Bridging Frameworks: A Comparison of Occupational Health and Safety’s Hierarchy of Controls and the International System of Radiological Protection

Those responsible for radiological protection in the workplace come to the role through many different pathways. In the process of training radiation safety officers and x-ray safety officers, instructors at the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada have observed that, while many course participants will have previous radiological protection training, it is common for a significant number to have experience managing traditional occupational health and safety or industrial hygiene programs and no radiological protection background. Humans use mental models or schemas to understand the world. They assimilate new information based on their existing schemas. Those formally trained in radiological protection are well versed in the International System of Radiological Protection, based on the fundamental principles of justification, optimization, and limitation as described in International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 103. Those with training in occupational health and safety or industrial hygiene in Canada or the United States work within a framework called the hierarchy of controls. Given here is a comparison of these safety frameworks with consideration of how the health and safety schema of these two groups of radiological protection personnel may differ and areas on which to build a common understanding of radiological protection in the workplace. Hopefully, consideration of this topic will lead to improved communication and help safety professionals avoid misconceptions that might arise owing to differences in foundational knowledge.