GER Category 2 cheat sheet

GER Category 2 is a national authorization tier for industrial radiography practices; the specific licence conditions, dose limits and notification thresholds are set by the national competent authority, not by the exam itself.

The international legal backbone is the IAEA safety standards hierarchy: Safety Fundamentals (policy), Safety Requirements (GSR Part 3 for radiation protection, GSR Part 7 for emergency preparedness, SSR-6 for transport), and Safety Guides (how to comply).

GSR Part 3 requires a graded approach: practices are authorized by notification, registration or licence according to the magnitude of risk; industrial radiography is normally licensed because it is a high-activity, high-dose-rate practice.

The authorization holder is legally responsible for safety; individual duties can be assigned to an RPO and to qualified operators, but responsibility cannot be delegated away from the licensee.

Occupational dose limits under GSR Part 3: 20 mSv per year averaged over 5 years (100 mSv in 5 years) and 50 mSv in any single year; apprentices aged 16-18 are limited to 6 mSv per year.

Public dose limit is 1 mSv per year; the dose constraint for a single source or practice is set below that limit by the regulator, and the exemption level for a practice is an effective dose of the order of 0.01 mSv per year.

Key instruments that must be in place before authorization: source inventory and security plan, radiation protection programme, emergency plan, training and competence records, and a quality management system.

Regulatory inspections can be announced or unannounced; typical enforcement ladder is written notice, restriction or suspension of the licence, and prosecution; the licensee must notify the regulator of loss, theft or significant overexposure immediately.

Three basic protective principles: justification (benefit outweighs detriment), optimization (ALARA, using dose constraints and investigation levels), and dose limitation (applies only to workers and the public, never to medical exposure of patients).

Inverse-square law: dose rate falls as 1/r^2, so doubling distance from a point source cuts the dose rate to one quarter; distance is the first control to apply when an exposure is detected.

Gamma shielding: half-value layer (HVL) reduces intensity by 50%, tenth-value layer (TVL) by 90%; for a broad beam, I = I0 x B x exp(-mu x), where B is the buildup factor and mu the linear attenuation coefficient.

Ir-192 typical values: half-life about 74 days, principal gamma energies around 0.3-0.6 MeV; practical TVL in concrete is roughly 15-20 cm and in lead roughly 4-5 cm, so always use the source-specific shielding data provided by the manufacturer.

Se-75 half-life is about 120 days with gamma energies around 0.1-0.4 MeV; Co-60 has a half-life of about 5.27 years with 1.17 and 1.33 MeV gammas and therefore needs much thicker shielding than Ir-192.

Personal dosimetry for radiographers: a whole-body dosimeter worn at chest or waist level, plus extremity dosimeters (ring or wrist) because hand doses during source handling can exceed body doses; dosimeters must be worn only during work and stored away from sources.

Dose rates are measured in microsieverts per hour; a common operational rule is to establish a controlled area boundary where the dose rate could exceed 7.5 microSv/h and a supervised area above 2.5 microSv/h, subject to national values.

Emergency dose guidance: life-saving actions may justify doses up to about 500 mSv (with informed volunteers), and actions to prevent severe deterministic effects up to about 1 Sv, but these are exceptional and require authorization.

Gamma exposure devices contain a sealed source in a shielded container (projector); the source is driven out through a guide tube to the collimator by a manual crank or a pneumatic system, and must return fully to the shielded position after each exposure.

Source categories under the IAEA categorization: Category 1 is the most dangerous (could cause permanent injury or death if uncontrolled); industrial radiography sources typically fall in Category 2, which is still a high-risk source requiring strict security.

Sealed source integrity: sources must be tested for leakage at intervals set by the regulator (commonly every 6 or 12 months) using a wipe test; a wipe result above 185 Bq (0.005 microCi) is a common action threshold for a leaking source.

The collimator limits the beam angle; the guide tube and source guide must be inspected for kinks, wear and correct coupling, because a detached or jammed source is the classic cause of uncontrolled exposure in gamma radiography.

