UMB Initial Radiation Safety Training (RST)
1. It is acceptable to wear another persons dosimeter when:
Answer:
They work in the same area and handle the same radioactive material
They are on vacation and will not need their dosimeter
You should never wear another person’s dosimeter
None of the above
2. The maximum range of a beta particle in air is determined by:
Answer:
The activity of the isotope
The half-life of the radioactive atom
The energy of the beta particle
All of the above
3. An experiment you are working on calls for the use of 135 millicuries of I-131 in one administration. The lab received 500 millicuries on 11/04 and todays date is 11/20 of the same year. 131I has a half-life of 8.02 days. The following should
Answer:
Use 135 millicuries and let the next person worry about it
You will need to order more 131I
Use the remaining 100 millicuries and borrow some from the lab next door
Use a smaller lab rat
4. Two foot cubic boxes should only be used for:
Answer:
Liquid waste
Dry solid waste
Both a. and b.
None of the above
5. The portable survey meter (Geiger counter) must be calibrated as follows:
Answer:
Following repairs
On an annual basis
Before the first use
All of the above
6. Which of the following items should not be placed in a radioactive waste container:
Answer:
Contaminated lead shielding
Sharps or needles that have not been placed into a sealed sharps container
Waste materials that are known to be non-radioactive
All of the above
7. Before discarding the isotope-shipping box into regular trash, an individual should:
Answer:
Remove all radiation labels
Obliterate the words Caution, Radioactive Materials from the box
Both a. and b.
No extra precautions are needed; the box can be disposed of as is
8. During an accidental medical exposure, you and your lab colleagues find that you have experienced a 100 rem (1 Sv) exposure in a very short period of time. You can expect to have:
Answer:
An incidence of vomiting in 50% of those present
Moderate to severe leukopenia
A blood transfusion and antibiotics administered
No noticeable ill effects and an excellent prognosis
9. One of the basic methods to control radioactive contamination and to prevent internal radiation exposure is:
Answer:
Proper use of time, distance and shielding
The use of remote handling devices (such as forceps)
Monitoring and surveying of the work area
None of the above
10. A major concern when selecting shielding for high energy beta emitters is:
Answer:
Generation of secondary x-rays from bremsstrahlung radiation
Making the shielding thick enough to prevent backscatter from occurring
Shielding the neutrons that will be released as the betas interact with the shielding
None of the above
11. You can send your radioactive waste removal request form to EHS by:
Answer:
Web site http://www.ehs.umaryland.edu/waste/forms/radwasteform.cfm
Fax to the EHS office at 6-8212
Campus Mail to the HWD in EHS building at 714 West Lombard Street
All of the above
12. The annual whole body dose limit for a member of the public at large is:
Answer:
0.1 rem
0.3 rem
5.0 rem
50 rem.
13. Ion chambers are useful for:
Answer:
Detecting contamination on a given surface
Locating a missing gamma emitting source
Determining exposure risks from unknown sources
None of the above
14. The inverse square rule can be used to:
Answer:
Determine the level of exposure at a given distance from a point source
Determine the level of radioactivity (mCi) in a point source
Determine the decay rate of a specific isotope
None of the above
15. The annual whole body radiation dose limit for radiation workers in Maryland regulations is:
Answer:
0.5 rem
3 rem
5 rem
None of the above
16. The following statements are true regarding sewer disposal permits:
Answer:
A sewer disposal application must be completed and approval granted prior to using sink for disposal
If sharing a room, each authorized user is required to obtain a permit
Disposal can only be in the room and sink stated on the permit
All of the above
17. The annual extremity dose limit for radiation workers in the Maryland regulations is:
Answer:
5 rem
7.5 rem
12 rem
50 rem
18. If not properly calibrated, a liquid scintillation counter (LSC) will usually report results in:
Answer:
Disintegrations per minute (dpm)
Counts per minute (cpm)
Millicuries (mCi)
None of the above
19. If you exceeded one of the ALARA Levels, which level would require you to send a response to the Radiation Safety Office?
Answer:
Level I
Level II
All of the above
None of the above
20. During a spill of radioactive material, decontamination should be performed in the following manner:
Answer:
Facility, Equipment, Personnel
Equipment, Facility, Personnel
Personnel, Facility, Equipment
Only need to clean spill and not worry about additional items being contaminated
21. Radioactive material must be secured against unauthorized access or removal:
Answer:
Only when an authorized person is handling the material
Any time the material is in storage, or not under the direct control of an authorized person
When the level of radioactivity is less than 1 mCi
None of the above
22. A radioactive source is measured at 32 mrem/hr at one meter. What would the exposure rate be at 10 cm:
Answer:
0.32 mrem/hr
3.2 mrem/hr
320 mrem/hr
3200 mrem/hr
23. Which of the following are true statements:
Answer:
The only isotopes that can be commingled into the same waste container without approval from EHS are C-14 and H-3
Animals injected with radioactive materials are not regulated for their radioactive properties
All scintillation cocktails are non-hazardous
Once the original source vials are emptied of the radioactive materials they can be disposed in the regular trash
24. Eating, smoking, drinking, or the storage of food, beverages, and tobacco in radioactive materials areas is prohibited because:
Answer:
Laboratory cleanliness is easier to maintain
Radiation protection organizations enjoy making people uncomfortable
The radiation causes food to spoil rapidly
It reduces the possibility of internal contamination
25. The radiosensitivity of the digestive tract would be considered:
Answer:
Radiosensitive
Relatively radiosensitive
Moderately radiosensitive
Extremely radiosensitive
26. When should a urine analysis be performed?
Answer:
When you have worked with volatile I-125
When you work with a large amount of Tritium
When you are involved in a major spill or accident
Both b. and c.
