[ RadSafe ] Gral question on RSO liabilities

Sun Oct 16 22:39:58 CDT 2011

Depending on whether or not your friend's license requires a Radiation Safety 
Committee (RSC), this issue needs to be fully addressed to, with and by the 
RSC.  The NRC will read about this self identified issue when it reads the RSC 
minutes during the next audit.  The best policy, whether or not there is an RSC 
is absolute and full disclosure and honesty.  If one wants a long career in the 
US nuclear field then one does not want to be accused of and found guilty of 
dishonest by the NRC.
 Roy Herren 

________________________________
From: Felipe Gaitan <gaitan at impulsedevices.com>
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List 
<radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Sent: Sun, October 16, 2011 8:37:55 AM
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Gral question on RSO liabilities

Dear Radsafers - On behalf of my colleague, thanks a lot of the input and 
advice.  

He has a follow up question:  from the point of view of the NRC (or the state 
regulatory agency), is it better for the company to say that it was the RSO's 
oversight or that a senior manager acted without the RSO's consent? 

There hasn't been any serious consequences, other than the rules being violated, 
so this is not a big case.  But he suspects the company want to just say "We 
messed up. It won't happen again. Here are the steps we're taking to make sure 
of that".  Which is fine with my colleague except that that response, in a way, 
implies that it was the RSO's oversight. 

Any advice would be appreciated.  Felipe Gaitan

On Oct 14, 2011, at 1:27 PM, Johanning, Jeffrey R. wrote:

> On behalf of a colleague of mine, we have had similar cases where it was
> unknown that there was radioactive material in the shipment.  So... as
> in most cases with a question like this, the answer is: It depends.
> 
> By restricted you probably mean it requires a specific license to
> possess it.  In which case there is a requirement for the shipper to
> verify that the recipient is licensed to possess the source before they
> ship it.  There is also the DOT requirements for dangerous goods
> (packaging, contamination tests, etc.) and training of those filling out
> the required DOT documents.  For most licensees, the RSO or the RSO
> staff are really the only ones that are up on these requirements so to
> not include them is at the least, very poor judgment and at the most a
> violation of DOT regulations and/or the radiation safety program which
> is licensed.
> 
> As for RSO responsibility/liability, there certainly is some, but again
> - it depends.  For a broad scope license, the RSO is responsible/liable
> for running the program but ultimately, there is a Radiation Safety
> Committee (typically made up of Sr. Managers or others with manager
> authority) that will be held accountable by regulatory authorities,
> particularly if they acted without the RSO's knowledge or authorization.
> All that being said, it would also depend on the RSO's response to the
> situation, did he/she investigate the incident and report it (if
> required) in a timely manner?  Did he/she determine specifically what
> regulations (including company internal procedures) were violated in a
> timely manner and report it management?  What impact to the public
> safety and public exposure did the incident have? Etc.. Bottom line is
> if the RSO's initial response was correct, decisive, and followed
> responsible HP practices, his/her overall personal liability, if any, is
> greatly reduced.
> 
> Any further insight from RADSAFERs?
> 
> Jeff Johanning
> Health Physicist V/RSO
> SAIC
> 858-826-9725
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Felipe Gaitan
> Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 7:41 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] Gral question on RSO liabilities
> 
> Dear Radsafers - I have a question on behalf of a colleague of mine.
> Does anybody have any experience with the situation where a manager in a
> company ships (in the US) restricted radiation material without
> consulting with the RSO? Is the RSO still responsible and/or liable?
> Thanks in advance for your help, 
> 
> 
> 
> D. Felipe Gaitan, Ph.D.
> Chief Research Scientist
> Impulse Devices, Inc.
> 13366 Grass Valley Av.  Unit H
> Grass Valley, CA  95945
> Phone: 530-273-6500 Ext. 112
> Fax:  530-273-6566
> email: gaitan at impulsedevices.com
> website: http://impulsedevices.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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D. Felipe Gaitan, Ph.D.
Chief Research Scientist
Impulse Devices, Inc.
13366 Grass Valley Av.  Unit H
Grass Valley, CA  95945
Phone: 530-273-6500 Ext. 112
Fax:  530-273-6566
email: gaitan at impulsedevices.com
website: http://impulsedevices.com

THIS INFORMATION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE ADDRESSEE(S) AND MAY 
CONTAIN PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, OR PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. IF YOU ARE NOT THE 
INTENDED RECIPIENT, OR THE EMPLOYEE OR AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR DELIVERING THE 
MESSAGE TO THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ANY 
DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, DISPLAYING, COPYING, OR USE OF THIS INFORMATION IS 
STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

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