X-ray generators for radiography produce radiation only while energized, so the primary controls are key switch, exposure switch with dead-man function, warning lights, and adequate filtration and beam collimation.

Source identification: each source has a unique serial number, activity and date of manufacture; the activity today is A = A0 x exp(-ln2 x t / half-life), which must be recalculated for exposure-time charts.

Security of high-activity sources: store in a locked, shielded store with restricted access, keep a source inventory with serial numbers, and use two-person control or equivalent measures for Category 1 and 2 sources.

Equipment pre-use checks: survey meter function and battery, source position indicator, locks and keys, warning signals, guide tube condition, and collimator attachment; any defect that could affect safe source return removes the equipment from service.

Before exposure: define and physically cordon the controlled area using dose-rate surveys, not fixed distances; post radiation warning signs and a barrier that cannot be crossed accidentally, and check that no one remains inside.

Use the largest practicable distance and the shortest practicable exposure time; rotate personnel so no single radiographer accumulates a disproportionate share of the collective dose.

Site radiography in the field requires a permit or work authorization from the site controller, coordination with other trades, and a check that no other radiation source or confined-space hazard is present.

Source crank operation: the operator should be able to see the source position indicator and the survey meter; if the source fails to return, treat it as an emergency, secure the area, and do not approach without a survey meter and appropriate shielding.

Collimation and beam direction: aim the beam at the object and away from occupied areas; use a collimator to reduce the scattered radiation field and never rely on the source housing alone for shielding.

Exposure time calculation: t = desired film dose / dose rate at the film; use calibrated source activity, distance and film class, and verify with a survey meter before exposing personnel nearby.

After exposure: confirm the source is locked in the shielded position with the survey meter, lock the device, remove the key, and record the exposure, dose-rate survey and any anomaly in the log.

Prohibited practices: leaving a device unattended with the key in place, bypassing interlocks, using a guide tube that is not rated for the source, and radiographing with persons inside the controlled area.

Emergency plan must cover: lost or stolen source, stuck or disconnected source, fire or flood in the source store, vehicle accident during transport, and accidental overexposure of a person; each scenario needs defined actions, roles and contact numbers.

Priority actions for a stuck source: stop work, evacuate and cordon at a distance based on measured dose rate, notify the RPO and regulator, and recover only with a survey meter, long-handled tools and shielding, by trained personnel.

Dose-rate based cordon rule: set the barrier where the dose rate is low enough that an untrained person cannot receive a significant dose in the time they might remain; survey and re-survey as conditions change.

Personal overexposure: remove the person from the field, provide medical assessment, arrange dose reconstruction (dosimeter, biological dosimetry if indicated), and report to the regulator within the timeframe set by national law.

Lost or stolen source: notify the regulator and police immediately, activate the security plan, and issue a description (radionuclide, activity, serial number, physical form) to help search and recovery.

Emergency drills must be exercised at intervals defined in the plan (commonly at least annually) and after any significant change in equipment or personnel; drills are recorded and lessons learned are fed back into the plan.

Emergency equipment to keep available: calibrated survey meter with spare batteries, long-handled tongs, shielding materials, cordon tape and signs, personal dosimeters, and a communication link that works at the site.

Recovery is complete only when the source is verified in a shielded, locked position or in safe storage, the area is surveyed and released, and a written report with doses and corrective actions is issued.

Transport is governed by SSR-6 (IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material), which classifies packages as excepted, industrial, Type A, Type B or Type C according to activity and hazard.

A package label (I-White, II-Yellow, III-Yellow) is set by the transport index (TI) and surface dose rate: I-White has surface dose rate up to 5 microSv/h; II-Yellow up to 0.5 mSv/h and TI up to 1; III-Yellow up to 2 mSv/h and TI up to 10.

The transport index is numerically the maximum dose rate in microSv/h at 1 m from the package surface, expressed in mSv/h x 100; it is used to control segregation and stacking during transport.

