by a NRC master material licensee. The individual must also meet the requirements in subdivision 5 of this section.

5. Has training in the radiation safety, regulatory issues, and emergency procedures for the types of use for which a licensee seeks approval. This training requirement may be satisfied by completing training that is supervised by an RSO, an associate radiation safety officer, authorized medical physicist, authorized nuclear pharmacist, or authorized user, as appropriate, who is authorized for the types of use for which the licensee is seeking approval.