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IONISING RADIATIONS
Guidance as to the health and safety of those working with potentially dangerous
sources of ionising radiations in schools and colleges is given in the Administrative
Memorandum 1/65 issued by the Secretary of State for Education and Science.
In respect of schools, the approval of the Secretary of State is required before
radioactive sources (other than potassium, uranium and thorium compounds normally
used as a chemical agent) are used. Applications on Form I.R.N. (Certificate)
is required when closed sources up to 10 micro-curies each, and up to 30 micro-curies
in aggregate, are to be used as set out by the Association for Science Education and
the Nuffield Foundation in the Modern Physics Reports, 1962 and 1964.
The only development during the last year was that one school (Winchmore
School) was authorised to use open radioactive material.
The distinction is that these are substances that are not contained in a plastic
or other closed container when in use. The material used is very short lived and
will decay to a very low level of activity within a few days. It may only be used
by a teacher who has attended a course approved by the Department of Education
and Science, and only for an experiment which has been approved by the Department.
As in all school use of radioactive substances the radioactive strength used
is very low, and the dose of ionising radiation received by the pupils will be far
less than that arising from cosmic radiation.
The Enfield College of Technology has been visited by members of the Advisory
Information Unit of the Department of Employment and Productivity in order to
review progress in meeting the recommendation of the Code of Practice for the
protection of persons exposed to Ionising Radiation in Research and Teaching.
As a result of this visit, valuable suggestions have been made to the College
in relation to their use of X-ray Crystallography equipment, electron microscopes
and unsealed radioactive materials.
In 1964 the Department of Education and Science, the Ministry of Health, the
Scottish Home and Health Department and the Ministry of Health and Local
Government for Northern Ireland, jointly produced a Code of Practice for the
Protection of Persons against Ionising Radiations arising from Medical and Dental
use.
The Code of Practice applies to the use of ionising radiations arising from X-ray
machines in the council's dental clinics. There are eight clinics using X-ray machines
and approximately 1,506 X-ray exposures were taken: 1,246 were for orthodontic
purposes and the remainder were taken during the course of general dental treatment.
A total of 532 pupils had an X-ray examination.
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