The technician who does the hands-on radiation protection work: surveys and smears, posting and roping areas, writing and briefing RWPs, providing job coverage, controlling access to high radiation areas and responding to alarms and contaminations. Senior RP techs often travel between outages as contractors. The role is also called HP tech, from health physics, with usage varying by plant and by where the person trained.
Grab an RP tech for coverage before you open the valve, it's a high rad area once the bonnet's off.
Treat the RP tech as part of the crew, not a gatekeeper; good coverage saves both dose and time when the job changes.
Also heard as
- HP tech
- health physics technician
- radiation protection technician
- RPT
Related terms
RWP
Radiation work permit: the document that sets radiological conditions, controls and dose limits for a specific job.
Survey meter
A portable instrument used to measure radiation dose rates or detect contamination in the field.
Rad rope
Yellow and magenta rope, ribbon or chain used to mark the boundary of a radiological area.
RadCon
Radiological controls: the radiation protection function, its rules and its technicians, in Navy and government usage.