Radiation Safety

Atom
In chemistry and physics, an atom (Greek ἄτομος or átomos meaning "indivisible") is the smallest particle of a
chemical element that retains its chemical properties. The atoms are composed of subatomic particles:
Electrons, which have a negative charge, a size which is so small as to be currently immeasurable, and which are the
least heavy (i.e., massive) of the three;
Protons, which have a positive charge, and are about 1836 times more massive than electrons; and
Neutrons, which have no charge and are about 1838 times more massive than electrons
Protons and neutrons make up a dense, massive atomic nucleus, and are collectively called nucleons. The electrons form
the much larger electron cloud surrounding the nucleus.
Atoms can differ in the number of each of the subatomic particles they contain. Atoms of the same element have the
same number of protons (called the atomic number). Within a single element, the number of neutrons may vary,
determining the isotope of that element.
Each element can have numerous different nuclides with the same Z (number of protons or number of electrons) but
varying numbers of neutrons. Such a family of nuclides are called the isotopes of the element (isotope = "same place",
because these nuclides share the same chemical symbol and place on the periodic table). For example, the nuclide
carbon-14, which may also be written 14C, is one of the isotopes of carbon, and it contains 6 protons and 8 neutrons in
each atom, for a total mass number(N+P) of 14.
Radioactive decay
Radioactive decay is the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei emit subatomic particles (radiation).
Decay is said to occur in the parent nucleus and produces a daughter nucleus. This is a random process, i.e. it is
impossible to predict when an atomic nucleus will decay or which nuclei in a sample will. The trefoil symbol is used to
indicate radioactive material. The SI unit for measuring radioactivity is the becquerel
(Bq). Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896 by the French scientist Henri
Becquerel while working on phosphorescent materials.
The neutrons and protons that constitute nuclei, are governed by several interactions.
The strong nuclear force is the most powerful force over subatomic distances. The
electrostatic force is also significant. A collapse (a decay event) requires specific
activation energy. A nucleus can thus spontaneously destabilize. The resulting transformation alters the structure of the
nucleus. Such a reaction is thus a nuclear reaction, in contrast to chemical reactions, which involve changes in the
arrangement of the outer electrons of atoms.
Some nuclear reactions do involve external sources of energy, in the form of collisions with outside particles. These are
not considered decay, but are examples of an induced nuclear reaction e.g. Nuclear fission and fusion.
The dangers of radioactivity and of radiation were not immediately recognized. Acute effects of radiation were first
observed in the use of X-rays when an Serbo-Croatian-American electric engineer Nikola Tesla intentionally subjected
his fingers to X-rays in 1896. He published his observations concerning the burns that developed, though he attributed
them to ozone rather than to the X-rays. Fortunately his injuries healed later.
The genetic effects of radiation, including the effects on cancer risk, were recognized much later. It was only in 1927
that Hermann Joseph Muller published his research that showed the genetic effects. In 1947 he was awarded the Nobel
prize for his findings.
Low energy alpha particles may be completely stopped by a sheet of paper, beta particles by aluminum shielding.
Gamma rays, being very high energy in nature, can only be reduced by much more substantial obstacles, such as a very
thick piece of lead. It was found that an electric or magnetic field could split such emissions into three types of beams,
alpha, beta, and gamma. It was immediately obvious from the direction of electromagnetic forces that alpha rays carried
a positive charge, beta rays carried a negative charge, and gamma rays were neutral.
Radioactive decay results in a "loss" of summed rest mass, which is converted to energy (the disintegration energy)
according to the formula E = mc2. A sequence of several decay events, producing in the end a stable nuclide, is a decay
chain.
USES:Radioactive decay has been put to use in the technique of radio isotopic labeling, used to track the passage of a
chemical substance through a complex system (such as a living organism). A sample of the substance is synthesized
with a high concentration of unstable atoms. The presence of the substance in one or another part of the system is
determined by detecting the locations of decay events. On the premise that radioactive decay is truly random it has been
used in hardware random-number generators and is a valuable tool in estimating the absolute ages of geological
materials and young organic matter.
Radioactive decay rates
The decay rate, or activity of a radioactive substance are characterized by:
Constant quantities: half life - symbol t1 / 2 - the time for half of a substance to decay.
Time-variable quantities:
Total activity - symbol A - number of decays an object undergoes per second.
