ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

This Safety Guide is one of three guides that support the application of the Code of Practice for Radiation Protection in the Medical Applications of Ionizing Radiation (RPS14). While the Code establishes the regulatory requirements for the use of ionization radiation in medicine, this Safety Guide gives practitioners in nuclear medicine a best practice approach to their day-to-day clinical work. The Safety Guide should also assist in providing practical means to meet the mandatory requirements of the Code.

Download the Safety Guide in PDF

Safety Guide for Radiation Protection in Nuclear Medicine (2008) (PDF 585k)

Printed Copies

Printed copies of this Safety Guide are available for purchase directly from ARPANSA at a cost of $16.50 per copy (includes GST and postage).

Order Form

Download an ORDER FORM to purchase publications in the Radiation Protection Series.

Review of Safety Guides

With the continuing advancement of the use of ionizing radiation in medicine, it is important that the Safety Guides be reviewed periodically.  One of the goals of the Radiation Health Committee is to ensure that the highest standard of protection is made available through the implementation of the relevant Code and Safety Guides.

The implementation period begins from 1 July 2009, and the Radiation Health Committee has agreed that the Safety Guides will be reviewed after 2 years of operation. To assist in this process, ARPANSA invites comment on any aspects of this Safety Guide, including the need for improvements in clarity or detail, any provisions that are difficult to put into practice, or instances where better or more up to date advice than that given in the Safety Guide may be more appropriate.

Comments should be provided by email to secretariat@arpansa.gov.au, indicating in the subject line which Safety Guide your comment relates to, before 1 July 2011. To aid in consideration and further discussion of issues brought forward, it is proposed to use this web site to display all comments received.  Hence, unless confidentiality is explicitly requested, all comments will be made public.

At the end of the 2 year period, the Radiation Health Committee will review the comment received and determine whether a revision of the Safety Guide is necessary.

Comment received on Safety Guide for Radiation Protection in Nuclear Medicine.

Public Consultation Documents

The Draft Safety Guide was released for industry consultation in May 2007, then for broader public consultation in August 2007. During the consultation period, ARPANSA held a National Conference on Radiation Protection in Medicine to provide the stakeholders a forum to discuss the Code and Safety Guides.

Many submissions received incorporated comments on the Code of Practice of Radiation Protection in Medicine, and the three related Safety Guides (covering Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy modalities), all released for comment together. Comments and responses on the Code and each of the Safety Guides are published together with the final documents. Submissions referring specifically to the Safety Guide for Radiation Protection in Nuclear Medicine appear below.

Consultation Draft Safety Guide for Radiation Protection in Nuclear Medicine (PDF 274k) - (August 2007)

Consultation Draft - Summary of Submissions and Responses (PDF 214k)

Radiation Health Committee Statements

In November 2002, the Radiation Health Committee issued a statement on the use of units of measure in prescribing and administering nuclear medicines. The statement was issued in response to an incident involving the misadministration of a nuclear medicine dose in a NSW hospital. The full statement is available at RHC Statements.

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