Radiological Fundamentals
Awareness Training
Trainer Instructions
Attention-getter:
Use the following information to get the attention of attendees: Even as you sit in this room
you are being bombarded with ionizing radiation. Everywhere in the universe radiation is
present. Yes, in large doses it can be very dangerous, even fatal. We do have ways to
protect ourselves and work with radiation and radioactive materials.
Qualifications for Training/Comfort Level:
The trainer should complete a “trainer” in-service on how to use the equipment, complete
forms and conduct training prior to conducting this course. This course focuses only on the
fundamentals of radiological agents.
Equipment Needed:
● PowerPoint projector or
● An overhead projector or
● Video tape or
● DVD player
Applicable Departments to Train:
This training provides basic awareness to any employee who may become involved in an
incident involving radiological materials or ionizing radiation. Your facility should have
completed an assessment to determine which specific departments and individuals might be
in that category.
Main departments where training is required include the following:
● Maintenance
● Housekeeping
● Security
● Other Ancillary and non-clinical staff
Time Requirement:
It will take approximately 30 minutes to train.
Explanation of Handouts:
You are provided with handouts to give each employee. The page titled “Goals &
Objectives” begins the handout pages to be copied and given to attendees. Use the power
point slides or the VHS/DVD material to aid in your training.
Frequency:
This course should be taught initially, prior to any decontamination drills or incidents, and
annually (as a minimum) thereafter, unless the employee is assigned to a job, which does not
require them to participate in radiological emergency efforts.
Class Size:
There is no size limit for this course.
Student Evaluation:
There will be a multiple choice test following the completion of all units.
Certification:
Fill out certificates for attendees and hand out at the end of the course.
Personalization:
For this training you should become familiar with your facility’s Radiological Policy in order
to incorporate any facility specific information into your training.
Trainer Feedback for Improvement:
This series of Safety Training Courses is still in the developmental stage. Please encourage
your students to provide you with feedback on the course and its content. You, as a trainer,
are also encouraged to provide feedback. Was there too much information, not enough, too
many visual aids, not enough, did the class take longer than expected, less time than planned,
etc. We appreciate your input. Please contact Terry Sofian at 314/286-0657 to provide
feedback on this course.
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Goals & Objectives
Title: Radiological Fundamentals Training Module
Awareness Level
References:
● 10 CFR 837
● 29 CFR 1910.120 Hazwoper
● 29 CFR 1910.1200 Hazard Communication
Terminal Objectives
Students should be able to do the following after completion of this training:
●
Exhibit an understanding of biological agents in a weapons of mass destruction role as
shown by scoring a seventy-five percent or greater on the Biological Awareness
questions
●
Exhibit an understanding of Chemical agents in a weapons of mass destruction role as
shown by scoring a seventy-five percent or greater on the Chemical Awareness questions
●
Exhibit an understanding of Radiological agents in a weapons of mass destruction role as
shown by scoring a seventy-five percent or greater on the Radiological Awareness
questions
Enabling Objectives
Students should be able to do the following after completion of this training:
●
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Describe where ionizing radiation comes from
Explain the difference between Natural and Man made background radiation
Name the two scenarios for terrorist use of radiological materials
Name four types of ionizing radiation
Describe the following properties of each type of ionizing radiation
- Range in air
- Penetrating ability
- Whether it is an internal or external hazard to humans
● Describe shielding material for use against each type of radiation
● Name three protective concepts (time, distance, shielding) used to protect against
radiation
● Describe the differences between radiation and contamination
Key Topics
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What is ionizing radiation?
What are the four types of ionizing radiation?
How do we protect ourselves from ionizing radiation?
What is contamination?
How is radiation different than contamination?
What are the two main hazards of radioactive materials?
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Radiology Fundamentals
Slide 1
Welcome to radiation fundamentals. This unit is designed to provide awareness
level training for hospital personnel. This will give you the information you need
to protect yourself in case there is a radiological emergency involving your
community and patients from that emergency are brought to your hospital.
Slide 2
What should you expect in this unit? There will be a training video and after that
there will be some additional slides. Please watch the video and be prepared to
ask your instructor questions dealing with the material. We want you to
remember one very important thing, dealing with radiation and radioactive
materials can be done with minimal risk in the setting that we anticipate during a
response at a hospital. Also, after the completion of all of these units, there is
going to be a short quiz.
Slice 3
What are the key points in this unit? Initially, we would like to define the term
radiation and make sure that you understand what we mean by it when you hear it
used. We want you to know where radiation comes from. Really most important
things we want you to know are how to protect yourself from radiation and the
contamination caused by radioactive material.
Slide 4
What are the biggest threats we face here? We face the threat of terrorist use of
radioactive material as a weapon of mass destruction. During the video we will
discuss the possible effects of nuclear weapons use and the much more likely
possibility of the terrorist use of a dirty bomb. At this time we would like you to
watch the videotape. This will have a great deal more information on all these
subjects. Please pay attention and be prepared to ask questions afterwards.
