One-fifth of all radiation incidents are caused by equipment malfunction, according to a report from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
Chief Regulatory Officer at ARPANSA, Jim Scott said the Agency collated data from radiation regulators around Australia to produce a report on radiation safety, the Australian Radiation Incident Register (ARIR) report, which summarised and analysed data submitted for incidents that occurred in 2019.
“Consistent with previous years, human error was identified as the trigger for the majority (61 per cent) of reported incidents in 2019,” Mr Scott said.
“Most reported incidents are from medical imaging,” he said.
“Equipment-related incidents account for around one-fifth of all reported incidents including software and hardware failures, as well as deficiencies where the equipment used was not suitable for the task or failed to perform as expected.”
Mr Scott said workplaces should be designed with the potential of equipment failure in mind.
“This could include putting in place recovery procedures, ensuring availability of alternate equipment and providing effective training,” the Chief Regulatory Officer said.
He said, that based on the data received, there were no common modes of equipment failure identified which suggested faults were not due to systemic issues such as manufacturing defects.
ARPANSA’s 31-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
