What Does a Radiation Safety Specialist Do?
Written rules protect nobody until the people in the lab follow them. Radiation safety specialists work under a radiation safety officer at hospitals, government sites and universities, visiting labs, checking survey records and correcting habits that may be years old. Users, isotopes and projects change all the time, so there is always another lab to visit.
Also known as: Radiation Control Specialist
Radiation Safety Specialist Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a radiation safety specialist include:
- Inspect labs using radioactive material and check posting, labeling, shielding and survey logs.
- Receive incoming radioactive packages, wipe-test them for contamination and deliver them to users.
- Run the dosimetry badge program, from issuing badges to reviewing the monthly reports.
- Teach initial and refresher radiation safety classes and keep attendance records.
- Keep the inventory of sealed sources and open isotopes up to date for every lab.
- Collect radioactive waste from labs, sort it by isotope and hold short-lived waste for decay.
- Perform leak tests on sealed sources and thyroid checks after high-activity iodine work.
- Draft procedures and license amendment language for the radiation safety officer to approve.
- Respond to contamination calls, clean affected surfaces and survey people before they leave.
- Send survey meters for calibration on schedule and pull any meter that fails its check.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a radiation safety specialist, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- A bachelor's degree in health physics, physics, chemistry or biology
- Survey meters, wipe tests and liquid scintillation counting
- Radioactive waste handling and decay-in-storage
- NRC and state rules for materials licenses
- Teaching adults who would rather be doing their research
- Database or spreadsheet inventory tracking
- Tactful firmness during lab inspections
- The CHP credential as a longer-term goal
Education and Training
Most radiation safety specialists come in with a bachelor's degree in a physical or life science, but some start out by working as radiation technicians or in the Navy's nuclear power program. Graduate study in health physics helps. With experience, you could progress from specialist to radiation safety officer or move into health physics consulting.
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.
Employment of occupational health and safety specialists, a group that covers radiation safety work, is projected to grow 18.5 percent from 2025 to 2035, according to BLS. BLS also expects about 17,100 openings each year across the whole group. Radiation posts often are tied to research funding and hospital budgets, but specialists will be needed as more clinics offer nuclear medicine and as older labs are cleaned out and closed.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Occupational health and safety specialists.