All users of radioactive materials at DFCI are required to wear assigned dosimetry (a "radiation badge"). 

If you don't have such a badge, issued by the DFCI  Radiation Safety Office, then you are NOT authorized to work with ionizing radiation or radioactive materials!  Even if you have received the required training, you must also have (and wear) the dosimeter(s).

Need to get a DFCI radiation badge?

If you are already authorized to use radioactive materials under DFCI's license, come to the Radiation Safety Office (454 Brookline Ave., Suite 4) during normal business hours, and we will provide a temporary replacement badge, or any additional (extremity) monitoring devices needed.

If you have not previously been issued a badge, click here.

Want to see or discuss your dosimetry results?

Ordinarily, your Permit Holder is responsible for posting or providing the results within your work group.  However, the Radiation Safety Office is also required to maintain a copy; come to our office in 454 Brookline Ave. during normal business hours and we will gladly provide a copy of your results, and discuss them with you. 

Note: we require your written permission to release your results to any other requestor.

How do I read or interpret the report?

For an explanation of how to read your monitoring results, click here.

No longer need a radiation monitoring badge?

If you no longer need a badge (for whatever reason you decide not to work with radioactive materials), click here.

Adding People to the Roster for Dosimetry

Any staff member who will handle radioactive materials is required to attend the Radiation Safety Training beforehand.  At the training, staff members complete a form to register them into the Radiation Safety Program, and that form is used to issue temporary radiation badges.  After the training, the RSO will solicit a cost center number from the department's Financial Coordinator, and we must have this information before the person's name can be officially added to the roster.   Click here to learn about billing and  Why We Need a Cost Center Number. 

The deadline for adding names to the list is the 10^th of each month.  Staff members who are added after the 10^th will need to wear their temporary badges until the following badge cycle.

Terminating Dosimetry

If a staff member leaves the Institute, or has decided to no longer work with radioactive materials, then the radiation dosimetry must be terminated.    Deleting the dosimetry is not automatic upon a person's termination, since many staff members stay working in the after they file the appropriate paperwork with Human Resources or Grants and Contracts. 
 

Requests for badge terminations must be in writing, and can be done by any representative of the laboratory.  Download the Radiation Dosimetry Termination Request Form (in .pdf format) and send it to Radiation Safety or fax it to (617) 632-1932.

IMPORTANT:  If a staff member has left your laboratory but has moved to another DFCI Lab, do not complete a termination form!   Instead contact the RSO to have the badge transferred to the new lab, which is a much simpler process than terminating a badge, reactivating it, and assigning a temporary spare badge.

Minors Working in Radiation Laboratories

According to 105CMR120.217, the maximum whole body exposure of individuals under the age of 18 must be limited to 10% of the limit for individuals over 18 years of age, or 0.5 rem per calendar year.  In general, to maintain compliance with this limit, DFCI does not recommend that minors work with radioactive materials.  DFCI does however recommend radiation dosimetry to minors who are working in restricted areas.  If it is absolutely necessary that a minor work with radioactive materials, the Permit Holder must obtain specific approval from the RSO.

Minors who will be working in a laboratory where radioactive materials are present should attend the Radiation Safety Training, so that they will be given proper instruction and be issued a radiation badge. 

Pregnancy and Radiation

For "declared" pregnant women, the dose to the embryo/fetus shall not exceed 500 mRem for the duration of the pregnancy, evenly distributed throughout the pregnancy.

For more information on dosimetry and monitoring procedures specific to pregnancy, click here.

If a pregnant woman wants the protection of this limit, she is required by 105 CMR 120.218 to declare the pregnancy in writing to the Institute.  This declaration is voluntary. 

Those women who want to discuss their options to declare pregnancy are strongly encouraged to contact the RSO.

How Do Our Radiation Badges Work?

At DFCI, we use very sensitive Optically Stimulated Luminescent (OSL) badges, provided and processed by Landauer, Inc.  Various filters in the badge help determine if the exposure was from beta or gamma, and if it was high energy or low energy. 

Radiation badges in the research laboratories are exchanged every two months.  Nuclear Medicine and 'fetal' badges (of declared pregnant workers) are exchanged monthly. 

By the 10^th day of the new month, changes to the dosimetry list must be completed in order to be reflected in the next group of badges.

Staff members must wear their radiation badges at all times when handling radioactive materials.  They are worn between the neck and waist, preferably on the portion of the body that is likely to receive the highest exposure.

NOTE: These badges are incredibly sensitive, if used properly.  The most important factor affecting the radiation measurement sensitivity is whether or not the badge is RETURNED ON TIME. 

If your badge is returned late, it will not be shipped with the 'control' badges, so its readings cannot be corrected for the exposure to X-rays received in transit.

Finger Ring Dosimeters

Finger ring monitors are required when working with 1 mCi or more of ³²P.   If working with lower levels of ³²P, you may also have a ring, but it is optional.

Since not everyone handles ³²P, obtaining a ring is not automatic; you must request one.  Come to the Radiation Safety Office, or just call 2-3005 or e-mail and we can assign you one. 

The RSO also recommends use of a finger badge when working with multiple milliCurie quantities of other radionuclides (except ³H).

Rings are exchanged every two months along with the (whole body) radiation badges, and should be worn on the hand that is likely to get the highest exposure, under the gloves.

Remember - the white label faces inward, so that the sensing element is closest to the source of radiation you intend to hold.

A technical note: the ring badges used by DFCI contain thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) chips, rather than the OSL sensing element used in the "whole body" and fetal badges.

To return to the Radiation Safety Homepage, click here.

(rev. 16Aug04: EBA)