Specific activity - symbol SA - number of decays per second per amount of substance. The "amount of substance" can
be the unit of either mass or volume.)
Activity measurements
The units in which activities are measured are: becquerel (symbol Bq) = number of disintegrations per second; curie
(Ci) = 3.7 × 1010 disintegrations per second. Low activities are also measured in disintegrations per minute (dpm).
The relationship between the half-life and the decay constant shows that highly radioactive substances are quickly spent,
while those that radiate weakly endure longer. Half-lives of known radionuclides vary widely, from more than 1019
years for very nearly stable nuclides, to 10-23 seconds for highly unstable ones.
Radioactive waste
Radioactive waste: waste types containing radioactive chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. It is
sometimes the product of a nuclear process, such as nuclear fission. However, other industries not directly connected to
the nuclear industry can produce large quantities of radioactive waste.
The oil producing endeavors of the US have accumulated 8 million tons of radioactive wastes. The majority of
radioactive waste is "low-level waste", meaning it has low levels of radioactivity per mass or volume. This type of
waste often consists of used protective clothing, which is only slightly contaminated but still dangerous in case of
radioactive contamination of a human body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection.
The issue of disposal methods for nuclear waste was one of the most pressing current problems the valuable
international nuclear industry faced when trying to establish a long term energy production plan, yet there was hope it
could be safely solved.
Sources of waste
1. NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material)
Processing of substances containing natural radioactivity, this is often known as NORM. Much of this waste is alpha
particles emitting matter from the decay chains of uranium and thorium. The main source of radiation in the human
body is potassium, K-40.
a. Coal
Coal contains a small amount of radioactive nuclides, such as uranium and thorium, but it is less than the average
concentration of those elements in the Earth's crust. They become more concentrated in the fly ash because they do not
burn well. However, the radioactivity of fly ash is still very low, but is more of a concern because a small amount of the
fly ash ends up in the atmosphere where it can be inhaled.
b. Oil and gas
Residues from the oil and gas industry often contain radium. The sulphate scale from an oil well can be very radium
rich, while the water, oil and gas from a well often contains radon. The radon decays to form solid radioisotopes which
form coatings on the inside of pipe work. In oil processing plant the area of the plant where propane is processed is
often one of the more contaminated areas of the plant as radon has a similar boiling point as propane.
c. Mineral processing
Wastes from mineral processing can contain natural radioactivity, the largest source of this are phosphate mining
operations.
d. Medical
Radioactive medical waste tends to contain beta particle and gamma ray emitters. It can be divided into two main
classes. In diagnostic nuclear medicine a number of short-lived gamma emitters such as technetium-99m are used.
Many of these can be disposed of by leaving it to decay for a short time before disposal as normal trash. Other isotopes
used in medicine, with half-lives in parentheses:
Y-90 , used for treating lymphoma (2.7 days)
I-131 , used for thyroid function tests and for treating thyroid cancer (8.0 days)
Sr-89, used for treating bone cancer, intravenous injection (52 days)
Co-60, used for brachytherapy and external radiotherapy (5.3 years)
Cs-137, used for brachytherapy, external radiotherapy (30 years)
e. Industrial
Industrial source waste can contain alpha, beta, neutron or gamma emitters. Gamma emitters are used in radiography
while neutron emitting sources are used in a range of applications, such as oil well logging.
Nuclear fuel cycle: Front end
Waste from the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle is usually alpha emitting waste from the extraction of uranium. It
often contains radium and its decay products. Uranium dioxide (UO2) concentrate from mining is not very radioactive -
only a thousand or so times as radioactive as the granite used in buildings. It is turned into a hard ceramic oxide (UO2)
for assembly as reactor fuel elements. The main by-product of enrichment is depleted uranium (DU), principally the U-
238 isotope, with a U-235 content of ~0.3%.
Back end: The back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, mostly spent fuel rods, often contains fission products that emit beta
and gamma radiation, and may contain actinides that emit alpha particles, such as uranium-234, neptunium-237,
plutonium-238 and americium-241, and even sometimes some neutron emitters such as californium (Cf). These isotopes
are formed in nuclear reactors.
Nuclear weapons reprocessing
Waste from nuclear weapons reprocessing is unlikely to contain much beta or gamma activity other than tritium and
americium. It is more likely to contain alpha emitting actinides such as Pu-239 which is a fissile material used in bombs,
plus some material with much higher specific activities, such as Pu-238 or Po.
