The business manager is responsible for the radioprotection of his/her workers who are liable to be exposed to ionising radiation in their establishment. This provision is also aimed at self-employed workers who are responsible for their own radiation monitoring.

Each worker who is liable to receive an annual radiation dose in excess of 1 mSv (millisievert) must be subject to radiation monitoring.

To this end, the Radiation Protection Division makes available individual dosimeters for each worker exposed and ensures the monthly reading of the badges at the expense of the business concerned.

Applications for dosimeters have to be completed by the business's administrator of dosimeters before the worker commences work.

It must be noted that the radiation dose during the worker's professional activity is limited to 20 mSV (millisievert) per year.

Who is concerned

Each business that employs workers who are liable to be exposed to ionising radiation in excess of 1 mSv (milliSievert) per year must purchase dosimeters for them.

Nevertheless, workers who are liable to receive an annual radiation dose in excess of 3 mSv (milliSievert) may, with the Radiation Protection Division's approval, not become subject to individual monitoring provided that the establishment has put in place:

• an appropriate dosimetry monitoring system in the workplace; or
• any other appropriate dose monitoring system.

Preliminary steps

Each worker who is working with radiation must undergo a pre-employment medical examination by an accredited practitioner (fit for radiation work) at the company's expense.

Costs

Costs for the monthly analysis of dosimeters and the replacement of lost or broken dosimeters are billed to the business:

• EUR 4 for the monthly analysis of one dosimeter;
• EUR 49 for the replacement of a lost or broken dosimeter.

How to proceed

Submitting a request for a dosimeter

The administrator for dosimeters in the business must submit a duly completed and signed request for a dosimeter for each worker concerned to the Radiation Protection Division (Division de la Radioprotection).

Upon receipt of the request, the Radiation Protection Division will provide 2 dosimeters to the exposed worker. In order to avoid any confusion between the dosimeters to be worn on uneven months (January, March, etc.) and even months (February, April, etc.), the badges have different colours.

The dosimeters provided by the Radiation Protection Division are thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) of the type "whole body" which are sensible to X-ray, gamma and beta radiation.

Using the dosimeter

Each worker will receive 2 dosimeters. While one of the dosimeters is worn and continues to monitor the radiation its carrier is exposed to, the radiation dose captured by the second dosimeter is evaluated by the dosimetry service (service de la dosimétrie) at the Radiation Protection Division, which ensures the continued monitoring of the exposed worker.

In practice, the exposed worker must wear one of the 2 dosimeters during one month.

At the end of each month, the worker must go to the administrator for dosimeters to swap the dosimeter worn, who will send it to the Radiation Protection Division for analysis.

The worker then wears his second dosimeter for one month, goes back to the company's administrator for dosimeters to swap it again with the first dosimeter, which he/she then wears during the following month. This cycle is repeated every month.

Each dosimeter is strictly personal and may under no circumstance be worn by another person than the one indicated on the badge.

The administrator for dosimeters in the business must ensure:

• that the dosimeters are regularly sent to the Radiation Protection Division;
• that each exposed worker swaps his dosimeter each month.

Dosimetry reports

The Radiation Protection Division draws up and sends monthly dosimetry reports to the business within 40 days after the end of the monitoring period.

The report and the results must be made available to the workers concerned.

Other monitoring requirements

Where needed, the Radiation Protection Division can request that a second system of radiation monitoring (e.g. extremity dosimeters) or alarm or immediate dose reading dosimeters must be worn in addition to the TLDs.

Moreover, each time workers are liable to receive significant internal contamination, the business manager must put in place an adequate system for monitoring radiation. The Radiation Protection Division then sets specific monitoring intervals for the analysis of radiation readings whenever there is a risk of significant internal contamination by taking into account the working conditions and the radionuclides concerned.

Whenever the individual measuring of ionizing radiation is impossible or inadequate, the company must establish an estimate:

• from the results obtained from the monitoring of the workplace;
• from the individual measures carried out on exposed coworkers; or
  
• based on calculation methods approved by the National Health Directorate.

Cancelling a dosimeter

When a worker no longer needs to be monitored, the administrator for dosimeters sends a duly completed and signed dosimeter cancellation request to the Radiation Protection Division.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact