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Safety in laboratories
Australian Standard™

Part 4: Ionizing radiations

AS 2243.4—1998
 This Australian Standard was prepared by Committee, CH/26 — Safety in Laboratories.
It was approved on behalf of the Council of Standards Australia on 1 May 1998 and
published on 5 July 1998.

The following interests are represented on Committee CH/26:

Agriculture Victoria
Australian Council of Trade Unions
CSIRO Manufacturing Science and Technology
Department of Defence, Australia
Department of Labour, New Zealand
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Environmental Science and Research, New Zealand

ESR Kenepuru Science Centre, New Zealand
Ministry of Commerce, New Zealand
National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia
New Zealand Chemical Industry Council
New Zealand Microbiological Society
Victorian WorkCover Authority
WorkCover New South Wales

This Standard was prepared by the following participants:

Environment Protection Authority of N.S.W.
Independent consultant health physicists
University of New South Wales
University of Western Australia

Review of Australian Standards. To keep abreast of progress in industry, Australian Standards are subject
to periodic review and are kept up to date by the issue of amendments or new editions as necessary. It is
important therefore that Standards users ensure that they are in possession of the latest edition, and any
amendments thereto.
Full details of all Australian Standards and related publications will be found in the Standards Australia
Catalogue of Publications; this information is supplemented each month by the magazine ‘The Australian
Standard’, which subscribing members receive, and which gives details of new publications, new editions
and amendments, and of withdrawn Standards.
Suggestions for improvements to Australian Standards, addressed to the head office of Standards Australia,
are welcomed. Notification of any inaccuracy or ambiguity found in an Australian Standard should be made
without delay in order that the matter may be investigated and appropriate action taken.

This Standard was issued in draft form for comment as DR 96063.

 AS 2243.4—1998
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Australian Standard™

Safety in laboratories

Part 4: Ionizing radiations

Originated as AS 2243.4—1979.
Previous edition AS 2243.4(Int)—1994.
Revised and designated AS 2243.4 — 1998.

Published by Standards Australia

(Standards Association of Australia)
1 The Crescent, Homebush, NSW 2140
ISBN 0 7337 1995 3
 AS 2243.4—1998 2

PREFACE

This Standard was prepared by Subcommittee CH/26/4, Ionizing Radiation, on behalf of

the Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee CH/26, Safety in
Laboratories, to supersede AS 2243.4(Int)—1994.
This Standard is the result of a consensus among representatives on the Joint Committee
to produce it as an Australian Standard.
The objective of this Standard is to promote safe working practices and to prevent
unnecessary exposure of persons working in laboratories containing sources of ionizing
radiation.
This Standard was prepared after consideration of the Recommendations for limiting
exposure to ionizing radiation (1995) [NOHSC:3022] and National standard for limiting
occupational exposure to ionizing radiation [NOHSC:1013 (1995)] (Radiation Health
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Series No. 39) issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
and Worksafe Australia, and the most recent recommendations of the International
Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Where necessary, future relevant
publications of the NHMRC and ICRP should be consulted as they become available.
The sections of this Standard dealing with dose limits, accident and emergency procedures
and the requirements for radiological laboratories have been further refined since the
superseded interim edition. Where there is a choice of data, the most restrictive data is
presented. For more detailed information, the referenced source documents should be
consulted. The previous edition contained some design information for laboratories which
has been omitted from this Standard and may now be found in AS/NZS 2982.1,
Laboratory design and construction, Part 1: General requirements.
This Standard is Part 4 in a series aimed at promoting safety in laboratories. The series is
as follows:
Part 1: General
Part 2: Chemical aspects
Part 3: Microbiology
Part 4: Ionizing radiations (this Standard)
Part 5: Non-ionizing radiations
Part 6: Mechanical aspects
Part 7: Electrical aspects
Part 8: Fume cupboards
Part 9: Recirculating fume cabinets
Part 10: Storage of chemicals
Statements expressed in mandatory terms in notes to tables are deemed to be requirements
of this Standard.
The terms ‘normative’ and ‘informative’ have been used in this Standard to define the
application of the appendix to which they apply. A ‘normative’ appendix is an integral
part of a Standard, whereas an ‘informative’ appendix is only for information and
guidance.
 3 AS 2243.4—1998

CONTENTS
Page

FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SECTION 1 SCOPE AND GENERAL

1.1 SCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

SECTION 2 HAZARDS AND THEIR CONTROL

2.1 HAZARDS FROM IONIZING RADIATION AND THEIR CONTROL . . . . 11
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2.2 LEGISLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 TRAINING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

SECTION 3 RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1 GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANAGEMENT/EMPLOYER . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3 RADIATION PROTECTION ADVISER (RPA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.4 OCCUPATIONALLY EXPOSED PERSONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

SECTION 4 PRIMARY DOSE LIMITS

4.1 GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2 NHMRC RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

SECTION 5 CLASSIFICATION AND MONITORING OF PERSONS

EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATIONS
5.1 OCCUPATIONALLY EXPOSED PERSONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.2 MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

SECTION 6 IONIZING RADIATION PROTECTION

6.1 GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
6.2 DESIGNATED RADIATION AREAS (DRAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.3 RADIATION WARNING SIGNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.4 SHIELDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.5 PERSONS WORKING IN ISOLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.6 IONIZING RADIATION PROTECTION—SEALED SOURCES
AND RADIATION-PRODUCING APPARATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6.7 IONIZING RADIATION PROTECTION—UNSEALED
RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

