Medical X-ray machines are the largest source of man-made radiation exposure to the public. In 1958, the State Board of Health launched a program to inspect radiation-emitting machines.
Today over 21,000 facilities, including hospitals, medical offices, universities, and corporations, have registered more than 64,000 X-ray machines registered with the Florida Department of Health.
Facility information & payment system
View annual radiation machine registration information and pay registration fees. Registration number (JR number) and facility zip code is required.
Program Purpose
The Radiation Machine Program works to reduce exposure to workers and the public from machines used for medical, scientific, educational, and industrial purposes, by:
- Preventing unauthorized use and users
- Reducing accidental or unintended exposures
- Eliminating ineffective or inappropriate use of radiation
- Minimizing the amount of radiation needed to accomplish tasks
Inspections
One way these goals are met is through on-site inspections. The Department inspects each radiation machine on a schedule based on its use. This schedule ranges from annually for mammography and cancer therapy machines to every five years for dental and podiatry machines.
Last year, Department staff conducted more than 15,000 inspections. During these inspections, they:
- Verify that machines operate as designed
- Ensure operators are properly qualified
- Confirm machines are used safely and appropriately
If a machine poses an immediate threat to the public health, the Department requires its removal from service. For less serious issues, owners have 90 days to correct deficiencies
inspections and compliance
The Radiation Machine Program ensures that all radiation-emitting machines in Florida meet safety and regulatory standards. Our responsibilities include:
- Approving new radiation machines before they are placed into service
- Reviewing and approving inspection procedures to ensure compliance with state and federal requirements
- Ensuring violations identified during inspections are corrected within required timeframes
- Managing the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) program under contract with the FDA to guarantee that all mammography units are inspected annually and meet federal quality standards
Through these efforts, we help maintain the highest level of safety for patients, workers, and the public.
Forms
- DH Form 1107 (DOC) โ Radiation Machine Registration Form
- DH Form 1113 (DOC) โ Radiation Machine Vendor Registration Form
- DH Form 1114 (DOC) โ Report of Assembly of Non-Certified Systems
- Notice to Employees (DOC)
Notices
- Information Notice 4 (DOC) โ Dose Weighting Factors
- Information Notice 5 (DOC) โ Radiation Protection Program for Medical Radiation Machine Registrants
- Information Notice 7 (DOC) โ Radiation Protection Program for Industrial and Educational Registrants
- Information Notice 8 (DOC) โ Radiation Protection Program for Medical Particle Accelerator Registrants
- Information Notice 9 (DOC) โ Radiation Protection Program for Industrial Registrants Cabinet or Baggage Radiation Machines
- Information Notice 10 (DOC) โ Radiation Protection Program for Bone Densitometry
- Information Notice 11 (DOC) โ Radiation Protection Program for Veterinary Registrants
- Information Notice 12 (DOC) โ Radiation Protection Program for Mammography Registrants
- Information Notice 14 (DOC) โ Typical Shielding Requirements for Chiropractic X-ray Machines
- Information Notice 15 (DOC) โ Typical Shielding Requirements for CT (Computerized Tomography) Machines
- Information Notice 16 (DOC) โ Typical Shielding Requirements for Cystography Machines
- Information Notice 17 (DOC) โ Typical Shielding Requirements for Dental Registrants
- Information Notice 18 (DOC) โ Typical Shielding Requirements for Medical Registrants
- Information Notice 19 (DOC) โ Typical Shielding Requirements for Podiatric Registrants
- Information Notice 20 (DOC) โ Typical Shielding Requirements for Veterinary Registrants
- Information Notice 21 (DOC) โ Technique Charts
- Information Notice 22 โ Use of Bone Densitometers
- Information Notice 23 โ Lead-Lined Dental Film Storage Boxes
- Information Notice 24 โ Reducing Radiation Risk from Computed Tomography for Pediatric and Small Adult Patients
- Information Notice 25 โ Industrial Radiography Requirements
- Information Notice 27 (DOC) โ Typical Dosimetry Requirements for Dental Registrants
- Information Notice 28 (DOC) โ Quality Management Review for Radiation Therapy
- Information Notice 29 (DOC) โ Records Retention Requirements
- Information Notice 30 (DOC) โ Use of Hand-Held Intraoral Units
- Information Notice 31 (DOC) โ Electronic Brachytherapy
- Information Notice 32 (DOC) โ Computed Tomography (CT) Overexposures
- Information Notice 33 (DOC) โ Gonadal Shielding
- General Statement for Policy and Procedures for Radiation Machine Enforcement Actions โ September 2014
(Incorporated by reference in 64E-5.511, F.A.C., June 3, 2015)
Resources
Florida Radiation Laws and Regulations
Information pertaining to Florida Statutes (Chapter 404, F.S.) and Florida Administrative Code (Chapter 64E, F.A.C.)
Section 501.122, F.S.ย โ Control of Laser Radiation
NVLAP Certified Dosimetry Vendorsย
NIST directory of current NVLAP accredited labs. To find labs who are accredited to process personnel dosimeters used to monitor exposure to ionizing radiation, select ionizing radiation dosimetry.
Mammography Quality Informationย
This FDA site contains the federal Mammography Quality Standards Act rules, a small business guide to implementing the rules, and GAO reports on the effectiveness of the MQSA program.