Re: Recordkeeping for Isotope Orders

["Frank E. Gallagher, III" <fegallag@uci.edu>]

Sue Dupre asked:

Do you consider it important to keep paper copies of purchase orders
on hand?

     --At the University of California, Irvine, we stopped getting paper
copies of purchase orders many years ago.  Our Purchasing Department gets a
copy of each Radiation Use Authorization and a specific buyer (who also sits
on the Radiation Safety Committee) orders nearly all radioisotopes.  She
checks each order to insure that the limits on the RUA are not exceeded (we
use "per shipment" and "per fiscal year" acquisition limits).

     --When the package arrives on campus, Radiation Protection logs the
radionuclide, chemical form, physical form, activity, etc. in a log book.
This information gets transferred to our inventory database, but the log
book is the primary record.  We also check to insure that the limits have
not been exceeded.  We ask the labs to keep a copy of the packing list in
their lab radiation safety records.  This is useful to correct the
occasional mistake that occurs.

What records do you consider essential to keep on hand concerning the
purchase of radioactive materials (remember, I'm talking about purchase
records, not inventory records).

     --The log book entry (one line per shipment), the entry for the
shipment in the inventory database, and the copy of the packing list in the
lab records.

What records do inspectors insist on seeing when they visit?

     --California inspectors have been happy with our purchasing records in
the past. The availability of quarterly inventory summary records filled in
by the users, and receipt, use and disposal records kept in the labs, helps
a lot.  Of course, each new inspector can have a different (and sometimes
radically different) idea on what records should be kept. 

Frank E. Gallagher, III, CHP    
Manager, Radiation Protection,
  and Radiation Safety Officer
University of California, Irvine
Environmental Health and Safety           Phone:  (714) 824-6904
300 University Tower                      Fax:    (714) 824-8539
Irvine, CA   92697-2725                   E-mail: fegallag@uci.edu