SECTION 7 STORAGE AND TRANSPORT

7.1 STORAGE OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.2 TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
 AS 2243.4—1998 4

Page
SECTION 8 DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES
8.1 GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ......... . . 31
8.2 SOLID WASTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ......... . . 31
8.3 LIQUID WASTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ......... . . 31
8.4 AIRBORNE WASTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ......... . . 33
8.5 OPTIONS FOR THE DISPOSAL OF UNWANTED SEALED SOURCES . . 33

SECTION 9 MONITORING IONIZING RADIATION

9.1 GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9.2 CALIBRATION OF MONITORING INSTRUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9.3 PERSONAL MONITORING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9.4 RADIATION DOSE RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
9.5 AREA MONITORING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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SECTION 10 TRAINING, INSTRUCTION, ACCIDENTS AND

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
10.1 TRAINING AND INSTRUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
10.2 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

SECTION 11 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR RADIATION,

RADIOISOTOPE AND RADIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES
11.1 GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
11.2 PLANNING BRIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
11.3 TYPES OF HAZARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
11.4 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
11.5 SUMMARY OF DESIGN REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

APPENDICES
A CONTROL OF RADIATION EXPOSURE OF THE PUBLIC . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
B REFERENCED AND RELATED DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
C DERIVED RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
D MEASUREMENT OF IONIZING RADIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
E IONIZING RADIATION SYMBOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
F RADIOISOTOPE LABORATORY GRADING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
G MANAGEMENT OF SOLID, LIQUID AND GASEOUS RADIOACTIVE
WASTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
H TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

© Copyright STANDARDS AUSTRALIA

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 5 AS 2243.4—1998

FOREWORD

Radiation is the emission of energy, in the form of rays, wave motion or particles, from a
source. The various kinds of radiation can be subdivided broadly as follows:
(a) Ionizing radiations—radiations that by reason of their nature and energy, interact
with matter causing ionization by removing or adding electrons from or to the
atoms of substances through which the radiations pass, including those that
comprise the human organism. Sufficiently energetic radiation may also cause
changes in the nuclei of the atoms in the substance. Ionizing radiation comprises
X-rays, gamma rays, alpha particles, beta particles (i.e. high energy electrons),
neutrons, protons and other nuclear particles. Ultraviolet radiation of wavelength
less than 100 nm will also cause ionization in air.
(b) Non-ionizing radiations—radiations that do not cause ionization or nuclear
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changes, but can harm the human body in other ways. Potentially harmful
non-ionizing radiations are propagated as electromagnetic waves (in particular,
when the wavelength is between about 100 nm and 1 km), and acoustic noise (i.e.
unwanted sound).
This Standard does not deal with non-ionizing radiation, which is covered in AS 2243.5,
Safety in laboratories, Part 5: Non-ionizing radiations.
NOTES:
1 Although referred to in Item (a), ultraviolet radiation is generally classified as non-ionizing
radiation and is therefore considered in AS 2243.5.
2 Radiation protection is concerned with the protection of individuals, their progeny, the
human race as a whole and the environment, while still allowing necessary activities from
which radiation exposure might result.
3 It should be noted that various forms of high voltage apparatus may produce ionizing
radiations. Various chemicals and minerals may be radioactive by virtue of the fact that they
contain traces of naturally occurring radioactive elements.
 AS 2243.4—1998 6

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA

Australian Standard
Safety in laboratories

Part 4: Ionizing radiations

S E C T I O N 1 S C O P E A N D G E N E R A L

1.1 SCOPE This Standard sets out the precautions needed to prevent unnecessary
exposure of persons using sources of ionizing radiation in laboratories and other persons
who could be harmed by accidental or planned releases of radioactive substances or
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external beams of radiation. It also describes the important characteristics of ionizing

radiation-producing substances and apparatus, the nature of the hazards, laboratory design
requirements, and other essential radiation protection information.
It is recommended that the requirements of this Standard be implemented in all
laboratories in which—
(a) radioactive substances are used or stored; or
(b) irradiating apparatus is operated.
As a guide to good practice, persons operating with radioactive substances in less than
licensable quantities are invited to follow the principles contained in this Standard.
NOTE: The exposure of members of the public is considered in Appendix A.

1.2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS A list of referenced documents and other related

publications is provided in Appendix B.

1.3 DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this Standard, the definitions below apply.
1.3.1 Absorbed dose—the energy absorbed by matter from ionizing radiation per unit
mass of irradiated substance. The SI unit of absorbed dose is the joule per kilogram, with
the special name gray (Gy). For radiation protection purposes, the absorbed dose is
averaged over a tissue or organ.
1.3.2 Activity—the average number of spontaneous nuclear transformations of a
radionuclide occurring in unit time. The SI unit of activity is the becquerel (Bq), which is
equal to one nuclear transformation per second.
1.3.3 Activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) — The aerodynamic diameter
(see Clause 1.3.5) of particles having the median activity of the aerosol of interest. That
is, 50% of the aerosol activity is associated with larger particles. For dosimetry purposes,
the AMAD can be taken to represent the aerosol.
1.3.4 Adequate protection — protection against ionizing radiations so that the radiation
doses received by any person from external or internal sources, or both, are as low as is
reasonably achievable (the ALARA principle), are below any constraints recommended for
those sources by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and, in
any event, do not exceed the maxima referred to in Section 4.
1.3.5 Aerodynamic diameter—the diameter, in µm, of a unit density sphere having the
same aerodynamic characteristics as the particle of interest.

COPYRIGHT
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AS 2243.4-1998, Safety in laboratories Ionizing

radiations
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