N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 10 § 16.13

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 16.13 - Notices, instructions and reports to workers; inspections

(a) Purpose and scope. This section establishes requirements for notices, instructions and reports by radioactive materials licensees or radiation-producing equipment registrants to individuals engaged in work under a license or registration, and options available to such individuals in connection with inspections of the activities and facilities of licensees or registrants by the department or health officer having jurisdiction to ascertain compliance with the provisions of this Part, orders and licenses issued thereunder regarding radiological working conditions.

(b) Posting of notices to workers.

(1) Each licensee or registrant shall post current copies of the following documents:

(i) the regulations of this Part;

(ii) the radioactive materials license and conditions or documents incorporated into the license by reference and amendments thereto, or the certificate of registration;

(iii) the operating procedures (including emergency procedures) applicable to work under the license or registration; and

(iv) any notice of violation involving radiological working conditions, proposed imposition of civil penalty or order issued pursuant to the provisions of the Public Health Law, and any response from the licensee or registrant.

(2) If posting of a document specified in paragraph (1) of this subdivision is not practicable, the licensee or registrant may post a notice which describes the document and states where it may be examined.

(3) A current copy of "Notice to Employees" shall be posted by each licensee or registrant wherever individuals work in or frequent any portion of a restricted area.[FN6]

(4) Documents, notices or forms posted pursuant to this section shall be conspicuous, be replaced if defaced or altered, and appear in a sufficient number of places to permit individuals engaged in work under the license or registration to observe them on the way to or from assigned work locations to which the document applies.

(5) Department documents shall be posted within two working days after receipt of the documents from the department; the licensee's or registrant's response, if any, shall be posted within two working days after dispatch from the licensee or registrant. Such documents shall remain posted for a minimum of five working days or until action correcting violations, if any, has been completed, whichever is later.

(c) Instructions restricted. All individuals likely to receive an occupational dose or frequenting any portion of a restricted area shall be:

(1) informed of the storage, transfer or use of radioactive material, of radiation-producing equipment or of radiation in such portions of the restricted area;

(2) instructed in the operating procedures applicable to work under the license or registration and the health protection problems associated with exposure to such radioactive material or radiation, in precautions or procedures to minimize exposure, in the purposes and functions of protective devices employed, and required to demonstrate familiarity with such precautions, procedures and devices;

(3) instructed in, and instructed to observe, to the extent within the worker's control, the applicable provisions of this Part and licenses for the protection of personnel from exposures to radiation or radioactive material occurring in such areas;

(4) instructed of their responsibility to report promptly to the licensee or registrant any condition which may lead to or cause a violation of the department regulations and licenses or unnecessary exposure to radiation or radioactive material;

(5) instructed in the appropriate response to warnings made in the event of any unusual occurrence of malfunction that may involve exposure to radiation or radioactive material; and

(6) advised as to the radiation exposure reports which workers must be given or may request pursuant to subdivision (d) of this section.

(7) the extent of the instructions required under this subdivision shall be commensurate with the nature and level of the likely exposure and with potential radiological health problems in the restricted area. Instruction shall be given before an individual begins work likely to result in receiving an occupational dose or before an individual begins work in a restricted area and at least annually thereafter. Records documenting individual worker instruction shall be maintained for inspection by the department for a period of three years.

(d) Notification and reports to individuals.

(1) Radiation exposure data for an individual and the results of any measurements, analyses and calculations of radioactive material deposited or retained in the body of an individual shall be reported to the individual as specified in this subdivision. The information reported shall include data and results as shown in records maintained by the licensee or registrant pursuant section 16.14(f)(1)(i)-(vi) of this Part. Each notification and report shall be in writing and include appropriate identifying data, such as the name of the licensee or registrant, the name of the individual, the individual's social security number, together with the individual's exposure information and, in addition, contain the following statement: "This report is furnished to you under the provisions of Part 16, New York State Sanitary Code, and should be preserved for further reference."

(2) Each licensee or registrant shall advise each worker annually of the worker's exposure to radiation or radioactive material as shown in records maintained by the licensee or registrant pursuant to section 16.14(f)(1)(i)- (vi) of this Part.

(3) At the request of a worker formerly engaged in work controlled by the licensee or the registrant, each licensee or registrant shall furnish to the worker a report of the worker's exposure to radiation or radioactive material. Such report shall:

(i) be furnished within 30 days from the time the request is made, or within 30 days after the exposure of the individual has been determined by the licensee or registrant, whichever is later;

(ii) cover, within the period of time specified in the request, each calendar year in which the worker's activities involved exposure to radiation from radioactive material licensed by, or radiation-producing equipment registered with the department;

(iii) contain the results of any planned special exposure dose to the embryo/fetus and include only calculations and analysis of radioactive material deposited in such individual's body, including any bioassay or other medical evaluation services of which records are required by section 16.14(f)(1)(ii)- (vi) of this Part; and

(iv) include the dates and locations of work under the license or registration in which the worker participated during this period.

(4) When a licensee or registrant is required pursuant to section 16.15 of this Part to report to the department any exposure of an individual to radiation or radioactive material, the licensee or the registrant shall also provide to the individual a report on his exposure data included therein. Such reports shall be transmitted at a time not later than the transmittal to the department.

(5) At the request of any worker who has been engaged in a work assignment in an area controlled by a licensee or registrant for purposes of radiation protection, and who is terminating employment in such work assignment in a given calendar quarter, the licensee or registrant shall provide a written report of the radiation dose received by that worker from operations of the licensee or registrant during that specifically identified calendar quarter or fraction thereof. The report shall be provided to the worker or the worker's designee at termination, and if the final determined personnel monitoring results are not available at that time, a written estimate of that dose shall be provided in the interim. Estimated doses shall be clearly indicated as such.

