CABINET
X-RAY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT IS A CABINET X-RAY SYSTEM?
A cabinet x-ray system is always installed in an enclosure.
The enclosure is intended to protect people from the x-rays
generated and to exclude people from the enclosure’s
interior. Cabinet x-ray systems are primarily used for security
screening and industrial quality control. Industrial quality
control applications include the x-ray examination of
foods and packaged products.*
IS IT SAFE TO STAND OR WALK NEAR A CABINET X-RAY
SYSTEM WHILE IT IS PRODUCING XRAYS?
Yes. Manufacturers are required to certify that their products
meet the US Federal radiation safety performance standard
for cabinet x-ray systems. Specifically, the standard requires
that the radiation emitted from a cabinet x-ray system not
exceed an exposure of 0.5 milliroentgens in one hour at
any point five centimeters from the external surface. Most
cabinet x-ray systems emit less than this limit. In addition,
the standard also requires safety features that include
warning lights, warning labels, and interlocks.
For comparison, the average person in the United States
receives a dose of about 360 millirem of radiation per year
from background radiation. (Note: 1 milliroentgen of exposure
to x-rays will result in approximately 1 millirem of dose.
These terms are defined below.) Background radiation is
radiation that is always present in the environment. Eighty
percent of that exposure comes from natural sources: radon
gas, the human body, outer space, rocks, and soil. The remaining
20 percent comes from manmade radiation sources, primarily
medical x-rays.*
IS IT SAFE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN TO STAND OR WALK NEAR
A CABINET X-RAY SYSTEM WHILE IT IS PRODUCING X-RAYS?
Yes. The limit on radiation emission established by the
performance standard is sufficiently restrictive that there
is no additional hazard for specific populations such as
children or pregnant women.*
ARE THE OPERATORS OF CABINET X-RAY SYSTEMS REQUIRED TO WEAR
A “RADIATION BADGE”?
Personnel monitoring equipment is not required by Federal
regulation for operators of cabinet x-ray systems. The Federal
limit on cabinet x-ray system emissions ensures the maximum
possible exposure from cabinet x-ray systems in the workplace
will always fall below the minimum threshold where personnel
monitoring might be required*.
ARE THE OPERATORS OF CABINET X-RAY SYSTEMS REQUIRED
TO WEAR PHYSICAL PROTECTION WHEN OPERATING THE SYSTEM?
No, the system uses very low levels of X-ray intensity internally,
and the external emissions in the operator area are virtually
undetectable.
WHAT DO THE TERMS EXPOSURE AND DOSE MEAN? WHAT DO
THEIR MEASUREMENT UNITS MEAN?
Exposure is a term defining the amount of ionizing radiation
that strikes living or inanimate material. Dose is the quantity
of radiation or energy absorbed. Dose may refer to the following:
- Absorbed dose, the amount of energy deposited per unit
mass.
- Equivalent dose, the absorbed dose adjusted for the relative
biological effect of the type of radiation being measured.
Roentgen (R) is a unit of exposure of ionizing
radiation and indicates the strength of the ionizing radiation.
One Roentgen is the amount of x-ray needed to produce ions
carrying one electrostatic unit of electrical charge in
one cubic centimeter of dry air under standard conditions.
Roentgen absorbed dose (rad) is the basic
unit of absorbed radiation dose. A dose of one rad to an
object means each gram of the object received 100 ergs of
energy or one rad = 100 ergs/gram.
Roentgen Equivalent Man (rem) is the basic
unit of equivalent dose, and relates the absorbed dose in
human tissue to the biological effect of the radiation.
Not all radiation has the same biological effect, even for
the same amount of absorbed dose.*
DOES MY X-RAY SYSTEM REQUIRE SPECIAL REGISTRATION
PAPERWORK?
For each X-Ray System sold, Eriez will first contact your
state and notify them that we will be shipping a piece of
X-Ray equipment in. You will then need to submit a fairly
basic X-Ray registration form (the form varies from state
to state). On that form you will need to designate one employee
as your “radiation safety officer” and that
person will need to be trained on the system. After that
you will be required to measure radiation levels on and
around the machine and record them on a yearly basis.
WHO WILL BE QUALIFIED TO OPERATE THE X-RAY SYSTEM?
After the system is set up and the paperwork is filed, the
Eriez E-Z Tec X-Ray system is as easy to use as any metal
detector and, in fact, may even be easier to operate.
WILL MY FOOD PRODUCT BE CONTAMINATED IF IT PASSES
THROUGH A CABINET X-RAY SYSTEM?
There are no known adverse effects from eating food that
has been irradiated by a cabinet x ray system. In order
to induce changes in a product, or to sterilize a product,
very powerful beams of radiation are required. The radiation
dose typically received by objects scanned by a cabinet
x-ray system is 1 millirad or less. The average dose rate
from background radiation is 360 millirad per year. The
minimum dose used in food irradiation for food preservation
or destruction of parasites or pathogens is 30,000 rad.
*
WHY HAVE X-RAY MACHINES BECOME SUCH A POPULAR METHOD
OF DETECTION?
In using a cabinet X-Ray System, the customer is able to
detect more than just contaminants. You will have the ability
to scan for piece counts, missing product, deformities,
as well as many other processing errors.
*Portions of this information were adapted from and more
information may be obtained from the Food and Drug Administration
website <www. fda.gov>
