What Does a Radiation Safety Officer Do?
Few jobs put your own name on the employer's license. The radiation safety officer is the person named on the license at a hospital, university, lab or plant that uses radioactive material, and answers to regulators for how every source there is ordered, used, stored and disposed of. Some also oversee X-ray machines and lasers.
Also known as: Radiation Safety Manager
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Chemical Hygiene Officer, EHS Officer (Environmental Health and Safety Officer), Health and Safety Analyst, Industrial Hygiene Consultant, Industrial Hygienist, Industrial Hygienist Consultant, OHS Consultant (Occupational Health and Safety Consultant), Risk Control Consultant.
Radiation Safety Officer Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a radiation safety officer include:
- Serve as the named radiation safety officer on the facility's NRC or state materials license.
- Stop unsafe work with radioactive material and require fixes before it restarts.
- Audit each authorized user's lab or clinic on a set cycle and track findings to closure.
- File license amendments when users add isotopes, locations or new procedures.
- Notify regulators of overexposures, lost sources and other reportable events within the required deadlines.
- Examine dosimetry reports and follow up with any worker whose dose nears an investigation level.
- Chair or staff the radiation safety committee and present the yearly program review.
- Supervise radiation safety specialists and technicians and set their survey and inspection priorities.
- Register X-ray machines with the state and schedule their required performance tests.
- Plan the emergency response for spills, fires or security incidents involving radioactive sources.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a radiation safety officer, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- A degree in health physics, radiological science or a related science
- Deep knowledge of NRC and Agreement State regulations
- Program management and audit skills
- The authority to halt work, used with judgment
- Dosimetry and radiation survey methods
- Emergency planning for radiological incidents
- Clear reporting to regulators and senior leaders
- Certified Health Physicist (CHP) credential for larger programs
Education and Training
To become a radiation safety officer, in most states you will need training and experience that the regulator accepts before it adds your name to a license. BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for occupational health and safety specialists, and most officers hold one in health physics, physics or another science. Larger programs often want a CHP.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $69,560 - $111,690 per year, with a median of $90,150.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Occupational Health and Safety Specialists.
Radiation safety officers fall under a group BLS expects to grow about 19 percent from 2025 to 2035: occupational health and safety specialists. Openings across the group should run near 17,100 a year, yet officer posts are far scarcer than that suggests, since each licensed site names only one. And, as long as hospitals and labs hold radioactive material, someone will be needed to make sure its use stays within the license.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Occupational health and safety specialists.
Radiation Safety Officer Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $55,000 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $69,560 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $90,150 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $111,690 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $134,950 |
Highest-Paying States for Radiation Safety Officers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are District of Columbia ($111,530), Massachusetts ($103,970), Washington ($102,920), California ($102,840), Rhode Island ($101,740). Pay is lowest in Oklahoma ($79,890), Texas ($79,660), Arkansas ($73,130).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $82,260 |
| Alaska | $99,270 |
| Arizona | $89,480 |
| Arkansas | $73,130 |
| California | $102,840 |
| Colorado | $101,400 |
| Connecticut | $96,110 |
| Delaware | $81,120 |
| District of Columbia | $111,530 |
| Florida | $88,820 |
| Georgia | $85,450 |
| Hawaii | $94,840 |
| Idaho | $86,920 |
| Illinois | $98,270 |
| Indiana | $83,470 |
| Iowa | $87,830 |
| Kansas | $86,300 |
| Kentucky | $83,730 |
| Louisiana | $89,560 |
| Maine | $97,640 |
| Maryland | $91,820 |
| Massachusetts | $103,970 |
| Michigan | $84,080 |
| Minnesota | $96,990 |
| Mississippi | $84,490 |
| Missouri | $83,090 |
| Montana | $81,330 |
| Nebraska | $83,990 |
| Nevada | $94,360 |
| New Hampshire | $101,260 |
| New Jersey | $90,610 |
| New Mexico | $84,510 |
| New York | $95,720 |
| North Carolina | $86,650 |
| North Dakota | $93,250 |
| Ohio | $91,460 |
| Oklahoma | $79,890 |
| Oregon | $95,240 |
| Pennsylvania | $87,050 |
| Rhode Island | $101,740 |
| South Carolina | $88,080 |
| South Dakota | $88,610 |
| Tennessee | $81,190 |
| Texas | $79,660 |
| Utah | $90,200 |
| Vermont | $87,210 |
| Virginia | $90,800 |
| Washington | $102,920 |
| West Virginia | $86,560 |
| Wisconsin | $84,750 |
| Wyoming | $94,030 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as occupational health and safety specialists about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 96% use email every day
- 83% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 78% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 74% are on the phone every day
- 57% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 48% usually work more than 40 hours a week
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 74% |
| Post-baccalaureate certificate | 9% |
| Master's degree | 9% |
Tools and Software Radiation Safety Officers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy analyzing problems and working with ideas as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness.
Knowledge areas used most: English Language, Chemistry, Education and Training, Mathematics, Customer and Personal Service.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 19-5011.00 (Occupational Health and Safety Specialists). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.