RPT 243 Radiological Safety and Response Instructors Guide - Introduction

Table of Contents:

RPT 243 Radiological Safety and Response Instructors Guide - Introduction......

What is this guide for?......

What is contained in the RPT 243 learning environment?......

What is unique about the RPT 243 Safety and Response Course?......

General Course Notes......

Notes about ACAD for this course......

What is in this guide?......

In what sequence should I use the modules?......

What is in this course?......

How can I teach these modules?......

Teaching the Primary Scenario......

Teaching the Transfer Scenario......

Where are the critical files located for this course?......

ACAD References......

What is this guide for?

This guide is intended to be used to support your implementation of the online student learning environment for RPT 243 Safety and Response. The learning environment is not intended to be used as a stand alone activity.

The goal of this guide is to provide resources and implementation suggestions designed to facilitate instructors’ effective use of the online environment within the RPT curriculum.

Guide contents and files referred to throughout this document are available online at under the RPT243/Instructors Guide folder.

What is contained in the RPT 243 learning environment?

The entire RPT curriculum is designed to engage learners in the problem solving activities typical for an RP technician.

Each course is organized around the key components shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Course Structure

These bullets are intended to serve as an organizer for the course structure. Refer to the sections “What is in this course” and “How can I teach these modules” below for details.

  • Modules are used to organize or group together core concepts that are closely related. A complete list of modules is shown in Table 4; they are listed in the sequence we would suggest they be used in the course.
  • Scenarios – as the name implies – describe a situation where an RPT would need to apply these core concepts to a problem solving situation.
  • Students work through the scenarios by “asking questions”. These questions are available via menus and are designed to help students think about the key issues they need to address in order to solve the problem and apply the core concepts. The questions (see samples in Table 1) are the same for each scenario but the answers are different.

Table 1. Sample “ASK” questions
Question Category: / What caused this event?
Sub-questions: / Were communication errors involved?
Were judgment errors involved?
Were controls sufficient?
Were skills and training adequate?
Were performance errors involved?
Were equipment malfunctions involved?
Question Category: / How should I respond to this event?
Sub-questions: / What source(s) of radiation is of most concern and why?
How do I determine radiation and contamination levels?
What procedures apply to controlling this source(s) of radiation?
What equipment is needed?
What processes are involved to responding to this event?
How do I maintain ALARA while responding to this event?
  • Primary and transfer scenarios. There are two types of scenarios – primary and transfer. A complete list of scenarios is shown in Table 4 below. Each is identified as either primary or transfer. Both primary and transfer scenarios are available in the online environment.
    Instructional strategy suggestions for the entire course – including the use of the primary and transfer scenarios are included in the sections “What is in this course” and “How can I teach these modules?” below.

What is unique about the RPT 243 Safety and Response Course?

General Course Notes

  • The course’s primary function is to teach students how to respond to actual incidents, emergencies and/or out of the ordinary occurrences that have happened in industry and the appropriate responses to be taken in these events. Students should learn how to minimize these events or respond properly when they do happen. As such, the scenarios in this course are broad in scope and cover many different aspects of safe use and handling of radioactive materials.
  • All course content is based upon actual events that have occurred and have been reported in the Institute of Nuclear Power Organization’s (INPO) Operating Experience (OE). Thus, these scenarios represent actual radiological events that radiation protection technicians have faced and dealt with in the nuclear industry. These events were first “sanitized” by INPO to protect the identity of personnel and organizations involved, and then incorporated into this course. Some liberties have been taken in order to fit the events into the course structure and/or to provide insights or information that was not apparent in the original documentation from INPO.
  • Most recommended student readings are described in the individual resource files we provide for each of the course modules (see section “What’s in this Guide”). However there are several readings that are applicable to the entire course. These are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Readings applicable to entire course*
  • Gollnick pp. 602-612 "Classification of Accidents & Incidents "
  • Gollnick pp. 612-629 "Emergency Planning and Response"
  • DOE Study Guide Module 2-13 "Radiological Incidents and Emergencies"
  • Human Performance Tools for Workers
  • What leads to unplanned exposures?
*Refer to Table 3 for complete citations for these readings.
  • Because of the nature of the course goals, the only reasonable assessments for student learning are to provide students with additional OE scenarios to analyze, in the form of transfer scenarios. These are similar in content to the primary scenarios and have been written with sufficient detail that students should be able to answer the ASK questions themselves. Refer to “Teaching the Transfer Scenario” (below) for details.
  • To assist your evaluation of the students’ responses to the transfer scenarios, we have made the complete event description available to you in the resource files for the course. Use these event descriptions to structure your use of the transfer scenarios. Refer to “Teaching the Transfer Scenario” (below) for details.
  • Additionally, we have provided a sample assessment items for selected course scenarios. See section “What is in this guide” for details.

