GOVERNMENT RELATIONS continued
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS continued
Film Badges in the Dental Office
Film Badge regulations for Pennsylvania can be found in PA Code Title 25 Section 219.5, and are incorporated by reference from federal regulations 10 CFR 20.1201, 20.1003, 20.1502 and 20.2106.
Film Badges are required to be worn in the dental office when an employee:
n Will exceed 10 % of the annual adult limit; this equates to 500mR / year for adults or 100mR / year for minors and pregnant women
n Is a minor n The employee has declared pregnancy n The employee enters a high radiation area; exposed to more than 100mR / hour
No badging is required If an individual does not meet any of the criteria listed above. In instances where badging is required, the party responsible for each radiation source an individual is exposed to is obligated to assure that radiation exposure from sources under their control does not result in an individual exceeding limit requirements. There is no requirement for how often personnel badges must be analyzed, except to say that it cannot exceed one year.
Even though a dental office is not likely to exceed the limit requiring badging, the Bureau of Radiation Protection recommends badging, not only for liability reasons, but also to follow the“ As Low As Reasonably Acceptable”( ALARA) Principle.
For additional questions regarding the use of film badges in your dental office, please contact the PDA Central Office at( 800) 223-0016.
NOV / DEC 2016 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 9