N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 10 § 16.56

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

Section 16.56 - Radiographic installations excluding dental, veterinary and podiatric installations

(a)Equipment.

(1) The protective tube housing shall be of diagnostic type.

(2) Collimating devices capable of restricting the useful beam to the area of clinical interest shall be used and shall provide the same degree of protection as is required of the tube housing.

(3) The X-ray films used as the recording medium during the X-ray examination shall show substantial evidence of cut-off (beam delineation).

(4) The aluminum equivalent of the total filtration in the useful beam shall not be less than that shown below:

Operating kVp	Minimum total filter (Inherent plus added)
Below 50 kVp	0.5 mm aluminum
50-70 kVp	1.5 mm aluminum
Above 70 kVp	2.5 mm aluminum

(5) A device shall be provided which terminates the exposure after a preset time interval or exposure.

(6) A dead-man type of exposure switch shall be used and so arranged that it cannot be operated outside a shielded area. Exposure switches for "spot-film" devices used in conjunction with fluoroscopic equipment are excepted from this shielding requirement.

(7) The tube head shall remain stationary when placed in the exposure position.

(b)Structural shielding.

(1) Control apparatus for the radiographic equipment shall be located in an adjacent room or in a fixed booth within the same room provided such booth is composed of radiation shielding to a minimum height of seven feet. The control booth either shall be so arranged that the radiation has to be scattered at least twice before entering the booth, or shall be provided with a protective door that is interlocked in such a way that the X- ray tube(s) cannot be energized unless the door is in the closed position.

(2) The operator shall be able to see the patient by means of a mirror or through a window of lead equivalent sufficient for the required protection and so placed that the operator is always in a shielded position.

(3) Provision shall be made for the operator to communicate with the patient from a shielded position.

(c)Conditions for operation of equipment.

(1) No person shall be regularly employed to hold patients or films during exposures nor shall such duty be performed by any individual occupationally exposed to radiation during the course of his/her other duties. When it is necessary to restrain the patient, mechanical supporting or restraining devices shall be used whenever possible. If patients or films must be held by an individual, that individual shall be provided with appropriate shielding devices such as protective gloves and a protective apron of at least 0.25 mm lead equivalent. No part of the attendant's body shall be in the useful beam. The exposure of any individual used for holding patients shall be determined. Pregnant women and persons under 18 years of age shall not hold patients under any conditions.

(2) Only persons required for the radiographic procedure shall be in the radiographic room during exposure; and, except for the patient, all such persons shall be equipped with appropriate shielding devices such as protective gloves and a protective apron of at least 0.25 mm lead equivalent.

(3) Gonadal shielding of not less than 0.5 mm lead equivalent shall be used for patients who have not passed the reproductive age during radiographic procedures in which the gonads are in the useful beam, except for cases in which this would interfere with the diagnostic procedure.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 10 § 16.56