NOTE:
1. The radioactivity of all nuclear waste diminishes with time. All radioisotopes contained in the waste have a half-life -
the time it takes for any radionuclide to lose half of its radioactivity and eventually all radioactive waste decays into
non-radioactive elements.
Certain radioactive elements (such as plutonium-239) in “spent” fuel will remain hazardous to humans and other living
beings for hundreds of thousands of years. Other radioisotopes will remain hazardous for millions of years. Thus, these
wastes must be shielded for centuries and isolated from the living environment for hundreds of millennia. Some
elements, such as I-131, have a short half-life (around 8 days in this case) and thus they will cease to be a problem much
more quickly than other, longer-lived, decay products but their activity is much greater initially.
The faster a radioisotope decays, the more radioactive it will be. The energy and the type of the ionizing radiation
emitted by a pure radioactive substance are important factors in deciding how dangerous it will be. The chemical
properties of the radioactive element will determine how mobile the substance is and how likely it is to spread into the
environment and contaminate human bodies. This is further complicated by the fact that many radioisotopes do not
decay immediately to a stable state but rather to a radioactive decay product leading to decay chains.
2. Depending on the decay mode and the biochemistry of an element, the threat due to exposure to a given activity of a
radioisotope will differ. For instance I-131 is a short-lived beta and gamma emitter but because it concentrates in the
thyroid gland, it is more able to cause injury than TcO4- which, being water soluble, is rapidly excreted in urine.
Because of such differences, the rules determining biological injury differ widely according to the radioisotope, and
sometimes also the nature of the chemical compound which contains the radioisotope.
3. The main objective in managing and disposing of radioactive waste is to protect people and the environment. This
means isolating or diluting the waste so that the rate or concentration of any radionuclides returned to the biosphere is
harmless. The phrase which sums up the area is ' Isolate from man and his environment ' until the waste has decayed
such that it no longer poses a threat.
Types of radioactive waste
Very low-level waste
Although not significantly radioactive, uranium mill tailings are waste. They are byproduct material from the rough
processing of uranium-bearing ore. Uranium mill tailings typically also contain chemically-hazardous heavy metals
such as lead and arsenic.
Low level waste (LLW) is generated from hospitals and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle. It comprises paper,
rags, tools, clothing, filters, etc., which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity. Some high activity
LLW requires shielding during handling and transport but most LLW is suitable for shallow land burial. To reduce its
volume, it is often compacted or incinerated before disposal.
Intermediate (Medium) level waste (ILW) contains higher amounts of radioactivity and in some cases requires
shielding. ILW includes resins, chemical sludge and metal reactor fuel cladding, as well as contaminated materials from
reactor decommissioning. It may be solidified in concrete or bitumen for disposal. As a general rule, short-lived waste
(mainly non-fuel materials from reactors) is buried in shallow repositories, while long-lived waste (from fuel and fuel-
reprocessing) is deposited in deep underground facilities. U.S. regulations do not define this category of waste; the term
is used in Europe and elsewhere.
Management of medium level waste: Medium active wastes in the nuclear industry are treated with ion exchange or
other means to concentrate the radioactivity into a small volume. The much less radioactive bulk (after treatment) is
often then discharged.
High Level Waste (HLW) is produced by nuclear reactors. It contains fission products and transuranic elements
generated in the reactor core. It is highly radioactive and often thermally hot. HLW accounts for over 95% of the total
radioactivity produced in the process of nuclear electricity generation.
Transuranic waste (TRUW) as defined by U.S. regulations is, without regard to form or origin, waste that is
contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranic radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years, and concentrations
greater than 100 nCi/g (3.7 MBq/kg). Elements that have an atomic number greater than uranium are called transuranic
("beyond uranium") and because of their long half-lives, are disposed more cautiously than either LLW or ILW. In the
U.S. it arises mainly from weapons production, and consists of clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris and other items
contaminated with small amounts of radioactive elements (mainly plutonium).
Management of high level waste
Storage: High-level radioactive waste is stored temporarily in spent fuel pools and in dry cask storage facilities. This
allows the shorter-lived isotopes to decay before further handling.