Category III-Yellow and exclusive-use shipments require placarding of the vehicle, and the driver needs written instructions, a consignor declaration and emergency information for the radionuclide carried.

Storage: keep sources in a dedicated, locked, shielded store with access control, a source inventory, and dose-rate monitoring at the store boundary; the store must be designed so that public dose limits are met at the fence.

Package integrity: check for damage, contamination and correct closure before dispatch; a Type B package must retain shielding and containment under accident conditions defined in SSR-6.

Segregation during transport: keep packages away from workers and the public according to TI, and never carry radioactive packages together with food, feed or personnel in the same compartment unless the package is excepted and the dose criteria are met.

Records for each shipment: consignor and consignee, radionuclide, activity, package type, TI, surface dose rate, vehicle and driver, and confirmation of receipt at destination.

A quality management system for radiography covers procedures, training and competence, equipment calibration and maintenance, source inventory control, and document control, with defined responsibilities and review.

Records that must be retained (period set by national law, often 5-30 years): source inventory and movement log, dosimetry results, equipment calibration certificates, leak test results, training records, and emergency drill reports.

Calibration: survey meters and dosimeters must be calibrated traceable to a national standard at intervals set by the regulator (commonly annually) and after repair; calibration certificates must state the reference radiation and uncertainty.

Non-conformance and corrective action: any deviation (stuck source, overexposure, failed leak test, missing dosimeter) must be recorded, investigated for root cause, corrected, and verified for effectiveness.

Audits: internal audits at planned intervals check that procedures are followed; external audits or inspections by the regulator are separate and their findings must be closed out with evidence.

Document control: only current versions of procedures are in use; superseded versions are withdrawn or clearly marked, and changes are authorized and communicated to all radiographers.

Traceability: each radiograph should be linkable to the exposure record (source, activity, time, distance, film and operator) so that a re-shoot or dose reconstruction is possible.

Management review: at defined intervals, top management reviews dose trends, audit findings, incidents and resource adequacy, and records the decisions taken.

GER Category 2 is a national authorization tier for industrial radiography practices; the specific licence conditions, dose limits and notification thresholds are set by the national competent authority, not by the exam itself.

The international legal backbone is the IAEA safety standards hierarchy: Safety Fundamentals (policy), Safety Requirements (GSR Part 3 for radiation protection, GSR Part 7 for emergency preparedness, SSR-6 for transport), and Safety Guides (how to comply).

GSR Part 3 requires a graded approach: practices are authorized by notification, registration or licence according to the magnitude of risk; industrial radiography is normally licensed because it is a high-activity, high-dose-rate practice.

The authorization holder is legally responsible for safety; individual duties can be assigned to an RPO and to qualified operators, but responsibility cannot be delegated away from the licensee.

Occupational dose limits under GSR Part 3: 20 mSv per year averaged over 5 years (100 mSv in 5 years) and 50 mSv in any single year; apprentices aged 16-18 are limited to 6 mSv per year.

Public dose limit is 1 mSv per year; the dose constraint for a single source or practice is set below that limit by the regulator, and the exemption level for a practice is an effective dose of the order of 0.01 mSv per year.

Key instruments that must be in place before authorization: source inventory and security plan, radiation protection programme, emergency plan, training and competence records, and a quality management system.

Regulatory inspections can be announced or unannounced; typical enforcement ladder is written notice, restriction or suspension of the licence, and prosecution; the licensee must notify the regulator of loss, theft or significant overexposure immediately.

Three basic protective principles: justification (benefit outweighs detriment), optimization (ALARA, using dose constraints and investigation levels), and dose limitation (applies only to workers and the public, never to medical exposure of patients).

Inverse-square law: dose rate falls as 1/r^2, so doubling distance from a point source cuts the dose rate to one quarter; distance is the first control to apply when an exposure is detected.

Gamma shielding: half-value layer (HVL) reduces intensity by 50%, tenth-value layer (TVL) by 90%; for a broad beam, I = I0 x B x exp(-mu x), where B is the buildup factor and mu the linear attenuation coefficient.

