Radiation safety programs must maintain the limits of their license conditions as established by local, state, and federal regulations. This entails a full and complete understanding of institutional policies, best practices, and guiding regulations. As such, transparency is hugely beneficial to those entrusted with tracking and enforcing the safe use of radioisotopes, identifying any existing or potential radiation safety problems, and initiating corrections to those issues. All of these activities come into play when filing regulatory reports and all can be greatly assisted by the implementation of a user-friendly, safety management software with built-in features such as automated radioisotope tracking, data exports, and centralized communications.   

FILING REPORTS 

Having a digital database to refer to when audits are being performed at a facility makes complicated procedures extremely transparent. When a facility originally received 100 millicuries of a radioisotope, users can follow the trail of every transaction that took place and was logged in the system for all 100 millicuries. If that volume was split into 10 different vials that contained 10 millicuries each, and 4 of those vials have been submitted to waste containers, that information can easily be found. If transfers are often made to an external facility with the appropriate permit, though the materials have been closed out of the originating facility’s inventory, that information is still visible.  

Radiation safety software will often include built-in reporting functionality with filters that allow users to quickly view all historical data categorized by location, project, user, radioisotope, etc. Automated real-time decay calculations and digital time stamping give users (and the authorities that they submit reports to) confidence in the accuracy of this data. These exports are designed to expedite different license/permit applications and reports using simple formats. For example, if needed, a permit holder (PH) could look up the details for one permit and instantly see a complete summary of all the materials that have been received under that permit. Additionally, they could filter that data by a specified date range, who the radioisotopes were for, what packages were received, etc., and then print out or download and share the desired information as a PDF or spreadsheet.  

Additionally, having a centralized database for all radiation safety-related communications makes handling all the critical components of such a regulation-heavy program a more manageable task. A fully-integrated radiation safety software with access to waste management systems, inspections, and training records means that organizations have a more streamlined way of staying on top of radiation surveys (and resultant corrective actions), annual safety reviews, radioisotope approvals, and radioisotope safety training. All of these programs are varied, complex, and based on the requirements of the work. To maintain ALARA principles, documentation is essential, and having comprehensive, accessible, and secure software can support radiation safety programs in this effort.  

Businesses can benefit from a centralized method of addressing all the complex tasks of working with radioisotopes. Monitoring facility licenses, maintaining safe radioisotope limits by location, tracking radioisotope use for authorization purposes, automating real-time decay calculations, safely managing and reinforcing the proper disposal of radioactive waste, and reporting with regulatory agencies are all processes that can be handled with radioisotope tracking software. When radioisotope decay is automatically calculated, authorized individuals can quickly review the current and accurate radioisotope inventory and perform all the procedures essential for compliance. Additionally, these systems can be configurable and designed with intuitive interfaces, to make it easier for workers to utilize the integrated features in the management of radioisotopes across an organization that may have many users and multiple sites.  

Publisher Bio

The SafetyStratus Research Advisory Group (RAG) brings together thought leaders from the global environmental, health, and safety community to promote best practices and provide key insights in the profession and the industries they serve. The Research Advisory Group also advocates, where practical, the intersection of and advances with the use of technology, such as the SafetyStratus enterprise EHS software platform. Group membership consists of representatives from across varied disciplines and market sectors as well as select members of the SafetyStratus team.
The primary objectives of the SafetyStratus RAG partnership are to:

• Build a strategic partnership between EHS practitioners and the SafetyStratus team.
• Provide engaging and practical content to the global EHS community.
• Provide discipline and market feedback specific to SafetyStratus products and services.

While the objectives of the RAG are varied, the primary public-facing outcome will be available through engaging and practical content found on the SafetyStratus resource pages. Various articles, papers, and other valuable resources will be produced and shared as part of an ongoing effort to cultivate a robust community. Ultimately, the SafetyStratus RAG will expand to have a broader reach and provide opportunities for more inclusion by all interested EHS professionals in a collaborative community environment.