As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA)

Florida Tech ALARA Program

Rules and regulations for protection against radiation hazards are established by Chapter 64E-5 Florida Administrative Code (FAC) and are a condition of our license. These rules specify limits for radiation exposure and are based upon the principle of keeping exposures As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA). 

Reporting Requirements

All suspected or known cases of exposures exceeding the limits in table below must be reported immediately to Environmental Health & Safety(EH&S) Radiation Safety Officer(RSO) at 321-674-8889 or the EH&S Director at 321-674-7715 or ehs@fit.edu. 

Authority of Radiation Safety Officer (RSO)

Per our radioactive materials license (issued by the Florida Department of Health Bureau of Radiation Control), the RSO has the authority to suspend operations or require changes to protocols out of compliance with radiation safety regulations and the provisions of the license. 

Maximum Permissible Levels of Radiation in Restricted Areas 

A restricted area is one in which access is controlled to allow authorized users. 

1). External Radiation Exposure to Individuals 

No user shall possess, use or transfer radioactive materials or use ionizing radiation producing machines in a restricted area in such a manner as to cause any individual to receive in any period of one calendar month or quarter, a radiation exposure (dose) in excess of the action levels specified in the Exposed limits Table. Action levels at Florida Tech are defined as 10% of the exposure limits per regulation. 

2). Notification to Individuals of Exposures 

The RSO will maintain exposure records for individuals that require monitoring. The RSO will notify each individual if exposure limits meet or exceed the action levels on the Table. Investigations will be conducted by the RSO to determine the cause of the exposure. A written response indicating corrective action to be taken to prevent future exposure is required by the individual. 

Exposure Limits Table

“Exposure Limits Table” below is the corrected table (note that the quarterly level action numbers have been corrected):

	Monthly Limit per regulations (mrem)	Florida Tech's Monthly Action Levels, 10% Exposure Limits per regulations (mrem)	Quarterly Limit per regulations (mrem)	Florida Tech's Quarterly Action Levels, 10% Exposure Limits per regulations (mrem)	Annual Limit per regulations (mrem)
Deep Dose Equivalent (DDE) Whole Body Exposure	416	41	1,250	125	5,000
Eye Dose Equivalent (LDE) Exposure to Lens of Eye	1,250	125	3,750	375	15,000
Shallow Dose Equivalent (SDE) Exposure to Skin or Extremity	4,166	416	12,500	1,250	50,000

See the documents section in the right pane for more information.  If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact the Radiation Safety Officer listed in the contacts pane.