Radiation Safety Specialist - Radiation Safety

West Virginia University • West Virginia, WV

4d

About The Position

The Radiation Safety Specialist reports to the Director of WVU and WVU Hospitals Radiation Safety. The position is responsible for radiation protection across research laboratories and medical facilities on all WVU and WVU Hospitals Inc. campuses and affiliated hospitals. The Specialist assists with expanding, implementing, coordinating, and maintaining a comprehensive radiation safety program, including developing strategies for implementing policies and procedures related to radioactive materials and radiation-producing devices.

The role supports regulatory compliance, radiation exposure monitoring, radiation safety assessments, shielding evaluations, clinical radiation safety, radioactive waste management, inspections, training, and emergency response. The position includes 24/7 on-call duties. During an on-call rotation, the employee must live within or be able to report within 30 minutes of notice.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in health physics, physical science, safety engineering, safety management, environmental health and safety, or a related field of science.
• At least four years of professional experience managing and implementing Radiation Safety/Health Physics and/or Health and Safety compliance.
• Knowledge of operational aspects of radiation protection, health effects, and radiation detection.
• Ability to gather data, compile information, prepare reports, and communicate technical information to non-technical personnel.
• Ability to complete assigned tasks frequently within limited time frames; creativity and complex problem-solving ability.
• Knowledge of state and federal regulations pertaining to radioactive materials.
• Ability to investigate and analyze information and draw conclusions.
• Ability to establish rapport and maintain good working relationships with departments and state and federal regulatory agencies.
• Leadership and communication skills.
• Ability to train and guide a wide range of individuals in radiation protection and procedural activities.
• Ability to develop, implement, and enforce radiation safety programs and protocols.
• Skills in conducting radiation safety inspections and ensuring compliance with NRC, FDA, DOT, OSHA, EPA, and WV Radiological Health Programs.
• Must have and maintain a valid West Virginia driver’s license.
• Must be able to travel to different locations for inspections and emergency on-call assignments.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain Trustworthy and Reliability Status at WVU and WVUH as required by 10 CFR 37.
• All qualifications must be met by the time of employment; equivalent combinations of related education and experience will be considered.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Director with implementing initiatives to increase control of certain radionuclides as required by the USNRC under federal multiple broad-scope material licenses.
• Implement a program to maintain occupational radiation exposures for the University and Hospitals in accordance with USNRC and WV Radiological Health Program rules and applicable regulations.
• Assist the Director in evaluating radiation safety aspects of institutional policies and procedures and recommend effective dose equivalent assessments for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
• Establish and maintain a Quality Management Program, including Standard Operating Procedures and comprehensive audits for Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine.
• Determine personnel radiation-monitoring needs, evaluate bioassays, monitor exposure and bioassay records for high exposures, notify individuals of exposures approaching limits, and recommend remedial action.
• Determine the presence and extent of radiological hazards from ionizing radiation used in human diagnosis and treatment; interpret recommended surveys and support compliance with applicable advisory and regulatory agencies.
• Assess shielding design specifications and use appropriate shielding to protect patients and the public during medical procedures.
• Evaluate medical radiation from radiopharmaceuticals before clinical use and develop a comprehensive radiation safety program for clinical settings.
• Ensure radiation safety assessments are completed before radiation-producing devices enter routine use, procedures are modified, nearby changes could increase occupancy, or workload increases are anticipated.
• Use health physics references to maintain records for radioactive materials, Authorized Users, training, and other necessary data; maintain and update Health Physics databases.
• Establish radiation safety procedures for patients receiving radioactive therapies.
• Establish radiation protection protocols and computer-based learning training for nurses and ancillary personnel on diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiation in patients.
• Perform health physics computations to determine whether public doses following release of therapeutic patients are within USNRC Regulatory Guide limits.
• Monitor patient radiation exposures, compare them with published surveys for similar exposures, and support implementation of ALARA exposure levels for patients, staff, and the public.
• Coordinate radioactive waste management, including receiving, shipping, packaging, and transporting radioactive waste.
• Coordinate the radioactive waste decay-in-storage program.
• Develop and present radiation safety training for research, support, and ancillary staff.
• Perform routine inspections of research and clinical facilities that use radioactive material; respond to radioactive spill emergencies; collect and compile technical data for reports and summaries.
• Perform 24/7 on-call duties and be able to report within 30 minutes of notice during the on-call rotation.

Benefits

• 37.5-hour work week.
• 13 paid holidays.
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year.
• 18 sick days per year.
• Health insurance and other benefits.
• 401(a) retirement savings with a 6% employee contribution match.
• Eligibility to continue health insurance in retirement and other retiree benefits.
• Wellness programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level