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Radiation Safety Officer Training Course
Nevada Technical Associates, Inc.
Phone 702-564-2798
P.O. Box 93355, Las Vegas, NV 89193
P.O. Box 93355, Las Vegas, NV 89193
Las Vegas, Nevada (Course fee $1190)
- March 17 - 21, 2008 -- online registration.
- June 2 - 6, 2008 -- online registration.
- September 15 - 19, 2008 -- online registration.
- November 10 - 14, 2008-- online registration.
Registration - You may register by any of several methods. Payment is not necessary at the time of registration. The preferred method is online registration which you can do by clicking on the link beside the course date. You may also call us to register or fax the registration form that is available at one of the links above.
GUARANTEE AGAINST CANCELLATION - If you register at least 30 days in advance, we guarantee not to cancel any of the above courses due to insufficient enrollment. This unique guarantee is possible because of our many years of experience in scheduling this course in Las Vegas. We plan to extend this guarantee to some other locations as soon as experience with those locations permits.
The Las Vegas course will will be held at the La Quinta Inn at 3970 Paradise Road in Las Vegas. There is no deadline for course registrations, although we encourage attendees to register as early as possible.
This Radiation Safety Officer course is designed to provide the technical and practical information needed to prepare a person to be an effective radiation safety officer. It will also be useful as general introductory training for anyone who works with radioactive materials or who may be required to be an alternate radiation safety officer.
Those who have no prior experience in radiation safety are encouraged to take our CD-ROM course before attending this course. The cost for the CD is $99. For more information and to order, scroll to the bottom of this link.)
Topics to be covered include atomic structure, properties of ionizing radiation, shielding, radiation and biological effects of radiation exposure, radiation detection and measurement, state and federal regulations, dosimetry, emergency procedures, records/documentation and transportation regulations. The course outline is available below in PDF format.
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS - Approved for Continuing Units by the American Academy of Health Physics, The American Society of Radiologic Technicians and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene. For the American Academy of Health Physics, the units granted are 32 C.E. Units, for the ASRT, it is 30.5 units and for the ABIH, it is 4.5 CM points. We will apply for Continuing Education Credits from other organizations if you will contact us at least 45 days prior to taking the course. Approval from other organizations is usually easy to get but some require that application be made prior to the course.
HOTEL INFORMATION: If you reserve your room at least 30 days in advance, the hotel has agreed to offer a special rate of $109 per night except for June through August, when the rate is $93 per night which is the government rate for that period. During the other months, the rate of $109 is lower than the government rate. The hotel does not recommend working with a travel agency but if you must, you may want to contact the hotel first, as they have a list of four agencies that have agreements with the chain.
Attendees now have three options to book a reservation. The first method is recommended:
1. Contact Susan at La Quinta via email at lq0924dos2@laquinta.com. Attendees must include their full name, mailing address (home or business), telephone number where they can be contacted during the day and a valid email address. Also, give the name of the group, "Nevada Technical Associates". Once Susan receives the email, she will contact the attendee to complete the reservation. Please note that if you make reservations through a travel agent, the special rate may not be available because often the travel agency takes a commission. The hotel has free shuttle service to and from the airport.
2. Call La Quinta Reservations at 800-642-4239, ask for the Group and Tour Sales department. Give the name of the group--"Nevada Technical Associates" and the date of arrival. (The arrival date is for the Sunday prior to the start of training).
3. Call La Quinta Inn in Las Vegas at 702-796-9000, ask for Susan in the Sales office. Give the name of the group--"Nevada Technical Associates" and the date of arrival.
The hotel has a free shuttle to and from the airport and the travel time is about 15 minutes. If you take a taxi, the fare should be $10 to $15. The La Quinta is about one mile from the major hotels on the strip. A monorail station is located on Paradise, about a 15 minute walk north from the La Quinta. Using the monorail, you can easily reach most of the large hotels.
Room rates at the La Quinta and other hotels are extremely variable, depending on demand, so attendees are advised to take full advantage of the special rate by reserving a room prior to the 30 day deadline. You may be able to negotiate the government rate or something similar if you plan on staying the weekend before or after the course. We suggest you speak to Susan in sales if you wish to stay longer.
