Which institutional office generally has the responsibility for monitoring the handling of radioactive materials in the laboratory?

• A. Occupational Health and Safety Office
• B. Office of Hazardous Materials
• C. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• D. Radiation Safety Office

Answer: (D)

The main idea is who is responsible for the day-to-day monitoring of radioactive materials in a lab. The Radiation Safety Office is the one that typically oversees the entire radiation safety program, including training, proper handling procedures, inventory and storage, survey and contamination checks, waste handling, dosimetry coordination, and incident response. They ensure the institution complies with licensing requirements and regulatory rules, and they work with the Radiation Safety Officer to keep operations safe and compliant.

Occupational Health and Safety handles broad worker safety concerns across many hazards but does not specialize in the specifics of radioactive materials. The Office of Hazardous Materials isn’t the standard unit for campus-wide radiation oversight, and nuclear regulatory matters are governed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which sets rules and conducts high-level oversight, not the routine monitoring done locally by the lab’s own radiation safety program.