Current status
ARPANSA, jointly with state and territory regulators in the Radiation Health Committee (RHC), has developed the Code for Radiation Protection in Planned Exposure Situations (2020). This Code is based on the requirements relating to planned exposure situations described in GSR Part 3 (2014) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Requirement 3.1.24 (c) of the Code states that occupational exposure records must be provided to the relevant regulatory authority or the approved central record keeping agency. State and territory regulators, through the RHC, have approved the ANRDR as the ‘central record keeping agency’ for storing and maintaining occupational dose records in a national database.
We are now working with jurisdictional regulators through the ANRDR Advisory Board to facilitate the implementation of this requirement across all jurisdictions.
What’s next
In parallel to the work of the Advisory Body in coordinating the expansion of the ANRDR, ARPANSA is coordinating with regulators and dosimetry service providers to prepare for the upcoming rollout of the dosimetry service provider accreditation program, which will necessitate the submission of dose records to the ANRDR directly from dosimetry service providers.
ARPANSA will develop a regulator interface that would provide access for all interested jurisdictional regulators to their licence holders’ data in the ANRDR.
Benefits for regulators
The purpose of the regulator interface is to enhance regulatory oversight of occupational doses received by workers in your jurisdiction. As a regulator, by partnering with the ANRDR you can receive the following benefits:
- The ANRDR will provide you with access to all occupational exposure data in your jurisdiction.
- Statistical information on dose trends within your jurisdiction will be made available at the industry, organisation and workgroup levels, with comparisons to national averages.
- Workers who have more than one employer will have their dose records consolidated in the ANRDR.
- We’ll send you an alert when a worker exceeds a dose limit or enforced dose constraint.
- All dose records are maintained securely in our database and will remain accessible for the long-term, even after workers retire or employers cease their monitoring programs.
- With their dose records stored in the ANRDR, your licence holders will meet their requirements for record-keeping of dose records.
- You’ll be helping Australia to meet international best practice for occupational dose record-keeping, as required by the IAEA.