Long-term storage of radioactive waste requires the stabilization of the waste into a form which will not react, nor
degrade, for extended periods of time. Methods used for management of HLW are:
1) Vitrification: The high-level waste is mixed with sugar and then calcined. Calcination involves passing the
waste through a heated, rotating tube. The 'calcine' generated is fed continuously into an induction heated
furnace with fragmented glass. The resulting glass is a new substance in which the waste products are bonded
into the glass matrix when it solidifies. This product, as a molten fluid, is poured into stainless steel cylindrical
containers in a batch process. When cooled, the fluid solidifies ("vitrifies") into the glass. Such glass, after
being formed, is very highly resistant to water. It will require about 1 million years for 10% of such glass to
 dissolve in water. After filling a cylinder, a seal is welded onto the cylinder. The cylinder is then washed. After
being inspected for external contamination, the steel cylinder is stored, usually in an underground repository.
In this form, the waste products are expected to be immobilized for a very long period of time (many thousands
of years).
2) Synroc: The Australian Synroc (synthetic rock) is a more sophisticated way to immobilize such waste, and this
process may eventually come into commercial use for civil wastes (it is currently being developed for U.S.
military wastes). The Synroc contains pyrochlore and cryptomelane type minerals.
3) Geological disposal: Sea-based options for disposal of radioactive waste include burial beneath a stable
abyssal plain, burial in a subduction zone that would slowly carry the waste downward into the Earth's mantle,
and burial beneath a remote natural or human-made island. While these approaches all have merit and would
facilitate an international solution to the vexing problem of disposal of radioactive waste, they are currently not
being seriously considered because of the legal barrier of the Law of the Sea and because in North America
and Europe sea-based burial has become taboo from fear that such a repository could leak and cause
widespread damage. However, sea-based approaches might come under consideration in the future by
individual countries or groups of countries that cannot find other acceptable solutions.
4) Return: A more feasible approach termed Remix & Return would blend high-level waste with uranium mine
and mill tailings down to the level of the original radioactivity of the uranium ore, then replace it in empty
uranium mines.
5) Transmutation: There have been proposals for reactors that consume nuclear waste and transmute it to other,
less-harmful nuclear waste.
6) Reuse of waste: Another option is to find applications of the isotopes in nuclear waste so as to reuse them.
Already, cesium 137, strontium 90 and a few other isotopes are extracted for certain industrial applications
such as food irradiation and RTGs.
7) Space disposal: Space disposal is an attractive notion because it permanently removes nuclear waste from the
environment. However, it has significant disadvantages, not least of which is the potential for catastrophic
failure of a launch vehicle. Furthermore, the high number of launches that would be required makes the
proposal impractical. To further complicate matters, international agreements on the regulation of such a
program would need to be established.
Radiation Hazard
Radiation poisoning, also called "radiation sickness", is a form of damage to organic tissue due to excessive exposure
to ionizing radiation. The term is generally used to refer to acute problems caused by a large dosage of radiation in a
short period. Many of the symptoms of radiation poisoning occur as ionizing radiation interferes with cell division. This
interference allows for treatment of cancer cells; such cells are among the fastest-dividing in the body, and will be killed
by a radiation dose that adjacent normal cells are likely to survive.
Strictly speaking the correct name for "radiation sickness" is acute radiation syndrome as described by the CDC. A
chronic radiation syndrome does exist but is very uncommon; A short exposure can result in acute radiation syndrome;
chronic radiation syndrome requires a prolonged high level of exposure.
The use of radionuclides in science and industry is strictly regulated in most countries. In the event of an accidental or
deliberate release of radioactive material, either evacuation or sheltering in place will be the recommended measures.
Acute (short-term) vs chronic (long-term) effects: Radiation sickness is generally associated with acute exposure
and has a characteristic set of symptoms that appear in an orderly fashion. The symptoms of radiation sickness become
more serious (and the chance of survival decreases) as the dosage of radiation increases. These effects are described as
the deterministic effects of radiation.
Longer term exposure to radiation, at doses less than that which produces serious radiation sickness, can induce cancer
as cell-cycle genes are mutated. If a cancer is radiation-induced, then the disease, the speed at which the condition
advances, the prognosis, the degree of pain and every other feature of the disease is not a function of the radiation dose
which the person was exposed to. Since tumors grow by abnormally rapid cell division, the ability of radiation to
disturb cell division is also used to treat cancer (radiotherapy), and low levels of ionizing radiation have been claimed to
lower one's risk of cancer (hormesis).
