Inspection visits to nuclear medicine chain organisations with extensive permits
From September 2024, inspectors from the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection will be visiting organisations that use radioactive medicinal products, amongst other things, in the course of their work. These organisations perform many activities using ionising radiation, in the form of radioactive medicinal products for example. A special permit is required for this type of work: the complex licence. The organisations in question have had to take many measures in order to work safely. Our inspectors perform checks on these measures.
12 inspection visits
We will be visiting 8 academic hospitals, 2 major (specialised) hospitals, 1 university and 1 company that all make or apply radioactive medicinal products. These organisations have their own departments that monitor radiation protection, called RPUs (short for radiation protection unit). RPU workers give internal permission for activities that include the use of radiation and radioactive materials and monitor these activities to make sure their colleagues from other departments are working safely.
Monitoring rules and practice
We monitor complex licence holders to make sure that they safely handle the radioactive waste that results from activities using radioactive medicinal products. We also expect to see that their internal system for radiation protection is in order. We pay attention to the following and more:
- Do radiation protection units give permission in accordance with the rules?
- How do radiation protection units monitor the activities in which radiation is used?
- Does the radiation protection organisation employ enough specialist workers?
- Is there a decent safety culture? The answer to this question should reflect how people treat each other when it comes to safety.
- Is the radiation protection unit independent enough from the rest of the organisation? This also means that they can set their own rules and monitor compliance with these rules themselves.
Visits to continue until the spring of 2025
We expect that our visits will continue until the spring of 2025. The results from the inspections will be analysed and shared with the organisations involved, the involved industry associations, and the Dutch Society for Radiation Protection. We will also publish our findings on our website.
Reason for the inspections
The developments in nuclear medicine are progressing rapidly. For example, the number of procedures is on the rise. New types of radioactive materials are also being used and produced. We monitor to make sure these activities are safe and are performed in accordance with the rules and the licence.
These inspections are part of the Authority’s multi-year supervision. In the coming years we will be visiting all companies and organisations in possession of a complex licence. In this way we will get a more complete overview of the compliance of these organisations and whether or not safety is guaranteed.