How To Become a Radiation Safety Officer

The Radiation Control Program (RCP) requires the following qualifications to become a Radiation Safety Officer in MA.

Radiation Safety Officer

The Agency, Radiation Control Program (RCP), policy  for Radiation Safety Officers is based on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) NUREG-1556 Series guidance, Consolidated Guidance About Materials Licenses (NUREG-1556) | NRC.gov.

The Agency requires the following to meet the guidance: 

• “40 hours” of training and one year of experience is described in Vol. 7. for RSO of limited scope (lower risk) uses.
• The qualifications for the RSO for industrial radiography (higher risk uses), includes radiography certification, 2,000 hours of experience, and formal course work is described in Vol. 2.  That course work should be specifically designed to provide training in managing and implementing a radiation safety program; a basic radiation safety course is not acceptable.
• “The RSO designee should have obtained the above training in formal course(s) designed for RSOs, presented by an academic institution, commercial radiation safety consulting company, or a professional organization of radiation protection experts. In addition, the proposed RSO’s experience should be sufficient to identify and control the anticipated radiation hazards. For example, the RSO should have experience planning and conducting evaluations, surveys, and measurements similar to those required by the licensee’s radiation safety program.”

The Agency will consider alternatives when the radiation safety officer has appropriate training and experience in the field of ionizing radiation, and in addition, has adequate experience and knowledge with respect to the establishment and maintenance of a radiation safety protection program. Training and experience credited may include nationally recognized certifications or registrations in the Health Physics/Radiation Protection field such as CHP or NRRPT.