Radiation Protection Glossary

A radiation protection glossary for Radiation Protection Supervisors (RPS), Radiation Protection Advisers (RPA) and anyone else interesting in radiation safety terms and definitions. The glossary is a mixture of health physics , phrases related to radiation protection legislation, transport, practical safety, technical terms and similar.

Search the Glossary by either clicking on a letter or typing a keyword into the search box. This glossary is relational so when looking at one term you can click through to other related terms as required.

Low Level Waste (LLW)

Low-Level Waste (LLW) consists mainly of items such as protective clothing, laboratory equipment, packing materials, containers and site equipment which have come into contact with Radioactive material and are no longer useful. In the UK the definition of LLW is waste with a radioactive content not exceeding 4 GBq/tonne of Alpha activity or 12 GBq/tonne of Beta / Gamma activity. See Radioactive Waste for more information.

The definition of 'safe' is not strictly an engineering term; it's a societal term. Does it mean absolutely no loss of life? Does it mean absolutely no contamination with radiation? What exactly does 'safe' mean?

– Henry Petroski -