DOCUMENT NO. : IKN-RS-SOP-17
INTRODUCTION
All major disaster such as earthquakes, tornados, floods, explosions, epidemic and major emergencies require close cooperation with the Police Services. Medical Physicists are not the First Responders. Their major function is assisting with facility specifications and radiation protection for Police Services and/or First Responders.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is as a guideline to encountered with any emergency situations, provide specific preventive and response procedures for safe, orderly and efficient manner and for protecting the personnel and facilities at Nuclear Medicine Department.
RESPONSIBILITY
- Physicist
- Radiation Protection Officer
- Nuclear Medicine Staff
FREQUENCY
Every time incidents and major emergencies take place
EQUIPMENT
- Radioactive Emergency Spill Kit
- Calibrated Contamination survey meter
- Personal Dosimeter – Film Badge, TLD Badge, TLD Ring,
PROCEDURE
- Notify all persons in the area to stop, secure their work and leave immediately.
- Notify the Police Personnel and briefly descried the nature of the situation.
- Notify the RPO and other Risk Management and Safety Department personnel.
- Upon arrival of the First Responders, inform them where radioactive materials are stored or where radioisotopes were being used, inform them of the best possible entrance route to the radioation area, as well as any precautions to be taken to avoid exposure or risk of creating radioactive contamination.
- Emergency Responders take charge upon arrival and proceed with the assistant of hospital RPO.
- Co-operate with the RPO (e.g., investigation of root cause, provision of requested bioassay samples).
- Allow no one to return to work in the area unless approved by the RPO.
- Follow the instructions of the RPO (e.g., decontamination techniques, surveys, provision of bioassay samples, requested documentation).
- RPO coordinate activities with Police Personnel, First Responders and/or other section of Risk Management and Safety Department.
- RPO will consult the First Responders and set up a controlled area where the evacuated personnel can be surveyed for contamination.
- Once the incident is eliminated, advise the First Responders not to enter potentially contaminated areas or areas where radioactive sources may be present until a thorough evaluation and survey are performed to determine the extent of the damage to the radioactive materials and storage areas.
- RPO will perform thorough contamination surveys of the First Responders and their equipment before they leave the controlled area and decontaminate, if necessary.
- RPO will supervise decontamination activities.
- RPO will determine cause and necessary corrective actions, consider need for bioassays if licensed material is suspected to have been ingested, inhaled or absorsed through the skin.
- RPO needs to make sure the maximum dose limit for all First Responders do not exceed 50 mSv in a year (average annual dose should not exceed 20 mSv/yr over a period of 10 years).
- RPO needs to notify Radioation Safety Section, MOH verbally within 24 hours and written report is submitted within 30 days of incident.
WORKFLOW
DISCLAIMER
This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was developed based on compilation of best available information, knowledge, field experience, and general practices to provide guidance to IKN staff in performing the activities defined herein, in a consistent and standardised manner.
IKN does not guarantee nor accept any legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained herein.
IKN shall take no responsibility for and will not be held liable for this document being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our power and control.