New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Chapter I - State Sanitary Code
Part 16 - Ionizing Radiation
Radiation Equipment
Section 16.70 - Use of Body Scanning

Universal Citation: 10 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 16.70

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024

(a) This section shall not apply in cities having a population of two million or more.

(b) Practitioners licensed under Article 35 of the Public Health Law and unlicensed personnel employed at a local correctional facility may utilize body imaging scanning equipment that applies ionizing radiation to humans for purposes of screening inmates committed to such facility, solely in connection with the implementation of such facility's security program and in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

(c) Definitions

(1) "Body imaging scanning equipment'' or ''equipment'' means equipment that is specifically manufactured for security screening purposes and utilizes a low dose of ionizing radiation, with a maximum exposure per scan equal to or less than 10 µSv (1 mrem), to produce an anatomical image capable of detecting objects placed on, attached to or secreted within a person's body. The utilization of body imaging scanning equipment is for purposes of screening inmates committed to such facility, in connection with the implementation of such facility's security program.

(2) ''Local correctional facility" shall mean a local correctional facility as defined in Correction Law section 2(16).

(3) "Equipment operator" or "operator" means personnel employed at the local correctional facilities that have successfully completed a training course approved by the Department.

(4) ''Screening'' means the sum of radiation exposures or scans necessary to image objects concealed on all sides of the body as intended by the system design under normal conditions.

(d) Equipment use and installation requirements

(1) Prior to the equipment's first use on humans at a specific physical location or upon any major repairs that could influence image quality or exposure:
(i) body imaging scanning equipment purchased or installed at a local correctional facility must be registered with the Department, in accordance with § 16.50 of this Part; and

(ii) radiation protection survey, shielding evaluation and verification of image usefulness for detecting foreign objects must be completed by a licensed medical physicist.

(2) Equipment must have a clearly marked restricted area and one or more indicators when a scan is in process that is clearly visible to all security screening system operators and anyone approaching the restricted area.

(3) Equipment must be periodically inspected by the Department as described in § 16.10 of this Part.

(4) Equipment must be tested by a licensed medical physicist annually to verify the equipment is operating as designed.

(5) The facility must maintain a policy and procedure manual describing equipment operations, body scanning procedures, records and associated facility policies shall be maintained and available upon request by the Department. The policy and procedure manual must include the following items:
(i) operating procedures appropriate for the specific equipment and intended scan types;

(ii) policy prohibiting the use of the equipment on individuals who are not inmates;

(iii) policy regarding the determination of pregnancy that has been approved by the jail physician;

(iv) emergency contact information in the event the equipment overexposes any individual or there is equipment related failure that potentially requires service prior to scanning other inmates;

(v) requirements for exposure records to be provided to an inmate upon release or transfer to another facility; and

(vi) exposure per scan for each scan protocol used.

(6) Records and documentation of the program operation shall be maintained in accordance with § 16.14 of this Part and shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(i) the number of times the equipment was used on inmates upon intake, after visits, and upon the suspicion of contraband, as well as any other event that triggers the use of such equipment;

(ii) the average, median, and highest number of times the equipment was used on any inmate, with corresponding exposure levels;

(iii) the number of times the use of the equipment detected the presence of drug contraband, weapon contraband, and any other illegal or impermissible object or substance; and

(iv) the number of times an inmate has been scanned.

(e) Exposure limits and reporting requirements

(1) No person other than an inmate of a local correctional facility shall be exposed to the useful beam and then only by an individual that has met the provisions of subdivision (f) of this section.

(2) Limits on the use of equipment and exposure to inmates are:
(i) no more than fifty percent of the annual exposure limits for non-radiation workers as specified by applicable regulations, not to exceed 0.5 mSv (50 mrem);

(ii) inmates under the age of eighteen shall not be subject to more than five percent of such annual exposure limits, not to exceed 0.05 mSv (5 mrem); and

(iii) pregnant women shall not be subject to scanning at any time.

(3) The following events shall be reported to the Department in writing within 30 days:
(i) incidents or any injuries or illness resulting from the use of such equipment or reported by persons scanned by such equipment; and

(ii) exposure that exceeds the limits set forth in this Part.

(f) Training Requirements

(1) Every equipment operator shall receive initial operator training, to be provided by the equipment manufacturer or their approved representative, or another source approved by the Department.

(2) The contents of the initial operator training must include radiation safety, equipment operations, exposure and exposure limits for occupational exposed staff and inmates; applicable regulations; and facility policies and procedures.

(3) Initial operator training must be documented and available for review by the Department upon request. Such documentation must include the names of the presenter or sources, attendees, dates and contents of the training.

(4) Every equipment operator shall receive refresher training, to be provided by the equipment manufacturer or their approved representative, or another source approved by the Department. Such training shall meet the requirements listed in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this subdivision and include any changes to the policies and procedures manual or updates to the regulations.

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