If you would like to receive a course outline by fax, please call us or see the Outline in PDF format.
Fitness Room - The La Quinta has a fitness room, something that is often mentioned as a desirable amenity by our customers.
Is this course what I need to become a Radiation Safety Officer?
We are often asked a question similar to the following. "Does your Radiation Safety Officer course fulfill the training requirements of my state for becoming an RSO?" In many cases it will, but for reasons that will be explained below, there is no simple answer to this question.
The responsibilities of a Radiation Safety Officer vary enormously from very slight as in the case of a business with one or two sealed sources, to a hospital that uses x-rays and nuclear medicine for treatment of patients. Obviously the training requirements of the latter will be far greater than for the former. The best source of information about training requirements for a particular case will be the regulatory agency that oversees your organization. In general, the regulatory agencies look at education and experience as well as considering short training courses such as ours. Also, the training requirements are not entirely uniform in the different states. We are listing below some of the more common types of radiation safety officers and the typical requirements for each category. Remember though that your own education and experience plays an important role in whether or not your regulatory agency approves you as a radiation safety officer. Because the approval is very much on a case by case basis, we cannot offer an iron clad guarantee that our course will fulfill the requirements of your regulatory agency.
Radiation Safety Officer in industrial, academic, governmental and military settings. Our course is generally accepted and is appropriate training for many types of Radiation Safety Officers in industrial, academic, government and military settings. If your organization uses sealed sources for measurements or if you work in a laboratory setting, or if you regulate or supervise users of radioactive material, or work for the government, our five day course should be appropriate for your needs. It is always a good practice to consult your regulatory agency if you are taking the course to meet regulatory requirements. Please note that some exceptions are discussed below, particularly for the medical field.
Industrial Radiography. Our course is appropriate as training for Radiation Safety Officers in Industrial Radiography but it is not appropriate as initial training for users of Industrial Radiography equipment. This may seem to be conflicting advice but the initial training for radiographers involves training specific to the use of radiography which our course does not have. However the required training for Radiation Safety Officers in Industrial Radiography includes planning a radiation safety program and all the related details which are generally required of all radiation safety programs. The requirements of the federal regulations for various types of Radiation Safety Officers can be seen on the website of the Health Physics Society. The actual federal regulations tend to be written in confusing language but the requirements as restated by the Health Physics Society are more clearly written while at the same time accurately presenting the federal regulations.
Troxler Gauges- Our 5 day course is NOT suitable for initial training for Troxler gauges. The usual state and NRC requirements for Troxler and other brands of gauge users is one day of training specific to that brand of gauge.
Medical Radiation Safety Officers - The initial training requirements for medical radiation safety officers are much more extensive than any 40 hour course, so anyone wishing to become a medical RSO should carefully investigate the requirements of their regulatory agency. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a rather complex set of requirements for medical Radiation Safety Officers and one way of meeting the requirements involves 200 hours of classroom instruction. Ultimately, your regulatory agency has the final word on approval of individuals to become Radiation Safety Officers. The usual procedure is that the organization holding the license must submit the name and qualifications of an incoming RSO for approval by the regulatory agency having authority in that state. This will either be a state agency or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A clear explanation of federal requirements can be found at the link to the Health Physics Society. Keep in mind that many states have their own regulations which may vary slightly from the federal regulations. If your state has its own regulations then you will be required to follow state law rather than federal law. In general though, the state requirements will be almost identical to federal requirements.
It is also important to note that the federal government and most states do not review, approve or evaluate radiation safety courses. However, the state of New Mexico does have a approved list and our course has been approved by the State of New Mexico. Perhaps the best way to evaluate a Radiation Safety Officer course is to consider the qualifications of the instructors and also recommendations from those who have previously attended the course. Our instructors are well qualified and have either Certification as a Health Physicist or have an advanced degree in that or a closely related field. Nevada Technical Associates, Inc., has been offering this course for 12 years. We are also one of the few providers of videos on the subject of radiation safety. You may want to review our list of videos, all recently produced. The link is here.
We can also provide a price quote for onsite training.