Ir-192 typical values: half-life about 74 days, principal gamma energies around 0.3-0.6 MeV; practical TVL in concrete is roughly 15-20 cm and in lead roughly 4-5 cm, so always use the source-specific shielding data provided by the manufacturer.

Se-75 half-life is about 120 days with gamma energies around 0.1-0.4 MeV; Co-60 has a half-life of about 5.27 years with 1.17 and 1.33 MeV gammas and therefore needs much thicker shielding than Ir-192.

Personal dosimetry for radiographers: a whole-body dosimeter worn at chest or waist level, plus extremity dosimeters (ring or wrist) because hand doses during source handling can exceed body doses; dosimeters must be worn only during work and stored away from sources.

Dose rates are measured in microsieverts per hour; a common operational rule is to establish a controlled area boundary where the dose rate could exceed 7.5 microSv/h and a supervised area above 2.5 microSv/h, subject to national values.

Emergency dose guidance: life-saving actions may justify doses up to about 500 mSv (with informed volunteers), and actions to prevent severe deterministic effects up to about 1 Sv, but these are exceptional and require authorization.

Gamma exposure devices contain a sealed source in a shielded container (projector); the source is driven out through a guide tube to the collimator by a manual crank or a pneumatic system, and must return fully to the shielded position after each exposure.

Source categories under the IAEA categorization: Category 1 is the most dangerous (could cause permanent injury or death if uncontrolled); industrial radiography sources typically fall in Category 2, which is still a high-risk source requiring strict security.

Sealed source integrity: sources must be tested for leakage at intervals set by the regulator (commonly every 6 or 12 months) using a wipe test; a wipe result above 185 Bq (0.005 microCi) is a common action threshold for a leaking source.

The collimator limits the beam angle; the guide tube and source guide must be inspected for kinks, wear and correct coupling, because a detached or jammed source is the classic cause of uncontrolled exposure in gamma radiography.

X-ray generators for radiography produce radiation only while energized, so the primary controls are key switch, exposure switch with dead-man function, warning lights, and adequate filtration and beam collimation.

Source identification: each source has a unique serial number, activity and date of manufacture; the activity today is A = A0 x exp(-ln2 x t / half-life), which must be recalculated for exposure-time charts.

Security of high-activity sources: store in a locked, shielded store with restricted access, keep a source inventory with serial numbers, and use two-person control or equivalent measures for Category 1 and 2 sources.

Equipment pre-use checks: survey meter function and battery, source position indicator, locks and keys, warning signals, guide tube condition, and collimator attachment; any defect that could affect safe source return removes the equipment from service.

Before exposure: define and physically cordon the controlled area using dose-rate surveys, not fixed distances; post radiation warning signs and a barrier that cannot be crossed accidentally, and check that no one remains inside.

Use the largest practicable distance and the shortest practicable exposure time; rotate personnel so no single radiographer accumulates a disproportionate share of the collective dose.

Site radiography in the field requires a permit or work authorization from the site controller, coordination with other trades, and a check that no other radiation source or confined-space hazard is present.

Source crank operation: the operator should be able to see the source position indicator and the survey meter; if the source fails to return, treat it as an emergency, secure the area, and do not approach without a survey meter and appropriate shielding.

Collimation and beam direction: aim the beam at the object and away from occupied areas; use a collimator to reduce the scattered radiation field and never rely on the source housing alone for shielding.

Exposure time calculation: t = desired film dose / dose rate at the film; use calibrated source activity, distance and film class, and verify with a survey meter before exposing personnel nearby.

After exposure: confirm the source is locked in the shielded position with the survey meter, lock the device, remove the key, and record the exposure, dose-rate survey and any anomaly in the log.

Prohibited practices: leaving a device unattended with the key in place, bypassing interlocks, using a guide tube that is not rated for the source, and radiographing with persons inside the controlled area.