Notes about ACAD for this course

  • The INPO ACADs provide the basis for all course content in this RPT curriculum including this course on Safety and Response. However, in this course there are ACADs that are applicable to every scenario and ACADs that are specific to a particular scenario (see Table 5 for ACADs that are applicable to all scenarios). In both instances, the specificity to which a particular ACAD is covered in a particular scenario is less well defined in this course, due to the broad nature of these event reports. Instead, these scenarios can be used as an opportunity to introduce and present specific ACADs in more detail than may be covered in the scenarios themselves.
  • Because of this lack of ACAD specificity, it is strongly suggested that instructors first review the ACADs listed in the instructors’ guide resource files before teaching a scenario. Then we suggest instructors use supplemental materials (from suggested readings in this manual and/or other resources such as partner utility training material) to ensure ACAD coverage.
  • For example, one of the scenarios involves airborne radioactive material and the ACADs assigned to this scenario include characteristics of all possible respirator protection devices. However, all of these respirators are not important to the scenario and are not covered. The instructor should use this scenario as an opportunity to discuss the characteristics of other respirator protection.

What is in this guide?

The guide for this course is composed of the following components:

  • RPT 243 Instructor’s Guide: This file which contains information that is relevant to the entire course. This includes:
  • A suggested instructional sequence for the course modules (see Table 4).
  • A list of core concepts that each module addresses.
  • Suggestions for how to teach this course.
  • Location of all critical files / materials for this course.
  • Module Instructional Resource files.All resources that are specific to particular course modules are contained in separate per module documents called Module X Instructional Resources.
  • Suggested readings from the Gollnick book and DOE Study Guide manuals. (see Resources Table 3 for complete citations).
  • Remember, we have also recommended readings that apply to the whole course in the section “General Course Notes” above.
  • Suggested homework items from Gollnick and the DOE manuals. Two types of problems are suggested: 1) problems that require a calculation, and 2) non calculation items that require the learner to read and understand or recall the text contents. These item types are delineated in the module resource files so instructors may easily choose the types of items they use.

Note – Instructors are encouraged to use these “homework” problems as they see will best support the course learning outcomes (e.g., take home problems, problems worked in class, basis for class discussion).

  • ACAD topics addressed by the module; see discussion above in “What is unique about the RPT 243 Safety and Response Course?” concerning coverage of ACADs.
  • Because of the nature of this course, sample assessment items have been provided for only selected primary scenarios (with solutions) – specifically primary scenarios 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, and 6.1.These items are intended to provide you with “templates” or ideas for creating your own sets of items. Again – we emphasize that for this course, the transfer scenarios will provide the best form of assessment. See section “Teaching the Transfer Scenario” below for ways to use the transfer scenarios.
  • The location of the module resources files is documented in the section “Where can I find the critical files?”

Table 3. Required course resources / texts
National Academy For Nuclear Training(August 1993). Guidelines For Training And Qualification Of Radiological Protection Technicians. ACAD 93-008.
Office of Environmental, Safety and Health: Radiological Control Technician Training Site Academic Training Study Guide Phase I, Project Number TRNG-0003
Available at:

Gollnick, D. (2006). Basic Radiation Protection Technology, 5th Ed. Pacific Radiation Corporation, Altadena, CA.
Human Performance Tools for Workers
Available at instructors’ document sharing website:

accion=download_file&filename=RPT+243-Human+Performance+Tools.doc
What Leads to Unplanned Exposures?
Available at instructors’ document sharing website:

accion=download_file&filename=What+leads+to+unplanned+exposures.doc

In what sequence should I use the modules?

Table 4 provides a suggested instructional sequence, estimated duration and list of scenarios (designated as either primary or transfer) for the course modules. Refer to the section “Where are the critical files?” for details on how to locate the resource file for each module. Resource files contain suggested readings, homework problems and assessment problems.

Table 4. Module and Scenario Sequence and Duration
Module Name / Projected Duration / Scenarios
  1. Sealed / Contained Sources
/ 2 Weeks /
  1. Exposure of Radiography Personnel Due to Source Malfunction (primary)
  2. Exposure of Radiography Personnel Due to Miscommunication(transfer)
  3. Exposure of Worker to 22 REM shallow dose equivalent (SDE) from 90Sr check source (primary)
  4. Exposure of personnel During Inter-facility Movement of Highly Radioactive Material (transfer)

  1. General Radiation Fields
/ 2 Weeks /
  1. Exposure in Excess of Quarterly Limit during Steam Generator Work(primary)
  2. Exposure of personnel while repairing in-core flux mapping system(transfer)
  3. Exposure to Worker Who Removed Shielding Without Authorization (primary)
  4. Exposure to Worker from Reactor Water Cleanup Heat Exchanger Room (transfer)

  1. Spills/Contamination Events
/ 2 Weeks /
  1. Radioactive Water Spill Due To Damaged Hose Inside a Radwaste Facility(primary)
  2. Demineralizer Filter Backwash Water Tank Overflows(transfer)
  3. Liquid Spill during Sludge Transfer from Steam Generator Blow-Down Tank (primary)
  4. Floor Drain Pipe Restriction Results in Overflow of Water (transfer)

