Peter A Cockett BSc BVetMed DVR CertSAO MRCVS
RPA 2000 Certificate of Competence No 0000283

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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) require that all employers using ionising radiation comply with the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999 (IRR99).
A suitable radiation protection adviser (RPA) must be appointed with regard to observance of IRR99 in general and specifically all Schedule 5 matters. These include designation of controlled areas and the examination of design features and systems of work provided to restrict exposure to ionising radiation.


The transitional period for existing RPAs expired on December 31st 2004 and after this date HSE required all RPAs to have demonstrated core competence. RPA 2000 is the only HSE approved assessing body other than British Nuclear Fuels plc (who act for their own employees only).
In 2004 I was awarded the Certificate of Competence by RPA 2000 following submission of a portfolio of evidence that had to meet a spectrum of precisely defined criteria.

IRR 1999

 It remains the radiation employer’s responsibility to appoint an RPA with experience appropriate to the employer’s business. I maintain that as an MRCVS DVR holder I am in the best position to offer suitable, practical advice on all aspects of veterinary radiography and radiology.

Radiation protection and IRR99 involve so much more than defining a controlled area and placing warning signs. Dose limitation and the concepts of exposures As Low As Reasonably Practicable (the ALARP principle) and optimisation encompass all facets of image production from the generation of X-rays to viewing the final image.

Control

This is not a role for a physicist alone - use a Veterinary Surgeon!