Radiological protection program for the practice of dosimetric calibration at the CPHR

Dosimetric calibration is a process that uses sealed radioactive sources and ionizing radiation generating equipment for the calibration, verification and / or irradiation of materials and instruments. In Cuba, this activity is carried out in the Secondary Calibration Dosimetry Laboratory (LSCD) of the Radiation Protection and Hygiene Center (CPHR) and has a group of devices for the irradiation of the equipment or samples, some with sources high activity radioactive, which includes a source of Cobalt-60, category 1. The work presents the Safety and Radiation Protection Program developed and implemented for this practice, as part of the process of obtaining its Operating License, requirement established in the Cuban national regulatory framework on radiological safety. It includes the elements related to its management systems, the control of exposures, occupational and public, as well as the selection and training of personnel, among others. It also includes the safety assessment of the practice applying the risk matrices methodology that included the estimation of the expected doses under normal operating conditions and in situations of radiological emergencies, for which the possible initiating events of accidental sequences were identified. description of its consequences from the radiological point of view and of the safety barriers to prevent and mitigate accident situations, as well as an assessment of the risks associated with its operation. (author)