15A NCAC 11 .1638          DETERMINATION OF PRIOR OCCUPATIONAL DOSE

(a)  For each individual who may enter the licensee's or registrant's restricted or controlled area and is likely to receive, in a year, an occupational dose requiring monitoring pursuant to Rule .1614 of this Section, the licensee or registrant shall:

(1)           determine the occupational radiation dose received during the current year; and

(2)           attempt to obtain the records of lifetime cumulative occupational radiation dose.

(b)  Prior to permitting an individual to participate in a planned special exposure, the licensee or registrant shall determine:

(1)           the internal and external doses from all previous planned special exposures; and

(2)           all doses in excess of the limits received during the lifetime of the individual, including doses received during accidents and emergencies.

(c)  In complying with the requirements of Paragraph (a) of this Rule, a licensee or registrant may:

(1)           accept, as a record of the occupational dose that the individual received during the current year, a written signed statement from the individual, or from the individual's most recent employer for work involving radiation exposure, that discloses the nature and the amount of any occupational dose that the individual may have received during the current year;

(2)           accept, as the record of lifetime cumulative radiation dose, an up-to-date agency form for recording occupational radiation dose history, or equivalent, signed by the individual and counter-signed by an appropriate official of the most recent employer for work involving radiation exposure, or the individual's current employer if the individual is not employed by the licensee or registrant; or

(3)           obtain reports of the individual's dose equivalent(s) by telephone, telegram, electronic media, or letter from the most recent employer for work involving radiation exposure, or the individual's current employer if the individual is not employed by the licensee or registrant.  The licensee or registrant shall request a written verification of the dose data if the authenticity of the transmitted report cannot be established.

(d)  The licensee or registrant shall record the exposure history, as required by Paragraph (a) of this Rule, on the agency form for recording occupational radiation dose history, or other clear and legible record of all the information required on that form. The form or record shall show each period in which the individual received occupational exposure to radiation or radioactive material and shall be signed by the individual who received the exposure.  For each period for which the licensee or registrant obtains reports, the licensee or registrant shall use the dose shown in the report in preparing the agency form for recording occupational radiation dose history. For any period in which the licensee or registrant does not obtain a report, the licensee or registrant shall place a notation on the agency form for recording occupational radiation dose history indicating the periods of time for which data are not available.  Licensees or registrants are not required to reevaluate the separate external dose equivalents and internal committed dose equivalents or intakes of radionuclides assessed prior to January 1, 1994 under Section .0400 of this Chapter. Further, occupational exposure histories obtained and recorded before January 1, 1991, may not have included effective dose equivalent, but may be used in the absence of specific information on the intake of radionuclides by the individual.

(e)  If the licensee or registrant is unable to obtain a complete record of an individual's current and previously accumulated occupational dose, the licensee or registrant shall assume:

(1)           in establishing administrative controls under Rule .1604(f) of this Section for the current year, that the allowable dose limit for the individual is reduced by 1.25 rems (12.5 mSv) for each quarter for which records were unavailable and the individual was engaged in activities that could have resulted in occupational radiation exposure; and

(2)           that the individual is not available for planned special exposures.

(f)  The licensee or registrant shall retain the records on the agency form for recording occupational radiation dose history or equivalent until the agency terminates each pertinent license or registration requiring this record. The licensee or registrant shall retain records used in preparing the agency form for recording occupational radiation dose history for three years after the record is made.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 104E-7(a)(2); 104E-12(a);

Eff. January 1, 1994.