  1. Personnel Contamination
/ 2 Weeks /
  1. Contamination Due to Mishandling a 24Na Source(primary)
  2. Radioactive Material From Another Facility Found on Worker While Exiting Facility(transfer)
  3. High Skin Dose to Several Persons Caused by Contaminated Protective Clothing (primary)
  4. Individual Alarmed Portal Personnel Contamination Monitor at Exit to Protected Area (transfer)

  1. Radioactive Equipment/Systems
/ 1 Week /
  1. Technician received radiation exposure to his hand during replacement of source and intermediate range monitor dry tubes in the reactor vessel (primary)
  2. Workers Receive Excessive Dose while Changing a Filter (Transfer)

  1. Airborne Contamination
/ 1 Week /
  1. Inhalation Uptake of 60Co(primary)
  2. Contamintion and Uptake of Pesonnel from 58Co Airborne During Flood-up of the Reactor Refueling Cavity (transfer)

  1. Access to Unauthorized Areas
/ 1 Week /
  1. Worker allowed to enter a Locked High Radiation Area without procedurally required confirmatory survey and radiological condition briefing(primary)
  2. Locked high radiation area not entirely secure(transfer)

  1. Unmonitored Release of Radioactive Material
/ 1 Week /
  1. Unmonitored Release during Tag-Out Activity(primary)
  2. Radioactive source discovered outside the radiologically controlled area(transfer)

  1. Respond to Transportation/Vehicle Incidents
/ 1 Week /
  1. Shipping container exceeded “External Radiation Standard for Packages" Limit(primary)
  2. Small Container of Contaminated Pipe Thread Compound Alarms Truck Monitor(transfer)

What is in this course?

The content and organization of this course differs from traditional textbook-based curriculum. In textbooks, content is organized by topics, principles, or theories. In this course (and throughout the remainder of the curriculum), we have organized content by applications of radioactivity.

For RPT 243, we identified different applications that require safety and response, such as responding to radiological spills, responding to airborne contamination events, responding to unauthorized access of restricted areas, etc. Rather than studying principles of safety and response (e.g., maintaining ALARA)as separate topics, we have embedded those principles in different radiological events or scenarios so that students will learn about safety and response techniques and principles in the context of real life events.

Why have we chosen this approach to organizing the curriculum? Because contemporary theories of learning have all demonstrated that ideas make more sense if they are learned in context. When we remove principles from the real-world contexts in which they are applied, we strip those principles of their meaning. Because RPT 243 and the other courses in this curriculum are organized differently from traditional courses, they may also be taught differently, which means that your roles as an instructor may also change. Therefore, we will now describe different methods for teaching this course.

RPT 243 consists of nine different modules, each addressing an event requiring safety and response analysis and skills (see Table 4). The modules in RPT 243 explore safety and response in nuclear power plant settings. Many graduates of this program will probably be hired by power plants, but the concepts learned here are applicable in any setting including research, medicine and non-power industries.Each moduleis composed of two or more scenarios, that is, two or more situations in which similar safety and response activities are performed. In Table 4, we identify those scenarios as primary and transfer scenarios. The primary scenario is the primary instructional scenario that is included in the online course learning environment. In this online learning environment, we anticipate that you as instructors will assign students a module and primary scenarios to study. When students log in to the environment and select the module that they have been assigned, they can then study the primary scenarios by selecting questions to ask about the scenario(see Table 1 for sample “ask questions”).

These questions model a form of reasoning that RPTs must learn to use when analyzing any situation. So, in the learning environment primary scenarios, students ask questions and are presented with the information that answers those questions. Think of the learning environment as an interactive textbook. Rather than being organized by topics, this interactive textbook is organized by questions about the applications, so students are learning the principles in the context of real-world activities.

The transfer scenarios consist of safety and responseevents similar to the primary scenarios that the students should learn to solve. The purpose of the transfer scenario is to have students apply the lessons and principles learned in the primary scenario to a new case. For example, in the module “Spills/Contamination Events” (number 3 in Table 4), students will learn about responding to a spill involving a damaged hose. In the transfer scenario, the students will have to answer the questions about responding to a spill involving a backwash tank that overflows.

The primary scenario represents the instructional scenario, and the transfer scenario represents an application of the ideas learned in the primary scenario. In the transfer scenario, students will have to use texts, the Internet, experiments, and other activities to answer the “ask questions” that were answered for them in the primary scenario.

Because students are expected to be able to answer the “ask questions” in the transfer scenarios, only some of the answers are provided. This allows you as the instructor to control how you use transfer scenarios with students in order to engage them in activities to answer the “ask questions”. More suggestions on this process are in the next section.

How can I teach these modules?

We have developed the RPT curriculum so that instructors may use the materials in a variety of ways. That is, we will not prescribe exactly how you should teach these courses. There are many differences in your practical and teaching experiences, beliefs about teaching, as well as many differences in student learning characteristics. So we cannot know the most effective method for teaching these courses in your educational contexts. Therefore, we have provided curriculum materials that can be used by you, the instructor, in different ways. We next describe a few different teaching methods that you may use or adapt to teach the primary and transfer scenarios.