20 October 2026 - Workshops
21 - 22 October 2026 - Main Conference
Doubletree by Hilton, Greenway Plaza
Houston, Texas
Pre-Conference Workshop
This one-day 8-hour workshop provides essential training in NORM/TENORM Awareness, surveying, waste characterization, and NORM management including an overview of regulatory compliance, transportation and disposal. This comprehensive agenda will cover where NORM in found multiple industries and the essential techniques you need to know to properly perform a survey of soils, equipment, and various waste streams. Approved in multiple states, a certificate will be issued to attendees who satisfactorily pass the exam at the end of the workshop. If you need an excellent primer that teaches practical application and not just theory, this is the workshop for you.
- Terms and Definitions – A great opportunity to ask that question you’ve been afraid to ask!
- What are the real issues? What is the environmental impact and how is it regulated? Is this a compliance issue, a safety issues, or is waste management the real challenge?
- Come learn about natural background and other sources of radiation
- Find out how physics and chemistry impact the occurrence and detection of TENORM.
- What vertical markets deal with NORM and what waste streams and equipment are impacted?
- Who makes the rules and what activities are regulated?
- Are there treatment options or methodologies available?
- Find out what you need to know to manage a project where TENORM is an issue.
- Is NORM/TENORM truly a safety issue? Are workers at risk?
- What are the health physics implications of radiation exposure?
- What are the fundamentals in protecting workers and members of the public?
- What personal protective equipment is recommended?
- How is NORM/TENORM regulated in the United States?
- Who needs to be licensed?
- What regulatory bodies are involved?
- When do I need a NORM/TENORM Contractor or health physicist?
- What you need to know before shipping impacted material!
- What are my treatment and disposal options?
- What should my analytical suite look like?
- What are the units of measure and why are there so many different ways of measuring radiation?
- What detection equipment should I be using and why?
- How do you perform a survey?
- Come learn the top 5 mistakes people make in performing a survey!
- A 70% score on the final exam is required to obtain a certificate.
- The exam is specifically designed to reinforce key learning objectives, not to see if you take tests well. Participants without any radiological or NORM/TENORM background are encouraged to attend!
This one-day workshop is designed to reinforce practical application for the RSO regarding licensing and overall facility management. This comprehensive agenda will cover various common topics the RSO is required to address to ensure compliance with regulations and industry benchmarking. Curated for every stakeholder who has 1) previously attended RSO training, 2) intends to attend RSO training, or 3) hires RSO candidates or contractors. Attendees will solidify knowledge in a wide breath, from field practices to disposal. Ask the questions you are afraid to ask in front of your teams at work. We are all friends here!
- Routine (On-site) Maintenance vs. Decontamination – How do agencies consider field activities in application? How to general license and specific license differ?
- Variety of Methods – How can separation, dilution, and processing exist independent from decontamination? How are states licensing activities?
- Filing A New Application vs. Amendment – Business entities may have a choice in filing a new application vs. an amendment on an existing license. What are the pros and cons? Who makes the best RSO? How are CRSO and FRSO different?
- Temporary Job Site Decon vs. Fixed Facility – Each authorization has their pros and cons. How do the states license authorizations?
- Surveys, Air monitoring, and Waste Analysis – We have collected all of this data, now what? Let’s utilize our data in a practical way by evaluating situations and scenarios.
- Dosimetry – Workers come and go. Is it wise to use the exemption to dosimetry if less than 10% allowable dose? Which badge option is best?
- Waste Profiling and RCRA E&P Exemptions – What are the complexities of dealing with hazardous wastes that are mixed with radioactive waste? When do RCRA E&P Exemptions apply or not?
- Disposal Options & Opportunities - Finding the best disposal option for your NORM-impacted waste can be a challenge. What are the steps of evaluating options?
- Complexities of Class 7 Regulations – Class 7 regulations can be daunting, especially if you are not using them daily. Let’s discuss how to mitigate through them and construct a game plan.
- State-specific Requirements – Interstate transportation has its own challenges. When is a transportation license required? Which LLRW compacts include NORM/TENORM?
- Inspections – Compliance is key with radioactive material licenses, and in order to gauge compliance, inspections are necessary. What inspections do state agencies conduct? How should self-inspections flow? What is expected in a client inspection?
- NOV and Corrective Actions – Notice of Violations are not the end of the world. Know the severity of the violation, how the licensing agency expects it to be handled, and understand the enforcement process.