HSE inspecting school for radiation

USAexpat

USAexpat

Everyone see this little ray of sunshine coming from the government:
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKHSE/bulletins/3104300

Where schools use radioactive materials as part of their learning activities, they are required to comply with the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) and seek registration from HSE.

To ensure that the risks to workers and students from radiation are managed effectively, from April 2022 HSE’s radiation team will be carrying out inspections in schools who hold registration for this type of work to review compliance with IRR17.

Just great...
 
Purple Cat

Purple Cat

It's real Science not Rocket Science
We don't have any anymore thankfully - previous Senior Tech properly disposed of them via an accredited route at the time (1995), still have the paperwork and the Site Manager has a copy if anyone asks (again!).

A few years ago a Science Teacher asked us to look into getting some and when I said you had to go through the L093 checklist before even thinking of buying some and secure storage would be a problem - they said they could be kept in the Prep Room(!) or failing that in a storage cupboard in the HoD's lab(!!) and you would need permission from Senior Management to buy, then went onto ask us to 'borrow' some from another school but an ex-Head of Science jumped on it before I could reply!
 
Last edited:
Nick Mitchener

Nick Mitchener

Purple Cat said:
We don't have any anymore thankfully - previous Senior Tech properly disposed of them via an accredited route at the time (1995), still have the paperwork and the Site Manager has a copy if anyone asks (again!).

A few years ago a Science Teacher asked us to look into getting some and when I said you had to go through the L093 checklist before even thinking of buying some and secure storage would be a problem - they said they could be kept in the Prep Room(!) or failing that in a storage cupboard in the HoD's lab(!!) and you would need permission from Senior Management to buy, then went onto ask us to 'borrow' some from another school but an ex-Head of Science jumped on it before I could reply!
Click to expand...

They are in the curriculum, I really don't understand how or why schools don't have them.
 
A

Andrew Symonds

Something else to look forward to, I've not long provided evidence of responsible use and storage to the local authority, they didn't want to visit because of the pandemic. The main problem will be not having a suitable teacher who has been on an RPS course, for one reason or another they have left before getting one done and now the most suited candidate is off in May on maternity leave. Our new HOD says she will do the course. In the meantime as far as I know I'm the only member of the department that has done the course.
 
karen b

karen b

I alerted the relevant teachers and compliance manager. The appointed person has just left. We do have another trained teacher but they did bog all last time they were in charge...
 
A

Alan

Nick Mitchener said:
They are in the curriculum, I really don't understand how or why schools don't have them.
Click to expand...
As a reader of this forum of many years standing, I can quite easily understand how or why some schools do not have them. The costs are prohibitive and the regulations onerous. The alternative of investing £2 in 100 2p pieces does have its attractions.

Things have hardly changed in 50 years. I am sure that there are better ways of demonstrating radioactivity.
 
Nick Mitchener

Nick Mitchener

Alan said:
As a reader of this forum of many years standing, I can quite easily understand how or why some schools do not have them. The costs are prohibitive and the regulations onerous. The alternative of investing £2 in 100 2p pieces does have its attractions.

Things have hardly changed in 50 years. I am sure that there are better ways of demonstrating radioactivity.
Click to expand...

I don't think the costs are that bad given the working like of most of the sources, and the regulations are not particularly onerous either. Chemistry is much more expensive to run than Physics and nobody baulks at spending money on chemicals and storage plus all the associated kit and risk assessments.
 
CovTech

CovTech

Lvl 39 Alchemist
Baldilocks said:
Following the alphabetical system in place already I propose the order of responsibility to become RPA, RPO, RPS, RPU. Where RPU is Radiation Protection Underling. RPD for Dogsbody would have been better, but would have been just under the Advisor unfortunately.
Click to expand...
What about RPI - Radiation Protection Indentured Servant ?

Keeps the vowel thing running and seems closer to the truth ;)
 
Fleur

Fleur

Nick Mitchener said:
I don't think the costs are that bad given the working like of most of the sources, and the regulations are not particularly onerous either. Chemistry is much more expensive to run than Physics and nobody baulks at spending money on chemicals and storage plus all the associated kit and risk assessments.
Click to expand...
I think the problem is the initial outlay - to get sources etc and the training would take all our budget for the year - for a handful of lessons a year. If a teacher wants to add one new Chemistry experiment to the rotation, we already have the glassware so it would just be the chemicals and they're cheap!
 
Nick Mitchener

Nick Mitchener

Fleur said:
I think the problem is the initial outlay - to get sources etc and the training would take all our budget for the year - for a handful of lessons a year. If a teacher wants to add one new Chemistry experiment to the rotation, we already have the glassware so it would just be the chemicals and they're cheap!
Click to expand...

Part of the problem is the stupid way LAs run budgets. No business would invest in capital equipment out of a revenue budget. Equipment with long life should be amortised over several years.
 
CovTech

CovTech

Lvl 39 Alchemist
I agree
Something like that should be coming out of the main school budget

Lets be realistic, unless you're doing something drastically wrong it's a once-in-30-years outlay at the very most

Iirc the L093 docs we're preparing has something about budgeting agreements for replacements that are within the last 5 years of their life needing to be in place with finance etc. anyway
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top