WAC 246-240-210   Training for use of unsealed radioactive material for which a written directive is required.  Except as provided in WAC 246-240-078, the licensee shall require an authorized user of unsealed radioactive material for the uses authorized under WAC 246-240-201 to be a physician who:

     (1) Is certified by a medical specialty board whose certification process has been recognized by the department, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or an agreement state. (Specialty boards whose certification process has been recognized by the commission or an agreement state will be posted on the NRC's web page at http://www.nrc.gov.) To be recognized, a specialty board shall require all candidates for certification to:

     (a) Successfully complete a residency training in a radiation therapy or nuclear medicine training program or a program in a related medical specialty that includes seven hundred hours of training and experience as described in subsection (2) of this section. Eligible training programs must be approved by the Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the Committee on Postgraduate Training of the American Osteopathic Association;

     (b) Pass an examination, administered by diplomates of the specialty board, which tests knowledge and competence in radiation safety, radionuclide handling, quality assurance, and clinical use of unsealed by-product material; and

     (c) Obtain written certification that the individual has achieved a level of competency sufficient to function independently as an authorized user for the medical uses authorized under WAC 246-240-201. The written certification must be signed by a preceptor authorized user who meets the requirements in WAC 246-240-210 or equivalent U.S. NRC or agreement state requirements. The preceptor authorized user, who meets the requirements in WAC 246-240-210 must have experience in administering dosages in the same dosage category or categories (i.e., this section) as the individual requesting authorized user status; or

     (2) Has completed seven hundred hours of training and experience, including a minimum of two hundred hours of classroom and laboratory training, in basic radionuclide handling techniques applicable to the medical use of unsealed radioactive material requiring a written directive. The training and experience must include:

     (a) Classroom and laboratory training in the following areas:

     (i) Radiation physics and instrumentation;

     (ii) Radiation protection;

     (iii) Mathematics pertaining to the use and measurement of radioactivity;

     (iv) Chemistry of radioactive material for medical use; and

     (v) Radiation biology; and

     (b) Work experience, under the supervision of an authorized user who meets the requirements in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, or equivalent U.S. NRC or agreement state requirements. A supervising authorized user, who meets the requirements in this subsection, must also have experience in administering dosages in the same dosage category or categories (i.e., this section) as the individual requesting authorized user status. The work experience must involve:

     (i) Ordering, receiving, and unpacking radioactive materials safely and performing the related radiation surveys;

     (ii) Performing quality control procedures on instruments used to determine the activity of dosages and performing checks for proper operation of survey meters;

     (iii) Calculating, measuring, and safely preparing patient or human research subject dosages;

     (iv) Using administrative controls to prevent a medical event involving the use of unsealed radioactive material;

     (v) Using procedures to contain spilled radioactive material safely and using proper decontamination procedures;

     (vi) Eluting generator systems, measuring and testing the eluate for radionuclidic purity, and processing the eluate with reagent kits to prepare labeled radioactive drugs; and

     (vii) Administering dosages of radioactive drugs to patients or human research subjects involving a minimum of three cases in each of the following categories for which the individual is requesting authorized user status:

     (A) Oral administration of less than or equal to 1.22 gigabecquerels (33 millicuries) of sodium iodide I-131 for which a written directive is required;

     (B) Oral administration of greater than 1.22 gigabecquerels (33 millicuries) of sodium iodide I-131. Experience with at least three cases in this also satisfies the requirement in (b)(vii)(A) of this subsection;

     (C) Parenteral administration of any beta emitter, or a photon-emitting radionuclide with a photon energy less than 150 keV for which a written directive is required; and/or

     (D) Parenteral administration of any other radionuclide for which a written directive is required; and

     (E) Has obtained written certification that the individual has satisfactorily completed the requirements in subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section and has achieved a level of competency sufficient to function independently as an authorized user for the medical uses authorized under WAC 246-240-201. The written certification must be signed by a preceptor authorized user who meets the requirements in this section, or equivalent U.S. NRC or agreement state requirements. The preceptor authorized user, who meets the requirements in this subsection (2), must also have experience in administering dosages in the same dosage category or categories (i.e., this section) as the individual requesting authorized user status.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050. 07-14-131, § 246-240-210, filed 7/3/07, effective 8/3/07; 06-05-019, § 246-240-210, filed 2/6/06, effective 3/9/06.]