27. When estimating the activity of radioactive waste you should:
Answer:
Estimate the activity as close as possible to the actual activity of the waste in the container, while still assuring that you did not underestimate
Estimate the activity way below the actual activity
Give every container 100uCi activity
None of the above
28. What additional precautions are taken when a person declares they are pregnant?
Answer:
Their dosimeter frequency changes from quarterly to monthly, if worker was not already badged monthly
They can no longer work in a radioactive material lab
They can only work one day a week with radioactive material
None of the above
29. Beta particles have a spectrum of energies because:
Answer:
The beta particle is emitted from the nucleus of the atom
The decay product, beta particle and antineutrino are created together and must share the decay energy
The proton that is created absorbs some of the decay energy
The decay products must conserve charge
30. An ALARA program (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) is intended to:
Answer:
Reduce the amount of radioactive material used at a single location
Reduce the level of radiation exposure that individuals receive
Reduce the quantity of radioactive waste that is generated from an experiment
None of the above
31. The Becquerel is a:
Answer:
Unit of radioactivity that equals 1 disintegration per second
Unit of radioactivity that equals 2.22E6 disintegrations per minute
Unit of radioactivity that equals 1 disintegration per minute
Unit of radioactivity that equals 2.22E9 disintegrations per minute
32. Which organization issues the license for radioactive materials use to the University of Maryland Baltimore?
Answer:
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Maryland Department of the Environment
The Radiation Safety Committee
None of the above
33. Medical procedures using radiation can include which of the following:
Answer:
X-rays needed for diagnostics
Nuclear medicine procedures
Radiation oncology procedures
All of the above
34. Contamination surveys (wipe tests) must be recorded as follows:
Answer:
Cpm
Wipe tests must be performed but not documented
Dpm
mR/hr
35. To prevent the spread of contamination after a minor spill, a person should immediately:
Answer:
Take off their lab coat and gloves
Exit the area and call Radiation Safety for assistance
Cover the spill with absorbent material
Wash the bench top after working and before conducting a contamination check
36. Delayed effects of radiation exposure include:
Answer:
Tissue effects
Life span shortening
Carcinogenesis
All of the above
37. Monitoring for radioactive contamination while handling radioactive material during an experiment:
Answer:
Need only be done at the end of the experiment
Must be fully documented each time there is a negative result found
Should be done frequently to determine if contamination is present
All of the above
38. How long can you work in a 200 mR/hr radiation field and limit your exposure to 50 mR:
Answer:
15 minutes
4 hours
30 minutes
None of the above
39. When should dosimeters be returned to the Radiation Safety Office?
Answer:
Before the end of the year
The next time you have to go to the Radiation Safety office
The first day of the next wear period
Within 15 days after receiving your new dosimeters
40. A wipe sample of your radioactive work area measures 100 cps (counts per sec) above background on your portable GM survey meter. If the efficiency of the detector for the nuclide of interest is 5%, how much activity (in dpm) is really present?
Answer:
200 dpm
20000 dpm
1200 dpm
120000 dpm
41. Who is responsible for ensuring that radioactive materials are used safely at the University of Maryland Baltimore?
Answer:
The Radiation Safety Officer
The Authorized User
The Radiation Worker
All of the above
42. A sewer disposal log must be maintained:
Answer:
Only upon disposing of material in the sink
Never needs to be filled out
On a monthly basis regardless of use
None of the above
43. What is the average annual background exposure to a non-smoking individual living in the United States:
Answer:
125.0 millirem
0.125 rem
125.0 curies
360.0 mrem
44. How long should radioactive materials users keep dosimetry exposure reports on file?
Answer:
10 years
5 years
2 years
1 year
45. The only atomic particles that can activate or make another material radioactive are:
Answer:
Alpha particles
Beta particles
Neutrons
Gammas
46. The primary hazard from an alpha emitter is:
Answer:
An internal exposure upon intake of the material into the body
An external exposure of the skin
An external exposure to the thyroid
None of the above
47. A charged particle (beta or alpha) can interact directly with matter by:
Answer:
Ionization and excitation
Compton scattering
Pair production
The photoelectric effect
48. The least radiosensitive mammalian cells are:
Answer:
Nerve cells
Germ cells
White blood cells
Endothelial cells
49. Dose Equivalent (DE), Effective Dose Equivalent (EDE), Committed Dose Equivalent (CDE), Committed Effective Dose Equivalent (CEDE), and Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE) are expressed in units of:
Answer:
Grays (Gy) and Sieverts (Sv)
Roentgen or ergs
Rads and coulombs
Sieverts (Sv) or REM
50. Which radiation is the least penetrating:
Answer:
Alpha
Beta
Gamma
X-ray
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