PEP-T2.
“Boot Camp” for Radiation Safety Professionals Focusing on the Basics of Security, Biological and Chemical Safety JM Gutierrez*, UTHealth Houston
; RJ Emery, UTHealth Houston
Abstract: It is currently quite rare for organizations to maintain stand-alone radiation safety programs. Resource constraints and workplace complexities have served as a catalyst for the creation of comprehensive environmental health & safety (EH&S) or risk management (RM) programs, which include, among other health and safety aspects, radiation safety programs. But many of these consolidations were not inclusive of staff training to instill an understanding of the areas now aligned with the radiation safety function. This situation is unfortunate because when armed with a basic understanding of the other safety programs, the radiation safety staff can provide improved customer service and address many simple issues before they become major problems. This unique Professional Enrichment Program (PEP) is designed to address this shortcoming by providing an overview of a number of key aspects of EH&S programs from the perspective of practicing radiation safety professionals who now are involved in a broader set of health and safety issues. This PEP will examine “Security 101 for Radiation Safety Professionals” and “The Basics of Biological & Chemical Safety”. The first part of this session will focus on security as it is applied in the institutional settings. Various strategies employed to improve security controls will be presented. The second part of the session will address the classification of infectious agents and the various assigned biosafety levels. Aspects of chemical exposures, exposure limits, monitoring and control strategies will also be discussed. The particular topics included in the PEP, along with several other presentations have been consistently identified as extraordinarily useful to participants in the highly successful week-long “University of Texas EH&S Academy”. Ample time will be allotted for questions answers and discussion, and each segment will be supplemented with key reference information.
|
