Sec.19-25d-11. Veterinary medicine radiographic installations

(a) Equipment

(1) The tube housing shall be of diagnostic type.

(2) Diaphragms or cones shall be provided for collimating the useful beam to the area of clinical interest and shall provide the same degree of protection as is required of the housing.

(3) Except when contraindicated for a particular radiographic purpose, the total filtration permanently in the useful beam shall not be less than one and one-half millimeters aluminum-equivalent for equipment operating up to seventy kvp and two millimeters aluminum-equivalent for machines operated in excess of seventy kvp.

(4) A device shall provided to terminate the exposure after a preset time or exposure.

(5) A dead-man type of exposure switch shall be provided, together with an electrical cord of sufficient length so that the operator can stand out of the useful beam and at least six feet from the animal during all x-ray exposures.

(b) Structural shielding. All wall, ceiling and floor areas shall be equivalent to or provided with applicable protective barriers as required in section 19-25d-5 (b).

(c) Operating procedures

(1) The operator shall stand well away from the tube housing and the animal during radiographic exposures. The operator shall not stand in the useful beam. If film must be held, it shall be held by individuals not occupationally exposed to radiation. Hand-held fluoroscopic screens shall not be used. The tube housing shall not be held by the operator. No individuals other than the operator shall be in the x-ray room while exposures are being made unless such person's assistance is required.

(2) In any application in which the operator is not located being a protective barrier, clothing consisting of a protective apron having a lead equivalent of not less than one-half millimeter shall be worn by the operator and any other individuals in the room during exposures.

(3) No individual shall be regularly employed to hold or support animals during radiation exposures. Operating personnel shall not perform this service except in cases in which no other method is available. Any individual holding or supporting an animal during radiation exposure shall wear protective gloves and apron having a lead-equivalent of not less than one-half millimeter.

(Effective October 1, 1982)