Notification of accidents and unintended events

Which incidents should be reported to the DSA

The duty of notification is set out in Section 20 of the Radiation Protection Regulations. Accidents and abnormal events to be notified to the DSA include:

• Events which cause or may have caused unintended exposure of employees, patients or other persons significantly above normal levels, or unexpected radiation damage.
• Loss, theft or sabotage of radiation sources.
• Unintended discharges of radioactive substances to the environment.
• Events which involve irradiation to the general public whereby an individual may become exposed to more than 0.25 mSv/year.
• Technical failure of importance to radiation protection.
• Serious radioactive contamination at the site of the undertaking or its equipment.
• Discovery of orphan radiation sources.

The events to be notified within the different applications are also described in more detail in the individual guidelines: 

• Guideline no. 1: Industrial radiography – only in Norwegian
• Guideline no. 2: Use of open radioactive sources in the laboratory - only in Norwegian
• Guideline no. 9: Industrial nuclear gauges - only in Norwegian

What should the accident report contain?

The written report to be submitted to the DSA within 3 days should as a minimum include:

• The time and place of the accident.
• Names and addresses of the undertakings involved.
• Names and personal ID numbers of persons involved.
• Description of the sequence of events, including details of the radiation sources involved.
• Calculation/estimate of radiation doses received by the persons involved. The DSA may be able to assist with calculations provided that sufficient information about the radiation source, distance, shielding and time is provided.
• Preventive measures taken, i.e. measures that could prevent or reduce the risk of similar accidents.

Further guidance on the layout of accident reports is provided in the DSA guidelines (see previous section).

Emergency preparedness and notification procedures

Undertakings that use radiation sources must draw up an emergency preparedness plan based on a risk assessment and implement measures to maintain their ability to deal with accidents and abnormal events, cf. Section 19 of the Radiation Protection Regulations.

The emergency preparedness plan should describe how incidents or accidents that could occur when using radiation sources should be handled and should include relevant contact points internally and externally. Procedures for notifying the DSA and the number of the DSA’s 24-hour emergency line should be included in the emergency preparedness plan.

Annual emergency response drills should be held for enterprises with industrial or research radiation use that involves a high risk, e.g. the use of gamma radiation sources in industrial radiography.

Medical examination when dose limits are exceeded

If measurements or calculations show that an employee may have been exposed to a radiation dose over the dose limits in Section 32 of the Radiation Protection Regulations (which match the dose limits in the Regulations concerning Action and Limit Values, Section 4-1), the employee must be referred to a doctor for a medical examination, cf. Regulations concerning the Performance of Work, Section 15-4.

Notification to the Labour Inspection Authority

The employer is required to notify the Labour Inspection Authority and the nearest police authority as soon as possible of any serious personal injury or death suffered in connection with work. This also applies to serious accidents involving radiation sources. Such cases shall therefore be reported to the DSA, the Labour Inspection Authority and the nearest police authority.