Show Radiation Fundamentals Video
Slide 5
In the videotape you just watched, we talked about a number of topics. You
learned that radiation is energy. There are many different types of energy. The
type of energy we usually talk about is what we call ionizing radiation. This is a
special kind of energy. This energy is released when unstable atoms break up.
Slide 6
It has always been around us. In the video you learned that there are two types of
background radiation: natural background radiation and man-made background
radiation.
Slide 7
Natural background radiation consists of cosmic radiation, radiation from the sun
and stars, terrestrial radiation, radiation from the earth’s crust. Radon gas and
internal radiation, which is caused by the foods we eat.
Slide 8
Man-made background radiation, the prime cause of this is medical, x-rays and
nuclear medicine. We also get some man-made background radiation from
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building materials, from some household items such electronics and smoke
detectors. But the other major cause is from smoking.
Slide 9
There are four types of ionizing radiation known: Alpha particle radiation; Beta
particle radiation; Gamma rays and x-rays and neutron particles.
Slide 10
Alpha radiation again is only an internal hazard. Just like a beach ball it only
goes a short distance, it can’t hurt you if it hits you, it’s easily stopped, shielded
by even a sheet of paper, but you don’t want to get it inside you because then it
can harm you.
Slide 11
Beta radiation is similar in that it is mostly an internal hazard even though it can
damage skin in a large enough dose. Beta radiation is also a particle much
smaller than an Alpha particle, it will go a lot further, just like a golf ball will go
much further than a beach ball and it needs much more material to be stopped
than an Alpha does. If we wanted to protect ourselves from golf balls we would
use thick plywood or thick Plexiglas and the same with Beta radiation. If we
wanted to be shielded from Beta radiation we would use thick plywood or thick
Plexiglas.
Slide 12
Gamma radiation is a whole body hazard. It can penetrate a person completely
and damage any organ in the human body. Just like a rifle bullet, we need to be
protected by something very thick and dense like steel or lead to stop Gamma
radiation.
Slide 13
Neutron radiation is very rare. If it does strike a person, it can be very damaging
and is a hazard to the entire body. Again, you are very unlikely to ever be
exposed to neutron radiation.
Slide 14
Now, when we talk about protection from radiation, we are going to use three
principles; time; distance and shielding.
Slide 15
Remember the 95 percent common sense rule, the more time you spend near
something, the more likely it is to damage you. The less time, the less likely it is
to damage you. So the longer your period of exposure the more radiation you will
receive. The shorter your period of exposure, the less radiation you will receive.
Slide 16
The 95 percent common sense rule applies to distance as well. If there is
something dangerous, the further away you are from it, the less likely it is to hurt
you. The closer you are to it, the more exposure you are going to get from it.
Slide 17
Finally shielding. We’ve talked about this a lot. Alphas are shielded by paper;
Betas a thick book, heavy Plexiglas or a heavy sheet of plywood; Gammas,
something bullet proof, something very thick and very dense.
Slide 18
Now, remember that the two hazards of radioactive materials are the energy that
comes off of it, the radiation and the contamination — actually getting the
radioactive material on you or into an unwanted place. Let’s talk about the take
home message from this.
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Slide 19
The take home message about radiation exposure is that radiation hurts the body
by striking it, much like getting a sunburn. Now a sunburn is solar radiation, not
ionizing radiation, but it is energy that hits you and damages you. Remember you
have to be exposed to that source of energy, that source of radiation to be injured.
There is no secondary exposure to radiation. You can’t be exposed to radiation
and then give it to someone else.
Slide 20
What is the take home message about contamination? Contamination is like sand.
It is a material, it can be moved from place to place. You can get it on yourself
and take it someplace else. You can get contaminated by someone else if they are
not careful and if you are not careful. Contamination is controlled by controlling
the material, by insuring that we survey people, that we use our control lines and
that we make sure we don’t go where the contamination is.
Slide 21
Again, the two hazards of radioactive material are the radiation or the exposure to
harmful energy and the contamination, which is actually getting the material out
of its proper container and on people and into the environment. If you have any
questions, please feel free to ask them.
Thank you very much.
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Radiological Fundamentals Training – Course Attendance Record
Instructors:
1. Complete each column below with the appropriate course information.
2. Instruct each attendee to complete the bottom section with their name, unit/department,
employee ID# and SSN.
3. If an employee failed to attend a scheduled class, check the column marked “No Show.”
Course
Title of Course
Date Offered
Instructor
Location
Start Time
End Time
Certification
Credits
Attendees: To get credit for attending this class, you must complete your name, unit/department,
employee ID# and SSN in the columns below. PLEASE PRINT!
Employee Name
Unit/Dept
Employee ID#
SSN
No Show
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