Laboratory Accreditation Program: The Conference
of Radiation Control Program Directors Program
The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) was established
in 1968. The CRCPD voting membership are the radiation control program
directors in each state and the District of Columbia. In June of 1977, the
Senate Committee on Science, Commerce and Transportation held hearings on
federal standards relating to radiation protection. The U.S. Senate Cannon
Committee Report of December 1978 recommended that the states and the National
Bureau of Standards review the need for an intermediate level of calibration
services.
The program developed by the CRCPD became operational in l987. It is
administered by the Committee on Ionizing Measurements of the CRCPD. The
laboratories in this program are operated by state radiation control programs,
state universities, or other state agencies. Their function is calibration of
instruments used by state and local radiation control programs to determine
compliance with regulations or guidelines that limit exposure of the public
to ionizing radiation. On-site assessments are conducted by one or more
CRCPD assessors. The Executive Board of the CRCPD has the final decision on
granting accreditations.
Important characteristics of the program are as follows:
- Scope: The calibration of instruments suitable for measurement
of diagnostic beam output and instruments suitable for health physics
measurements in photon fields of x rays having energies of 10 keV to
150 keV and/or cesium-137 gamma rays.
- Levels of Accreditation: Secondary - one step removed from NIST.
- Period of Accreditation: Accreditation must be renewedannually.
- Proficiency Testing: Performed annually by NIST.
- Criteria: CRCPD document entitled "Accreditation Criteria for
Calibration Laboratories"
- On-site Assessment: The first assessment is conducted before
initial accreditation and with a follow-up in one year. The assessments are
performed every three years following the followup visit. Monitoring visits
may be conducted randomly or in response to perceived need.
Contacts
- NIST:
- Michelle O'Brien (301) 975-2014
- email: michelle.obrien@nist.gov
- CRCPD:
- Bob Lommler
- Fax: (217) 786-7223
- email: lommler@idns.state.il.us
Return to:
Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry
Group |
Ionizing Radiation Division
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Inquiries or comments:
s.seltzer@nist.gov
Online: October 20, 1997 - Last update: June 2003
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