The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for developing and managing egulatory activities and policies governing ionizing radiation at the federal level.

On March 31, 2009 the Governor entered into an agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assume responsibility for the regulation of radioactive materials. That responsibility was placed within The Office of Radiological Health Virginia at the Department of Health (VDH) and Virginia became known as an “Agreement State.”  VDH regulates approximately 400 radioactive material specific licenses in Virginia as well as the registration, inspection, and certification of X-ray machines in the Commonwealth, where approximately 19,000 X-ray machines are currently registered.

The Virginia’s primary statutory authority for a radiation control program is designated the Radiation Control Act and is defined in the Code of Virginia Section 32.1-227 et. al.

The Office of Radiological Health at VDH is responsible for protecting the public from unnecessary radiation exposure caused by a wide spectrum of applications used in the healing arts, research, educational institutions and industry. More information may be found at the VDH website.

JMU’s policies on radiation safety, including the JMU Radiation Safety Manual and required online radiation safety training for MAL users, can be found at JMU Radiation Safety