Article 6. Surveys and Monitoring
12VAC5-481-750. General.
Article 6
Surveys and Monitoring
A. Licensees shall make or cause to be made surveys of areas, including the subsurface, that:
1. Are necessary for the licensee to comply with this chapter; and
2. Are reasonable under the circumstances to evaluate:
a. The magnitude and extent of radiation levels;
b. The concentrations or quantities of radioactive material; and
c. The potential radiological hazards of the radiation levels and residual radioactivity detected.
B. Notwithstanding 12VAC5-481-1000 A, records from surveys describing the location and amount of subsurface residual radioactivity identified at the site shall be kept with records important for decommissioning, and such records shall be retained in accordance with 12VAC5-481-450 C 8.
C. Licensees shall ensure that the survey instruments used to show compliance with this chapter are calibrated before first use, annually (not to exceed 12 months), except when a more frequent interval is specified in another applicable part of this chapter or a license condition, and following a repair that affects the calibration. These calibrations shall include:
1. Use of a radiation source on all scales;
2. At energies appropriate for the use;
3. For linear scale instruments, at two points located approximately one-third and two-thirds of full-scale on each scale; for logarithmic scale instruments, at mid-range of each decade, and at two points of at least one decade; and for digital instruments, at three points between 2 and 1000 mrem (0.02 and 10 millisieverts) per hour;
4. For dose rate instruments, so that an accuracy within plus or minus 20% of the true radiation dose can be demonstrated at each point checked; and
5. Conspicuously note on the instrument the date of calibration.
D. Licensees may not use survey instruments if the difference between the indicated exposure rate and the calculated exposure rate is more than 20%.
E. All personnel dosimeters, except for direct and indirect reading pocket ionization chambers and those dosimeters used to measure the dose to the extremities, that require processing to determine the radiation dose and that are used by the licensee to comply with 12VAC5-481-640, with other applicable provisions of this chapter, or with conditions specified in a license shall be processed and evaluated by a dosimetry processor with the following:
1. Holding current personnel dosimetry accreditation from the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and
2. Approved in this accreditation process for the type of radiation or radiations included in the NVLAP program that most closely approximates the type of radiation or radiation for which the individual wearing the dosimeter is monitored.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008; Volume 32, Issue 24, eff. August 25, 2016.
12VAC5-481-760. Conditions requiring individual monitoring of external and internal occupational dose.
Each licensee shall monitor exposures from sources of radiation at levels sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the occupational dose limits of this part. At a minimum:
1. Each licensee shall monitor occupational exposure to radiation from licensed and unlicensed radiation sources under the control of the licensee and shall supply and require the use of individual monitoring devices by:
a. Adults likely to receive, in one year from sources external to the body, a dose in excess of 10% of the limits in 12VAC5-481-640 A;
b. Minors likely to receive, in one year from radiation sources external to the body, a deep dose equivalent in excess of 100 millirem (1 mSv), a lens dose equivalent in excess of 150 millirem (1.5 mSv), or a shallow dose equivalent to the skin or to the extremities in excess of 500 millirem (5 mSv);
c. Declared pregnant women likely to receive, during the entire pregnancy, from radiation sources external to the body, a deep dose equivalent in excess of 100 millirem (1 mSv); and
d. Individuals entering a high or very high radiation area.
2. Each licensee shall monitor (see 12VAC5-481-670) the occupational intake of radioactive material by and assess the committed effective dose equivalent to:
a. Adults likely to receive, in one year, an intake in excess of 10% of the applicable ALIs in Table 1, Columns 1 and 2, of Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 20;
b. Minors likely to receive, in one year, a committed effective dose equivalent in excess of 100 millirem (1 mSv); and
c. Declared pregnant women likely to receive, during the entire pregnancy, a committed effective dose equivalent in excess of 100 millirem (1 mSv).
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008; Volume 32, Issue 24, eff. August 25, 2016.
12VAC5-481-770. Location of individual monitoring devices.
Each licensee or registrant shall ensure that individuals who are required to monitor occupational doses in accordance with 12VAC5-481-760 wear individual monitoring devices as follows:
1. An individual monitoring device used for monitoring the dose to the whole body shall be worn at the unshielded location of the whole body likely to receive the highest exposure. When a protective apron is worn, the location of the individual monitoring device is typically at the neck (collar);
2. An individual monitoring device used for monitoring the dose to an embryo/fetus of a declared pregnant woman, pursuant to 12VAC5-481-710, shall be located at the waist under any protective apron being worn by the woman;
3. An individual monitoring device used for monitoring the eye dose equivalent, to demonstrate compliance with 12VAC5-481-640, shall be located at the neck (collar), outside any protective apron being worn by the monitored individual, or at an unshielded location closer to the eye;
4. An individual monitoring device used for monitoring the dose to the extremities, to demonstrate compliance with 12VAC5-481-640, shall be worn on the extremity likely to receive the highest exposure. Each individual monitoring device shall be oriented to measure the highest dose to the extremity being monitored.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.