Ohio Department of Health - Radiation Advisory Committee

The Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) met virtually on April 22, 2022. The OSRT had representation attending this meeting to serve as the voice of Ohio Technologists. Discussion focused on the following topics:

Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection

  • The Bureau is “downsizing” and moving back into the offices on High Street and out of the Chestnut Street offices. Because of state pandemic guidelines, there will be one supervisor per day in the office, with the others still working remotely.
  • You may not be surprised to learn that Ohio is the 3rd most regulated state, behind New York and California. Senate Bill 9 was passed which will prohibit adding any new regulatory restrictions without removing two current regulatory restrictions. This will impact the rules that pertain to radiation equipment, radiation safety and radiologic licensing.
  • All rules are reviewed on a 5-year cycle. (Remember, rules are regulations from the Ohio Department of Health, statutes are regulations passed by the legislature).

Agreement State Program

  • A citizen reported they found a radiation source on their property. This was determined to be a radiation detector with a radium source emitting 132 microR/hour. A radiation removal service was used to safely remove the device.
  • The department is still contending with the facility in the Cleveland area (formerly Picker Medical) which has Co60 contamination in the basement. The owners have relinquished ownership, and the Ohio Dept of Health is in control.

X-Ray Program

  • Conducted inspections of 525 facilities, 19 on-site hospital inspections, 80 MQSA inspections, 23 free standing imaging sites, and 66 Certified Radiation Expert audits
  • Sent out 600-900 Radiologic Technologist renewal notices/ month
  • Processes 125-225 approval letters/ week
  • The department currently has 3 open positions. These include, 2 Health Physicists and 1 Health physicist supervisor. 

Note: Radiologic Technologists are uniquely qualified for these positions. If you have an interest in working on the legislative side of radiation safety, please contact the Department of Health.

  • Medical Event: ODH must be informed of any “medical event” which alters the prescribed radiation plan to patients. One event was reported in which the patient should have received 3000 cGy in 10 fractions using 12 Mev electrons. Due to a transcription error, 6 Mev energy was utilized. The underexposure was detected after 5 fractions of treatment.

Radiologic Health and Safety Program

  • Drones are now being used to investigate some environmental incidents.
  • The department is participating in nuclear disaster drills

The next RAC meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 15, 2022. These are open to the public.OSRT is an on-going advocate for all Ohio Radiologic Technologists and Radiation Therapists. 

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