Shielding Plans Are Required For:
- All diagnostic medical X-ray units installed at new facilities.
- Relocation of a unit within a facility.
- All installations of therapeutic X-ray or accelerator units.
- All installations of medical X-ray units at veterinary offices.
- All industrial X-ray units used in shielded room configurations.
- All dental cephalometric, dental CTs and TMJ units.
- Replacement of an existing X-ray unit at a facility, to include the control, and/or generator.
- Table bone density and mammography units (or area survey if prior approval is granted)
- Mobile and portable radiographic units with a permanent cassette holder
- All mobile units that are used in the same room for five (5) or more consecutive days.
Shielding Plans May Be Required For:
- Modifications to an existing approved installation, such as moving the operator's barrier, or installing vertical cassette holder.
- Changes to an approved plan that may affect the shielding requirements, such as changing the film/screen system used, increased workload, changes in occupancy of surrounding areas, etc.
- Dental intraoral units that are installed in modular type cabinets where there are not complete barriers between adjacent areas
Shielding Plans Not Required For:
- Dental intraoral units installed in rooms with complete walls
- Most industrial and analytical X-ray equipment
- Peripheral bone density units.
If Shielding Plan is Required, Do This
Prior to construction and before installation of the X-ray unit, you must submit a:
- Radiation shielding plan prepared by a Class III (pdf), Class IV (pdf), Class VII (pdf), Class VIII (pdf), or Class IX (pdf) registered vendor
- DHEC's Shielding Plan Review Application Form (pdf), completed
- Shielding plan review fee of $62.50. You may request an invoice to pay these fees electronically. This invoice will be emailed to the address indicated on the application form.
- You may submit the application and supporting documentation electronically to: XRayFRA-ShieldingPlans@dhec.sc.gov.
- Submissions are processed and reviewed on a first come, first serve basis once we have received the complete application, supporting documentation and the application/review fee. Submissions are reviewed in the order in which they are received and deemed complete. The turnaround time for review is 10-15 business days.
Once DHEC receives the application and all required documentation (to include the review fee), we will:
- Review the application for completeness and accuracy.
- Review the operator protection and control location.
- Review the barrier radiation shielding specifications and descriptions of all assumptions used in the shielding calculations.
- Review any recommendations and provisions indicated by the shielding vendor.
- Analyze the workload and the type of X-rays that will be performed.
- Review the occupancies of the surrounding areas.
Once your equipment is installed, you must submit "as-built" drawings and the area survey to DHEC along with DHEC's As-Built/Area Survey Submission Form.
Shielding Design: Regulatory Guide
Consult our Regulatory Guide B6 - X-ray Facility Shielding Plans for clarification on South Carolina's requirements.