Nuclear warfare is made more complex by virtue of the fact that a person can be thus burned by at least three processes.
The first (the major cause of burns) is not caused by ionizing radiation.
1) Thermal burns from infrared heat radiation.
2) Beta burns from shallow ionizing radiation.
3) Gamma burns from highly penetrating radiation.
Radiation caused illness and death after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in about 1% of those exposed who
survived the initial explosions. The casualty rate due to radiation was higher in Hiroshima, because although Fat Man
(the bomb used at Nagasaki) had a higher yield than Little Boy (the bomb used at Hiroshima), Fat Man was a plutonium
weapon, which is actually much less radioactive than a uranium weapon of equal yield (except at the moment of critical
mass).
Radiation work e.g. industrial radiography
Radiation poisoning can result from accidental exposure to industrial radiation sources. People working with radioactive
materials often wear electrometer dosimeters or film "badges" to monitor their total exposure to radiation. These devices
are more useful than Geiger counters for determining biological effects, as they measure cumulative exposure over time,
and are calibrated to change color or otherwise signal the user before exposure reaches unsafe levels. However, film
badge types require the film to be developed, as with photographic film, and are used to measure long-term exposure
where brief catastrophic exposures are not expected.
 Nuclear reactor accidents
Radiation poisoning was a major concern after the Chernobyl reactor accident. It is
important to note that in humans the acute effects were largely confined to the
accident site. Of the 100 million curies (4 exabecquerels) of radioactive material,
the short lived radioactive isotopes such as 131I Chernobyl released were initially the
most dangerous. Due to their short half-lives of 5 and 8 days they have now
137
decayed, leaving the more long-lived Cs (with a half-life of 30.07 years) and 90Sr
(with a half-life of 28.78 years) as main dangers. Thirty-one people died as an
immediate result of the Chernobyl accident.
Ingestion and inhalation
When radioactive compounds enter the human body, the effects are different from those resulting from exposure to an
external radiation source. Especially in the case of alpha radiation, which normally does not penetrate the skin, the
exposure can be much more damaging after ingestion or inhalation. The radiation exposure is normally expressed as a
committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE).
Prevention:
The best prevention for radiation sickness is to minimize the dose suffered by the human, or to reduce the dose rate.
1. Distance: The radiation due to any point source will obey the inverse square law: by doubling the distance the
dose rate is quartered.
2. Shielding: By placing a layer of a material which will absorb the radiation between the source and the human
then the dose and the dose rate can be reduced.
3. Reduction of incorporation into the human body: Potassium iodide (KI), administered orally immediately after
exposure, may be used to protect the thyroid from ingested radioactive iodine in the event of an accident or
terrorist attack at a nuclear power plant, or the detonation of a nuclear explosive.
Treatment: Whole body vs. part of body exposure
In the case of a person who has had only part of their body irradiated then the treatment is easier, as the human body can
tolerate very large exposures to the non-vital parts such as hands and feet, without having a global effect on the entire
body. The resulting injury would be described as localized radiation burn.
Experimental treatments designed to mitigate the effect on bone marrow
Neumune, an androstenediol, was introduced as a radiation countermeasure by the US Armed Forces Radiobiology
Research Institute, and is currently under joint development with Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals. Neumune is in
Investigational New Drug (IND) status and Phase I trials are being completed.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDELINES

Radiation Spill
Spreading of radiation beyond the spill area can easily occur by the movement of personnel involved in the spill or
cleanup effort. Prevent spread by confining movement of personnel until they have been monitored and found free of
contamination. A minor radiation spill is one that the laboratory staff is capable of handling safely without the
assistance of safety and emergency personnel. All other radiation spills are considered major.
Minor Radiation Spill
Alert people in immediate area of spill.
Notify Radiation Safety Officer.
Wear protective equipment, including safety goggles, disposable gloves, shoe covers, and long-sleeve lab coat.
Place absorbent paper towels over liquid spill. Place towels dampened with water over spills of solid materials.
Using forceps, place towels in plastic bag. Dispose in radiation waste container. Monitor area, hands, and shoes for
contamination with an appropriate survey meter or method. Repeat cleanup until contamination is no longer detected.
Major Radiation Spill
Attend to injured or contaminated persons and remove them from exposure.
Alert people in the laboratory to evacuate.
