Legislation Flashcards
What is IRR 2017? Under what act does it sit? Who is the enforcement body? Who does it apply to? What is ACOP?
IRR 2017 sits under Health and safety act 1974 – enforcement body is the Health and safety executive. Applies to staff and public at large. (patients under IRMER)
-Supported and approved by ACOP (approved code of practice) if you follow ACOP you are compliant with the regulation, if you don’t, you are required to demonstrate how you are compliant with the regulation in other ways
-ACOP is not legally binding in itself but provides guidance on how to comply with regulations.
What is a dose constraint?
-Local limits placed on exposures to patients, staff who do not use radiation, or under special circumstances, carers.
-Limit for members of public: 1mSv
What is the RPS?
-Radiation protection supervisor
-Always on site – ensures local rules are being followed in practical terms within their area of responsibility.
-Usually a radiographer
What is the RPA?
-Radiation protection advisor
- Certificate from HSE. Advises on risk assessments, local guidance, calibration, controlled and supervised areas.
-Advise on compliance of to IRR17
-RPA. Requires all staff to have radiation training. Includes radionuclides.
-Usually medical physicist
*not responsible for optimisation of radiological exams.
What is an RRA?
-Radiation risk assessment– must be undertaken to ensure compliance with IRR. Must be carried out before any new activity involving ionising radiation is carried out (identifies potential hazards, recommends measures to restrict exposures and state whether restrictions to access are required).
What are important pregnancy dose limits?
-Employer must ensure that the equivalent dose to the foetus is less than 1mSv for the remainder of the duration of the pregnancy.
-New RRA carried out.
What is a classified person?
Employee likely to receive effective dose greater than 6mSv, 15mSv eye and 150mSv skin/extremities. A trainee/person under 18 cannot be classified.
-must keep dose records for minimum 30 years.
Dose limits: employees over 18.
-Limit on whole body effective dose
-Equivalent dose to eye, skin/extremities
-limit on whole body effective dose 20mSv/year
-Equivalent dose: lens of eye: 20mSv/year, 100mSv over 5 years with max of 50mSv 1 year.
-Equivalent dose limits for skin/extremities: 500mSv/year
Dose limits: trainees under 18 - effective dose whole body and equivalent dose for eye and skin/extremities
-Limit whole body effective dose: 6mSv/year
-Equivalent dose: lens of eye: 15mSv/year,
-Equivalent dose limits for skin/extremities: 150mSv/year
Dose limits: other persons effective dose whole body and equivalent dose for eye and skin/extremities
-Limit whole body effective dose: 1mSv/year
-Equivalent dose: lens of eye: 15mSv/year,
-Equivalent dose limits for skin/extremities: 50mSv/year
Criteria to designate an area as controlled:
-Anyone working is likely to receive an effective dose greater than 6mSv/year or equivalent dose greater than 15mSv to lens or 150mSv to extremities.
-dose rate in area exceeds 7.5 muSV/hour averaged over working day
-Significant risk of radioactive contamination
-Any person in area required to follow special procedures to mitigate against significant exposure to ionising radiation/protect against radiation accidents.
Criteria to designate an area as supervised:
-Anyone working in area is likely to receive an effective dose greater than 1mSV/year or equivalent dose greater than 5mSV to lens of eye or 50mSv to skin extremities.
What is ARSAC?
: Administration of radioactive substances advisory committee
-Licence covers an individual doctor but the but administration of radionuclides to patients can be performed by suitably trained individuals on behalf of the ARSAC licence holder
-Maximum activity/limits of radiopharmaceuticals that can be administered is set nationally by ARSAC on behalf of Department of Health.
What is IR(ME)R? Who does it apply to and who enforces it?
-Breaches: can be dealt with under criminal law.
-Applies to examinations for medical purposes (dx, tx, health screening, health surveys, medico-legal examinations and research).
-Low dose examinations: if the exposure is more than 20x the intended amount this is legally reportable to HSE.
-Enforced by HSE
Outline the 5 key roles as per IR(ME)R
-Employer: responsible for implementing IRMER – need to provide training/protocols.
-Referrer: provide information on referral to allow practitioner to make a reasoned judgement as to the benefit of the procedure.
-Practitioner: required to justify the medical exposures (can be any health care professional who has had adequate training and is entitled by the employer to carry out this duty – inc radiologist/graphers, cardiologists/dentists).
-Operator: responsible for optimisation of exposures.
-MPE: medical physics expert – usually Health and care professions council (HCPC) registered physicist.
