Re: Use of Portable Radiation Monitoring Equipment

[Bob Flood <bflood@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

At 01:57 PM 9/19/97 -0500, you wrote:
>
>     I do not believe you would want to rely totally on the area monitor 
>     for ensuring the beam is "off".

My experience does not include xray equipment, but in a dosimeter
irradiation room with a ring source, an area monitor with a flashing red
light was enough to keep the NRC happy. When the source was up, the room
met the requirements for a locked high radiation area, and the door was
interlocked as required. But, when the source was down, the operator could
look at the area monitor display outside the room before entering, and if
that was ignored and the source was still up for some reason, the interlock
should take care of it, and IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, the flashing red light
was the last line of defense.

I also have to agree with another post that said that brains come first -
if you feel a need to idiot-proof the system, then perhaps you shouldn't
have the source. Remember, idiot-proofing begins in the Personnel Office.


Bob Flood
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
(415) 926-3793     bflood@slac.stanford.edu
Unless otherwise noted, all opinions are mine alone.