Have potentially contaminated personnel stay in one area until they have been monitored and shown to be free of
contamination.
Close doors and prevent entrance into affected area.
Have person knowledgeable of incident and laboratory assist emergency personnel.

About some radioistopes

Iodine-125 is a radioisotope of iodine which has uses in biological assays and in radiation therapy to treat prostate
cancer and brain tumors. Its half-life is around 60 days and it emits gamma-rays with maximum energies of 35 keV,
some of which are internally converted to x-rays.
Tritium is commonly used as a radiotracer in research and in tracers and some "glow in the dark" paints, this is a beta
emitter which has a very low energy. The electrons from beta emission from tritium are so low in energy that a Geiger
counter can not be used to detect them. Note that one of the first-aid treatments for the intake of tritium (as tritiated
water) in a human is to give the human plenty of water to drink.
Carbon-14 is also commonly used as a beta source in research, it is commonly used as a radiotracer in organic
compounds. While the energy of the beta particles is higher than those of tritium they are still quite low in energy. For
instance the walls of a glass bottle are able to absorb it. For small amounts of carbon-14 one of the favored disposal
method is to burn the waste in a medical waste incinerator, the idea is that by dispersing the radioactivity over a very
wide area the threat to any one human is very small.
Phosphorus-32 is a short lived high energy beta emitter, which is used in research in radiotracers. It can be used in
DNA research. Phosphorus-32 can be made by the neutron irradiation (np reaction) of sulfur-32 or from Phosphorus-31
by neutron capture.
Radiation Safety in India
Radiation Protection infrastructure in India is on very sound footing and is constantly being strengthened based on
experience and continued research and development activities at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. This is
evident from the emphasis given to the health and safety aspects in the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 enacted by the
Government to provide basic regulatory frame work, promulgation of Radiation Protection Rules in 1971, and setting
up an apex regulatory body - the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) in 1983 for regulating the use of ionizing
radiation in the country.
BARC has developed in-house TLD dosimeters and automatic reader system for occupational radiation monitoring.
Personnel monitoring of over 70,000 occupational workers is carried out using TLD.
Alarm Pocket Dosimeter : In addition to these passive dosimeters, which are read only periodically (e.g. once in a
month), the radiation workers are also required to use an on-line dosimeter, preferably with an audio alarm, which goes
on when radiation level exceeds a preset value to warn against high radiation exposure. A low cost electronic Pocket
dosimeter based on a micro-controller with alarm facility has been developed in BARC for this purpose.
A number of radiation safety related Human Resource Development programs mandatory to regulatory requirement are
conducted by BARC. In all the nuclear installations, care is taken to protect operating personnel, public and the
environment. Safety surveillance is regularly carried out and comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response
Plans to handle postulated emergency scenarios are in action at the DAE facilities.
BARC and the laboratories accredited by it, conduct countrywide personnel monitoring in about 3000 industrial,
medical, research and DAE organizations which benefit over 30,000 radiation workers annually
Environmental radiation monitoring and environmental surveillance are the regular features of the environmental
protection program of DAE. Environment around the nuclear sites is well conserved. Many of the nuclear power
stations have obtained Environmental Management System Certification under ISO 14001, and have won the “AERB
Green Site Award”. To educate the public living around nuclear power plants, public awareness programs by DAE
organizations are organized on a regular basis.
An independent body, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) monitors safety. The safety standards formulated
by AREB are at par with those recommended by the international bodies such as the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The mission of the Board is to
ensure that the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to health and the
environment. It is supported by the Safety Review Committee for Operating Plants (SARCOP), Safety Review
Committee for Applications of Radiation (SARCAR) and Advisory Committees for Project Safety Review (ACPSRs)
[e.g. nuclear power projects, light water reactor projects, waste management projects etc.] AERB also receives advice
from another Advisory Committee, viz., Advisory Committee on Nuclear Safety (ACNS).
Besides, radiation safety related activities such as personal monitoring, maintenance of dose records, biological
dosimetry of suspected radiation over exposure cases were also routinely carried out at BARC. Medical and industrial
safety sections provide technical support to the AERB and provide advice in planning of radiation installations, develop
QA and QC protocols, perform QA tests as and when necessary. These services extend to diagnostic, therapeutic,
nuclear medicine installations and also for industrial radiography, irradiator facilities, nucleonic gauges and other
industrial applications.