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In the event of an emergency (fire, explosion, chemical exposure, toxic gases, etc.) that is accompanied by the presence of ionizing radiation, it is important to first address hazards that have the greatest potential impact. Fire and life-threatening situations take precedence over radiation issues.
The quantities and types of ionizing radiation used at KAUST are low enough that professional attending fire and life-threatening incidents can carry out their work even if radioactive substances and/or radiation is present in the surrounding. Nonetheless, they must use personal protective equipment (PPE) and before leaving the scene (or at frequent interval), they must be monitored for radioactive substances contamination. If contamination is present, they must undergo the appropriate decontamination procedures.
The RSO must be notified immediately of any of the following situations:
The Radiation Emergency Procedures are available and posted next to the equipment or in the laboratories.
In the case of life-threatening personnel contamination, immediately call or have someone call 911 from a campus phone or 012 808 0911 from a mobile phone and explain the situation. Then notify the RSO.
If the personal contamination is not life threatening, immediately contact the RSO and during off hours, call 054 038 3173 to reach the HSE on-call phone and ask for radiation safety assistance.
The objective of personal decontamination is to minimize the dose to the skin as well as internal dose. Decontamination techniques aim to remove or reduce the externally and/or internally deposited contamination. In the case of a radiation accident, follow these steps:
Treat medical problems first and administer first aid as appropriate. Ask others in the area to assist. First aid and prompt medical treatment take precedence over decontamination. Usually, decontamination can wait until the victim is in stable condition;
Immediately remove contaminated clothing and flush skin with water;
For skin contamination, follow these decontamination procedures:
Bag all contaminated clothing and materials. The RSO can provide details on decontamination or disposal.
A minor spill in an incident that involves all of the following criteria:
Less than 370 kBq (or 10 μCi) of radioactivity has been spilled;
The contamination is limited to a small area (approximately 50 x 50 cm);
There is no clothing or skin contamination;
You are certain that you can manage the surveys and decontamination procedures on your own without assistance.
Notify all persons in the area that a spill has occurred;
Allow only necessary personnel to enter the area;
Put on personal protective equipment (PPE) as necessary;
Prevent the spread of contamination by covering the spill with absorbent paper (if solids are spilled, paper should be dampened). Use absorbent paper as needed to clean up the spill;
Perform frequent surveys with an appropriate survey meter to determine the effectiveness of the decontamination process;
During and after the cleanup procedure, carefully place the absorbent paper in a double plastic bag tagged and labeled with contents, radioisotope, and date. Put contaminated gloves and any other contaminated disposable materials in the bag;
Survey the area with a meter or other appropriate technique. Check the area around the spill for residual (sometimes called “fixed”) contamination;
Survey all persons involved in the decontamination process; check hands, clothing, and shoes for contamination. Once personnel have been surveyed and found free of contamination, record their names and release them. If personal contamination is detected, follow the procedure described above under “Personnel Contamination”;
Do not allow work to resume in the area until approved by the RSO or the lab management personnel that have been delegated authorization from the RSO.
A major spill is any incident that is not a minor spill and includes the discovery of contamination in unexpected places or in many places. In this case, alert everyone not involved in the spill to leave the area immediately but assemble nearby. Call or have someone call the RSO or 911 from a campus phone or 012 808 0911 from a mobile phone and explain the situation. During off hours, call the HSE on-call phone 054 038 3173 and ask for radiation safety assistance.
The RSO or individual authorized by the RSO must perform a radiation survey assessment of all individuals who could possibly have been contaminated;
Once potentially contaminated persons have been surveyed and found free of contamination, record their names and release them. When feasible, use reasonable effort to confine contamination;
Prevent inadvertent entry or re-entry into the contaminated area. Post all entrances to the room or area with sign(s) warning others that a spill of radioactive substances has occurred. Post similar signs in the general vicinity, indicating the location of the spill;
Wait for the RSO directions before taking further action. Follow the instructions of the RSO regarding decontamination techniques, surveys, provision of bioassay samples, requested documentations, etc.;
Do not allow work to resume in the area until approved by the RSO;
Place contaminated clothing and materials in tagged bags labeled with contents, radioisotope, and date.
If you suspect or have confirmed loss of radioactive source(s) and/or radiation-producing equipment, you must notify the RSO or Research Safety Team promptly and request special instructions regarding securing the area. You will also be required to cooperate with the RSO to investigate the cause of the loss of the source(s).
The RSO will then be responsible for:
Informing senior management and KAUST Institutional Radiation Safety Committee (IRSC)
Informing the Competent Authority (NRRC) immediately about the incident;
Assessing the situation, and if a threat is confirmed, notifying the KAUST Security Services, Executive Management;
Initiating an immediate and exhausting search for the source(s) in full cooperation with the KAUST security services and Competent Authority;
Documenting the incident investigation in progress.
Once the incident is eliminated, the RSO will have to determine the cause of the threat and corrective actions. File a final incident report to the Competent Authority and KAUST Institutional Radiation Safety Committee (IRSC) indicating the cause(s) of the incident, assessing the necessary steps to prevent a recurrence and initiating corrective actions immediately.
TURN OFF MACHINE by pressing the red emergency stop button. If possible, de-energize circuit breakers;
Treat medical problems first and administer first aid as appropriate. Treatment of injuries takes precedence over radiation exposure;
If life threatening incident call 911 from a campus phone or 012 808 0911 from a mobile phone and explain the situation. Then notify the RSO, during off-hours call the HSE on-call phone 054 038 3173 and ask for radiation safety assistance;
Notify the RUA holder and others in the area;
Record all pertinent information about the incident, including operating voltage and current, exposure time, and distance from the radiation source. Provide this information to the RSO.
911 (landline) or
0128080911 (mobile)0500108681
mohammad.bahmaid@kaust.edu.sa0540383173
hse@kaust.edu.sa
