The University of Arizona's EHS holds operating licenses for all ionizing radiation use at the University. EHS, operating under regulations set by the Arizona Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC), requires anyone working with any ionizing radiation to receive approval from the University's Radiation Safety Committee. Please see instructions to gain approval for each of the use conditions below.
Prior to the purchase and/or use of radioactive materials (RAM), the Approval Holder must submit an application to use RAM, which will be reviewed by the Radiation Safety Committee (RSC).
In addition, if the use will involve the use of animals or humans, review may be required by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and the Institutional Review Board.
Seven (7) days before starting radioactive materials studies at the University Animal Care (UAC) facilities, the Approval Holder must submit an authorization for use of RAM in UAC facilities. Both University Animal Care and EHS approvals are required before the experiment can began.
Approval to use radioactive sealed sources, including electron capture devices (ECDs) and moisture gauges, is granted after the appropriate Radiation Safety Committee reviews and approves an application.
The term “Radiation Machines” includes, but is not limited to, x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction, cabinet radiography, accelerators, x-ray spectrometers, and medical radiography units used in non-clinical studies. Radiation machines at the University of Arizona are possessed and used under a machine approval system. These approvals act as "sub-registrations" under the University of Arizona registration with the Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC). The approval system tracks machine inventory, personnel, training, and requirements for machine use.
To begin the approval process, the potential Approval Holder must complete an application.
Approval to Use Radioactive Sealed Sources is granted to an individual for the use of moisture gauges after the Radiation Safety Committee has reviewed and approved an application.
In order to obtain readings at depths of over 20 feet, the Approval holder must obtain specific approval from the Radiation Safety Committee. The submission must include assurances that all sample holes will be cased and that either a kellem’s grip will be used for the probe or secondary support line or that an inert probe of the same dimension as the live probe will be deployed to and retrieved from the required reading depth before using the live probe.