10.16.4 Inspection And Testing Of Physical Controls
Auditing should include field inspection and, where required, functional testing of the physical measures used to control RF exposure. Items may include:
- warning signs, markings, boundaries, and notices;
- fencing, barriers, gates, locks, and guarded access points;
- interlocks, source-status indications, and fail-safe functions;
- isolation, down-powering, shutdown, verification, and handback systems;
- keys, credentials, permits, and controlled-entry systems;
- shielding, screening, bonding, earthing, and waveguide-below-cutoff arrangements;
- fixed detectors, alarms, and personal RF monitors;
- antenna orientation, source configuration, and other exposure-critical settings; and
- equipment identification, source ownership, and emergency contact information.
Controls should be checked for correct operation, unauthorized modification, damage, weathering, corrosion, changed access, and consistency with the current assessments and Plan. Where visual inspection cannot establish effectiveness, appropriate testing or RF assessment is required.
10.16.5 Review Of Documentation
The documentation review should confirm that current records describe the installation and work as they actually exist. It should include, as applicable:
- the RF Radiation Safety Plans, their scopes, approvals, revisions, and review triggers;
- exposure assessments, source states, assumptions, uncertainty, and conclusions;
- risk assessments, permits, safe work procedures, and emergency arrangements;
- instrument identification, calibration, functional checks, and service records;
- maintenance, inspection, testing, isolation, and control-verification records;
- training, competency, exposure-classification, authorization, and supervision records;
- incident, alarm, near-miss, medical-referral, investigation, and reporting records;
- source configuration, drawings, ownership, software, and management-of-change records; and
- previous audit findings, actions, completion evidence, and effectiveness reviews.
Outdated drawings, superseded procedures, overdue assessments, or uncontrolled copies can indicate that the program and applicable Plans are no longer keeping pace with change. Obsolete information must not remain available for operational use as if it were current.