(e) Inspections; presence of representatives of licensees or registrants and workers during inspection.

(1) Each licensee or registrant shall afford the department or health officer having jurisdiction at all reasonable times opportunity to inspect:

(i) the radiation source and the installation, institution, establishment, and premises or facilities at which such source is located, possessed, stored or used;

(ii) each record required to be maintained by this Part.

(2) During an inspection, the licensee or registrant shall conduct, or permit the department or health officer having jurisdiction to conduct, such tests as the department or health officer may require, including but not limited to tests of:

(i) any radiation source and the installation, institution, establishment, premises or facilities at which such radiation source is located, possessed, stored or used; and

(ii) the personnel monitoring equipment referred to in section 16.11 of this Part and any other equipment, instrument or devices used in connection with the location, possession, storage or use of such radiation source.

(3) During an inspection, the department or health officer having jurisdiction may consult privately with workers as specified in subdivision (f) of this section. The licensee or registrant may accompany department inspectors or health officer having jurisdiction during other phases of an inspection.

(4) If, at the time of inspection, an individual has been authorized by the workers to represent them during inspections, the licensee or registrant shall notify the inspectors of such authorization and shall give the worker's representative an opportunity to accompany the inspectors during the inspection of physical working conditions.

(5) Each workers' representative shall be routinely engaged in work under control of the licensee or registrant and shall have received instructions as specified in subdivision (c) of this section.

(6) Different representatives of licensees or registrants and workers may accompany the inspectors during different phases of an inspection if there is no resulting interference with the conduct of the inspection. However, only one workers' representative at a time may accompany the inspectors.

(7) With the approval of the licensee or registrant and the workers' representative, an individual who is not routinely engaged in work under control of the licensee or registrant--for example, a consultant to the licensee or registrant or to the workers' representative--shall be afforded the opportunity to accompany inspectors during the inspection of physical working conditions.

(8) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, inspectors are authorized to refuse to permit accompaniment by any individual who deliberately interferes with a fair and orderly inspection. With regard to any area containing proprietary information, the workers' representative for that area shall be an individual previously authorized by the licensee or registrant to enter that area.

(f) Consultation with workers during inspections.

(1) Inspectors may consult privately with workers concerning matters of occupational radiation protection and other matters related to applicable provisions of department regulations and licenses to the extent the inspectors deem necessary for the conduct of an effective and thorough inspection.

(2) During the course of an inspection any worker may privately bring to the attention of the inspectors, either orally or in writing, any past or present condition which he has reason to believe may have contributed to or caused any violations of this Part, or license condition, or an unnecessary exposure of an individual to radiation from licensed radioactive material or registered radiation equipment under the licensee's or registrant's control. Any such notices in writing shall comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of this section.

(3) The provisions of paragraph (2) of this subdivision shall not be interpreted as authorization to disregard instructions provided pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section.

(g) Requests by workers for inspections.

(1) Any worker or representative of workers who believes that a violation of this Part or of license conditions exists, or has occurred in work under a license or registration with regard to radiological working conditions in which the worker is engaged, may request an inspection by giving notice of the alleged violation to the department. Any such notice shall:

(i) be in writing;

(ii) set forth the specific grounds for the notice; and

(iii) be signed by the worker or representative of the workers. A copy shall be provided to the licensee or registrant by the department no later than at the time of inspection, except that, upon the request of the worker giving such notice, his name and the name of individuals referred to therein shall not appear in such copy or on any record published, released, or made available by the department, except for good cause shown.

(2) If, upon receipt of such notice, the Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection of the department determines that the complaint meets the requirements set forth in paragraph (1) of this subdivision and that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged violation exists or has occurred, the bureau shall cause an inspection to be made as soon as practicable to determine if such alleged violation exists or has occurred. Inspection pursuant to this section need not be limited to matters referred to in the complaint.

(3) No licensee or registrant shall discharge, or in any manner discriminate against, any worker because such worker has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under these regulations or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or because of the exercise by such worker on behalf of himself or others of any option afforded by this Part.

(h) Inspections not warranted; informal review.

(1) If the department determines, with respect to a complaint under subdivision (g) of this section, that an inspection is not warranted because there are no reasonable grounds to believe that a violation exists or has occurred, the department shall notify the complainant in writing of such determination. The complainant may obtain an informal review of such a determination by submitting a written statement of position with the Director, Center for Environmental Health of the department who will provide the licensee or registrant with a copy of such statement by certified mail, excluding, at the request of the complainant, the name of the complainant. The licensee or registrant may submit an opposing written statement of position with the Director, Center for Environmental Health, who will provide the complainant with a copy of such statement by certified mail. Upon the request of the complainant, the Director, Center for Environmental Health may hold an informal conference in which the complainant and the licensee or registrant may orally present their views. An informal conference may also be held at the request of the licensee or registrant, but disclosure of the identity of the complainant will be made only following receipt of written authorization from the complainant. After considering all written or oral views presented, the Director, Center for Environmental Health shall affirm, modify or reverse the determination of the department, and furnish the complainant and the licensee or registrant a written notification of his decision and the reason therefor.

(2) If the Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection determines that an inspection is not warranted because the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of this section have not been met, it shall notify the complainant in writing of such determination. Such determination shall be without prejudice to the filing of a new complaint meeting the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of this section.

(i) Each person who possesses any radiation source shall, when necessary or desirable in order to aid in determining the extent of any individual's occupational exposure to a radiation source, comply with orders from the department directing such person to make available to such individual bioassay services or other appropriate medical evaluations and to furnish to the department and the health officer having jurisdiction a copy of the reports of such services.

[FN6] Copies of the "Notice to Employees" may be obtained from the department.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 10 § 16.13