2010-2011 CATALOG

This is an archived copy of the 2010-2011 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.miracosta.edu

Radiation Protection Technology

The Radiation Protection Technology Certificate Program is no longer accepting new students. New students interested in Radiation Protection Technology should refer the the Energy Technology Program (ETEC).

Contact Information

Department Chair: Chris Metzler

Dean: Ric Matthews

www.miracosta.edu/Instruction/ RadiationProtection/

Department: Physical Sciences

Office: Building SAN 400, (760) 795-7879

Certificate

Certificate of Achievement

Radiation Protection Technician

Radiation Protection Technician certification prepares one to enter the fields of nuclear energy, clinical patient care, and research. The required course work provides a theoretical background as well as practical, hands-on training.

Required courses:
RPT 103	Radiation Fundamentals	3
RPT 113	Radiation Monitoring	4
RPT 223	Radiation Dosimetry	4
RPT 233	Radioactive Materials Handling	3
RPT 243	Radiological Safety and Response	3
RPT 253	Radiation Protection	4
RPT 299	Cooperative Work Experience -- Occupational	1-4
CHEM 100	Introductory Chemistry	4
COMM 101	Oral Communication	3
ENGL 100	Composition and Reading	4
MATH 125	College Algebra	3
MATH 130	Trigonometry	3
PHYS 111	Introductory Physics I	4
PHYS 112	Introductory Physics II	4
Total Units		47-50

How to Read Course Descriptions

Courses listed in this catalog apply to the fall 2010, spring 2011, and summer 2011 terms. Courses are numbered numerically within alphabetically arranged subject areas.

The bolded first line indicates the official course number, a descriptive title, and the number of units. The next lines indicate prerequisites, corequisites, advisories, repeatability rules, enrollment limitations, UC/CSU credit acceptance, and lecture and lab hours followed by a Taxonomy of Program number in parentheses.

Prerequisites: This is a requirement that must be met before a student can enroll in the course.
Corequisites: This is a course the student must take in the same semester.
Advisories: This is recommended preparation the student is advised but not required to have before or in conjunction with the course.
Repeatability Rules: When a course belongs to a group of related courses, students can complete one course or a combination of courses within the group for a maximum of four completions.
Enrollment Limitations: Some courses place limitations on enrollment. These limitations prevent students from duplicating course work or from enrolling in two sections of the same course in any given semester.
Acceptable for Credit: CSU means the course is accepted for transfer at any California State University (CSU) campus; UC means it is accepted for transfer at any University of California (UC) campus. Some courses can be used to satisfy general education or major requirements while others transfer as elective credit. UC Credit Limitation means credit for the course may have UC transfer restrictions; these restrictions are identified at the end of the course description.
Lecture and Lab Hours: These are the number of hours the course meets for lecture and/or lab per week.
Taxonomy of Program (TOP) Number: The TOP number is identified in parentheses after the lecture and lab hours. This number serves an administrative purpose and is not intended for student use.

The course description summarizes the purpose and key topical areas of the course, and it includes special requirements if any exist. Some course descriptions end with information about whether the course was "formerly" another course, how many times the course may be repeated, if the course is offered pass/no pass, or what the UC credit limitation is.

How to Read Course Descriptions

Courses

RPT 103: Radiation Fundamentals

Units: 3
Prerequisites: None
Lecture 3 hours. (0303.00)

This course presents an overview of the physics and chemistry of radiation and radioactive materials. It will consist of descriptions of a number of different applications of radiation, their associated radionuclides, context(s) and rationale(s) of use, interactions with matter, shielding and energetics, decay products, and their production in reactors or accelerators. Included in the course will be appropriate mathematics, such as unit conversions and exponentials.

RPT 113: Radiation Monitoring

Units: 4
Prerequisites: None
Lecture 4 hours. (0303.00)

This course presents scenarios in which radiation protection technicians (RPTs) monitor sources of radiation. A focus of this course will be on theory and operation of radiation monitors, maintenance and calibration of these systems, proper selection and use of various monitoring systems for evaluation of radioactive hazards, and the interpretation and reporting of such evaluations.

RPT 223: Radiation Dosimetry

Units: 4
Prerequisites: RPT 113 and PHYS 112.
Corequisite: PHYS 112 if prerequisite not met.
Lecture 3 hours, laboratory 3 hours. (0303.00)

This course presents scenarios in which radiation protection technicians (RPTs) monitor internal and external exposure of personnel to ionizing radiation such as when performing surveys, whole body counts, and bioassays. The course will address interpretation of these results and techniques for minimization of personnel dose.

RPT 233: Radioactive Materials Handling

Units: 3
Prerequisites: RPT 113 and PHYS 112.
Corequisite: PHYS 112 if prerequisite not met.
Lecture 3 hours. (0303.00)

This course presents scenarios in which radiation protection technicians (RPTs) are required to provide safe control, movement, use, storage, transportation, and disposal of radioactive materials.

RPT 243: Radiological Safety and Response

Units: 3
Prerequisites: RPT 113 and PHYS 112.
Corequisite: PHYS 112 if prerequisite not met.
Lecture 3 hours. (0303.00)

This course presents scenarios in which radiation protection technicians (RPTs) are responsible for ensuring and maintaining doses as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) for the safety of individuals, the work environment, and the population, including response to abnormal and emergency radiological conditions.

RPT 253: Radiation Protection

Units: 4
Prerequisites: RPT 223, RPT 233, and RPT 243.
Lecture 3 hours, laboratory 3 hours. (0303.00)

This course is a capstone which utilizes a problems-based approach to learning. It presents radiation protection problems embedded in different radiation contexts, the majority of which are nuclear power reactor-based. Participants will be tasked with solving such problems as providing radiological coverage of jobs and high-risk and low-risk activities (e.g., outages), planning for protection from hazardous radiation, monitoring of activities in radioactive zones, and responding to emergencies.

RPT 299: Cooperative Work Experience -- Occupational

Units: 1-4
Prerequisites: None
Corequisite: Students must be employed in a position directly related to their declared major and must complete 75 hours of paid work or 60 hours of non-paid work per unit of credit.
Acceptable for Credit: CSU
(0303.00)

For students whose work is directly related to their major. To participate in occupational cooperative work experience education, students must be employed in a position directly related to their declared major and undertake new or expanded responsibilities at their work site. Students must develop one learning objective for each unit of credit in which they enroll and they must complete 75 hours of paid work or 60 hours of non-paid work per unit of credit. A maximum of four units of occupational work experience may be earned each semester and a combined maximum of 16 units of occupational and general work experience may be earned during community college attendance and applied as electives toward graduation. Students may receive G.I. Bill benefits for work experience only if required for their specific program. (May be repeated three times.)