Emergency plan must cover: lost or stolen source, stuck or disconnected source, fire or flood in the source store, vehicle accident during transport, and accidental overexposure of a person; each scenario needs defined actions, roles and contact numbers.

Priority actions for a stuck source: stop work, evacuate and cordon at a distance based on measured dose rate, notify the RPO and regulator, and recover only with a survey meter, long-handled tools and shielding, by trained personnel.

Dose-rate based cordon rule: set the barrier where the dose rate is low enough that an untrained person cannot receive a significant dose in the time they might remain; survey and re-survey as conditions change.

Personal overexposure: remove the person from the field, provide medical assessment, arrange dose reconstruction (dosimeter, biological dosimetry if indicated), and report to the regulator within the timeframe set by national law.

Lost or stolen source: notify the regulator and police immediately, activate the security plan, and issue a description (radionuclide, activity, serial number, physical form) to help search and recovery.

Emergency drills must be exercised at intervals defined in the plan (commonly at least annually) and after any significant change in equipment or personnel; drills are recorded and lessons learned are fed back into the plan.

Emergency equipment to keep available: calibrated survey meter with spare batteries, long-handled tongs, shielding materials, cordon tape and signs, personal dosimeters, and a communication link that works at the site.

Recovery is complete only when the source is verified in a shielded, locked position or in safe storage, the area is surveyed and released, and a written report with doses and corrective actions is issued.

Transport is governed by SSR-6 (IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material), which classifies packages as excepted, industrial, Type A, Type B or Type C according to activity and hazard.

A package label (I-White, II-Yellow, III-Yellow) is set by the transport index (TI) and surface dose rate: I-White has surface dose rate up to 5 microSv/h; II-Yellow up to 0.5 mSv/h and TI up to 1; III-Yellow up to 2 mSv/h and TI up to 10.

The transport index is numerically the maximum dose rate in microSv/h at 1 m from the package surface, expressed in mSv/h x 100; it is used to control segregation and stacking during transport.

Category III-Yellow and exclusive-use shipments require placarding of the vehicle, and the driver needs written instructions, a consignor declaration and emergency information for the radionuclide carried.

Storage: keep sources in a dedicated, locked, shielded store with access control, a source inventory, and dose-rate monitoring at the store boundary; the store must be designed so that public dose limits are met at the fence.

Package integrity: check for damage, contamination and correct closure before dispatch; a Type B package must retain shielding and containment under accident conditions defined in SSR-6.

Segregation during transport: keep packages away from workers and the public according to TI, and never carry radioactive packages together with food, feed or personnel in the same compartment unless the package is excepted and the dose criteria are met.

Records for each shipment: consignor and consignee, radionuclide, activity, package type, TI, surface dose rate, vehicle and driver, and confirmation of receipt at destination.

A quality management system for radiography covers procedures, training and competence, equipment calibration and maintenance, source inventory control, and document control, with defined responsibilities and review.

Records that must be retained (period set by national law, often 5-30 years): source inventory and movement log, dosimetry results, equipment calibration certificates, leak test results, training records, and emergency drill reports.

Calibration: survey meters and dosimeters must be calibrated traceable to a national standard at intervals set by the regulator (commonly annually) and after repair; calibration certificates must state the reference radiation and uncertainty.

Non-conformance and corrective action: any deviation (stuck source, overexposure, failed leak test, missing dosimeter) must be recorded, investigated for root cause, corrected, and verified for effectiveness.

Audits: internal audits at planned intervals check that procedures are followed; external audits or inspections by the regulator are separate and their findings must be closed out with evidence.

Document control: only current versions of procedures are in use; superseded versions are withdrawn or clearly marked, and changes are authorized and communicated to all radiographers.

Traceability: each radiograph should be linkable to the exposure record (source, activity, time, distance, film and operator) so that a re-shoot or dose reconstruction is possible.

Management review: at defined intervals, top management reviews dose trends, audit findings, incidents and resource adequacy, and records the decisions taken.