Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) Training is the top level of radiation training available. Courses can be in various time increments, and are specialized to whatever activity and industry the attendee’s use will entail. There are medical RSO courses, nuclear RSO courses, industrial radiography RSO courses, well-logging RSO courses, and NORM/TENORM RSO courses. All of these RSO courses must be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), with the exception of NORM/TENORM RSO training. Since NORM/TENORM is regulated at the state level, the states have the discretion to instate an approval process for training programs.

Every RSO course NORM SOLUTIONS LLC provides specializes in NORM/TENORM, and does not cover sealed sources, gauges, well-logging, or industrial radiography. NORM/TENORM RSO courses are not registered or approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and may be only in states that possess a training program approval process for NORM/TENORM.

When applying for specific licenses, the RSO course must specialize in the area that the applicant is applying for or complying with. There is no one (1) RSO course that will include all areas and act as an overall class for every purpose. Industrial RSO courses do not sufficiently cover NORM/TENORM, as the course would have to be 80-hours in length. It is possible that an individual may need to attend both an industrial RSO course and a NORM/TENORM RSO course depending on their job responsibilities. Industrial RSO courses do not satisfy state agency NORM/TENORM RSO training requirements to issue NORM/TENORM decontamination licenses. NORM/TENORM RSO courses do not satisfy industrial radiography RSO training requirements.