Christie Medical Physics and Engineering Newsletter 70 May 2022

depending on their geographical location and whether or not they have a basement.

BIR Advice Sheets

The UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) has published a radon map of the UK which shows the “maximum radon potential” in each area. The map can be found on the UKHSA website (see Further Information for links). To use the map simply type in the appropriate postcode for the property and then, once the map has zoomed into the correct area, click on the button labelled “show radon data”. The “maximum radon potential” shown on the map is not the measured radon level in that area, but an indication of how likely properties in the area are to be above the threshold where radon reduction measures are required. This determines what level of radon monitoring is required. Areas which have a maximum radon potential of 1% or above are classed as “Radon Affected Areas”. These areas are colour coded on the map, with darker coloured shading indicating higher maximum radon potentials. Areas which have a maximum radon potential of less than 1% (i.e. non-Affected Areas) are shown in white (i.e. no colo ur shading added when the “show radon data” button is pressed). • All workplaces are required to perform radon assessments for any basement areas which are occupied for more than 1 hour per week (50 hours per year), regardless of radon status or geographical location. • Workplaces in Radon Affected Areas are also required to perform radon assessments on the ground floor. N.B. : Basements are defined as rooms/stories with at least 1 wall interfacing with the ground or whose floor is at least 1.2m below ground level. Unfortunately radon levels in a building cannot be predicted based on measurements in nearby buildings; even in adjacent buildings radon levels can differ by up to a factor of 10 due to differences in geology, building design and construction. Therefore all buildings meeting

British Institute of Radiology (BIR) Radiation Safety week 28th February – 4th March 2022. The BIR Radiation Safety week falls in the last week in February annually, and is a week dedicated to promoting best practice and excellence in radiation safety. In light of the occasion, the radiation safety special interest group for BIR released daily advice sheets throughout radiation safety week, highlighting practical tips and guidance on a given topic. The topic headings for the five sheets are Patient Dose Management, In-Room Radiation Shielding, Implementing a Radiation Incident Coding System, Equipment Quality Assurance (QA) Programme and Image Optimisation Teams. The new radiation safety advice sheets build on five similarly released for BIR’s Radiation safety week in 2019. These advice sheets cover the topics of Radiation risks, PPE, Keeping Dose ALARP, Ionising Equipment and Non Medical Referrers.

The sheets can all be found through the following link:

Radiation safety advice sheets - British Institute of Radiology (bir.org.uk)

Radon in the Workplace

Which workplace areas require assessment?

It is a legal requirement for Employers to assess health and safety risks to their employees (and other persons with access to their workplace) and act to reduce those risks as far as reasonably practicable. Exposure to radon should be considered among these risks. Almost all hospitals will need to perform radon monitoring in some areas. Smaller facilities (e.g. dental surgeries, GP practices) may also need to perform radon monitoring

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