Blog 2025

Care has to be taken with the graded approach to radiation risk  - as presented in the UK Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17). Some might even say it can present a case of the law of unintended consequences! Take electron beam welding for example. Create an electron beam via a cathode -  accelerate electrons in an electric field of 60 kV & 60 mA  (for example), towards a donut shaped anode, and upon exiting, focus with electromagnets onto a metal object within a vacuum. Here you perform welding and in doing so alter the structure of products or materials. You are operating a radiation generator, and in addition to creating a high energy electron beam you will be producing x-rays via bremsstrahlung. In fact, according to IRR17 and the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), you are undertaking the specified practice of industrial irradiation. For this you need a consent (and everything that goes with it).

This blog article is a case study using several freely available Ionactive radiation protection resources (radiation widgets, articles and calculators), to determine the skin dose to a finger following contamination by radioactive F-18. 

In the UK a Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA) appointment is usually required for work involving ionising radiation (Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 - IRR17).  Where a designated area is declared (e.g Controlled Area), the employer will need local rules - and this requires the appointment of a Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS). What should the availability of the RPA  / RPS be for a particular use of ionising radiation? 24/7, or as needed (or as written into a contract, job description or appointment letter)? Let's explore this further. 

This article is somewhat in two parts. We consider some recent updates from the UK HSE interpretations on what ‘a person being able to enter a radiography cabinet’ means. They have provided some useful information on a number of x-ray cabinet systems that have been reviewed, and whether they consider can be reasonably entered by a person. They have specified if a registration or consent is required (based on ability to enter)  - which appears to suggest that the cabinets are used for industrial radiography. What if you are not undertaking industrial radiography (NDT – non-destructive testing), but instead using the very same cabinet to x-ray a museum specimen,  visualising the internal structure and acquire knowledge about it’s origin, state, or composition?

You have decided on the make and model of your new laboratory X-ray sterilisation unit. No radioactive HASS sources to worry about, no environmental permit and no security arrangements. You are about to apply for a 'radiation generator registration' from the UK HSE - until you are told otherwise (by the HSE, your RPA or your equipment supplier). You are told you need a consent for industrial irradiation. You are told you need to complete a safety assessment, prepare for an HSE inspection and pay a fee (significantly more than for a registration). For a desktop x-ray unit.? Let's discuss!