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
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 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.
Radiation Safety Specialist 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 Specialists
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 Specialists 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.