Monday 19th to Friday 23rd October 2009
Perth

To REGISTER please contact: Wendy Sonter
Tel / fax 07 3297 7653 or sonterw@tpg.com.au

Developer & Main Presenter:

Mark Sonter MAppSc (Med Phys) has 30 years of radiation safety experience in uranium mining: starting as the first RSO at Mary Kathleen Uranium in 1977-78, he later spent 9 years as Radiation & Safety Superintendent at Olympic Dam 1981-90, then began consulting in 1995.
Other presenters will be from the Radiation Protection and Mining Regulatory Agencies.

Who is the course for?
This course is for technical & scientific staff of mining companies and of regulatory agencies who are tasked with the planning, permitting, implementation, or approval of radiation management plans, for operations which mine and process radioactive ores.

It is aimed at physicists, geologists, chemists, mining engineers or metallurgists, who will be tasked to perform the role of site or company Radiation Safety Officer, and also for technicians responsible for radiation monitoring as per the Radiation Management Plan under the relevant state legislation.

Expected Outcomes:
This course is expected to enable the attendee to:
i)    Take on the role of RSO as per the Code of Practice & Safety Guide on Radiation Protection & Radioactive Waste Management in the Mining and Processing of Radioactive Ores, 2005;
ii)    competently undertake investigational and routine workplace and environmental radiation monitoring;
iii)    source, interpret and provide advice on a) instrumentation needs; b) regulatory issues; and c) dose estimation and control, at all stages from exploration, thru feasibility studies to operation.

The course also prepares students to sit for the South Australian Radiation Licence to Use & Handle Radioactive Substances under two conditions: (Sealed Sources in Fixed Industrial Gauges), and (Unsealed Sources – Uranium Ores & Concentrates). Students will be able to sit for the SA Licence exams on the Friday afternoon. This licence is recommended even for those who will not at present be working in SA.

This course had its inception as an AMF offering in 1998 and has been running in its present form since 2006.

Assumed Knowledge:
Completion of relevant technical, scientific, or engineering qualification OR significant field work in radiation control, occupational hygiene or environmental monitoring, preferably in uranium mining or mineral sands processing. The course will be rigorous, will provide hands on instrument use, will assume scientific & mathematical literacy, and will emphasise detailed and numerical real-world tutorial examples.

What does the course cover?
•    Historical / technical review, Health Effects
•    Dose & Activity: Definitions, Units & calculations
•    Dose Delivery Pathways, Standards & Control
•    Decay Chains and (Dis-) Equilibrium
•    Monitoring Requirements, Methods & Records
•    Instruments & Measurement Protocols
•    Dose Estimations for the EIS and BFS
•    Designing for Radiation Protection
•    Environmental Baseline Studies, Impacts, & Solutions
•    Regulatory Regimes & Approval Processes
•    Transport Code rules for packaging & labelling