Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Please read this before using presentation This presentation is based on content presented at the Exploration Safety Roadshow held in August 2009 It is made available for non-commercial use (e.g. toolbox meetings) subject to the condition that the PowerPoint file is not altered without permission from Resources Safety Supporting resources, such as brochures and posters, are available from Resources Safety For resources, information or clarification, please contact: or visit 1

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Toolbox presentation: Radiation Safety Part Two – Managing the risks 2

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Only one aspect in protecting exploration workers from health hazards 3

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum 4 Regulation of U mining in WA based on national and international standards

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Mines Safety and Inspection Act and Regulations (MSIR) Free copies of the Act and Regulations may be downloaded from the WA State Law Publisher 5

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum MSIR Part 16 – Radiation Safety Important notes “Exploration” is considered to be mining under MSIR Compliance with all regulations is required in exploration, including Part 16 6

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Exemptions Dose limits Monitoring requirements Radiation management plan Radiation Safety Officer Defects Notifications Supervised and controlled areas Young and pregnant persons Designated employees Dose reduction Exposure control MSIR - Part 16 regulations cover 7

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Respiratory protection Reporting Record keeping Approvals Import and removal of radioactive material Storage Stockpile control Waste disposal Using best technology Discharges Abandonment MSIR - Part 16 regulations cover continued 8

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Exploration – radiation management plan (RMP) required by MSIR Preparation of radiation management plan (1) Each responsible person at a mine must ensure that a plan for the safe management of radiation at the mine that complies with subregulation (2) is prepared — (a) in the case of an existing mine, as soon as is practicable after the commencement day; or (b) in any other case, before mining operations commence at the mine. 9

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Company and site details Employee workgroup details Type of drilling Work and hygiene practices Radiation monitoring equipment Drilling and personnel monitoring Storage of radiation material Disposal of radioactive material Decontamination of equipment Recording of monitoring data Reporting to regulators Environmental considerations and site radiological clean up Training Transport of radioactive material Pre- and post-drilling background monitoring (including ground water sampling where practical) Exploration – RMP minimum requirements 10

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum NORM Guidelines - Preparation of RMP Exploration (NORM 2.1) 11

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum System of radiation protection 12

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Other areas of control Risk assessment of hazards Radiation controls and plan put in place Monitoring of employees and environment Safe transport of radioactive material Correct storage of radioactive material Appointing a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) Training of employees in radiation safety Emergency response in case of radiation spill or transport accident Auditing of radiation safety work procedures Reporting exposures and incidents to State Mining Engineer Regular review of radiation safety process 13

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum RMP – How much detail do you include? 14

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum General principles of dose control Radiation Type (Dose pathway) ControlsMonitoring GammaTime, distance, shieldingPersonal TLD badges, survey meters 15

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum General principles of dose control Radiation Type (Dose pathway) ControlsMonitoring GammaTime, distance, shieldingPersonal TLD badges, survey meters Alpha emitters in airborne dust Dust suppression, extraction systems, PPE Personal air samplers 16

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum General principles of dose control Radiation Type (Dose pathway) ControlsMonitoring GammaTime, distance, shieldingPersonal TLD badges, survey meters Alpha emitters in airborne dust Dust suppression, extraction systems, PPE Personal air samplers Radon decay productsVentilation, PPEWorkplace air sampling 17

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum General principles of dose control Radiation Type (Dose pathway) ControlsMonitoring GammaTime, distance, shieldingPersonal TLD badges, survey meters Alpha emitters in airborne dust Dust suppression, extraction systems, PPE Personal air samplers Radon decay productsVentilation, PPEWorkplace air sampling Ingestion of dustPersonal and crib room cleanliness Surface alpha contamination surveys 18

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum General principles of dose control Radiation Type (Dose pathway) ControlsMonitoring GammaTime, distance, shieldingPersonal TLD badges, survey meters Alpha emitters in airborne dust Dust suppression, extraction systems, PPE Personal air samplers Radon decay productsVentilation, PPEWorkplace air sampling Ingestion of dustPersonal and crib room cleanliness Surface alpha contamination surveys Ensure monitoring instruments are accurately calibrated and working correctly 19

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum Internal Average dose for year x hours worked + External Annual total of radiation badge (TLD) + Radioactive gas Annual radon and thoron gas exposure = Total radiation exposure Calculating the radiation dose 20

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum What PPE is likely to be used in exploration? PPE 21