Shielding Plans Are Required For:

1. All diagnostic medical X-ray units installed at new facilities.
2. Relocation of a unit within a facility.
3. All installations of therapeutic X-ray or accelerator units.
4. All installations of medical X-ray units at veterinary offices.
5. All industrial X-ray units used in shielded room configurations.
6. All dental cephalometric, dental CTs and TMJ units.
7. Replacement of an existing X-ray unit at a facility, to include the control, and/or generator.
8. Table bone density and mammography units (or area survey if prior approval is granted)
9. Mobile and portable radiographic units with a permanent cassette holder
10. All mobile units that are used in the same room for five (5) or more consecutive days.

Shielding Plans May Be Required For:

1. Modifications to an existing approved installation, such as moving the operator's barrier, or installing vertical cassette holder.
2. Changes to an approved plan that may affect the shielding requirements, such as changing the film/screen system used, increased workload, changes in occupancy of surrounding areas, etc.
3. Dental intraoral units that are installed in modular type cabinets where there are not complete barriers between adjacent areas

Shielding Plans Not Required For:

• Dental intraoral units installed in rooms with complete walls
• Most industrial and analytical X-ray equipment
• Peripheral bone density units.

If Shielding Plan is Required, Do This

Prior to construction and before installation of the X-ray unit, you must submit a:

• Radiation shielding plan prepared by a Class III (pdf), Class IV (pdf), Class VII (pdf), Class VIII (pdf), or Class IX (pdf) registered vendor
• DHEC's Shielding Plan Review Application Form (pdf), completed
• Shielding plan review fee of $62.50. You may request an invoice to pay these fees electronically. This invoice will be emailed to the address indicated on the application form.
• You may submit the application and supporting documentation electronically to: XRayFRA-ShieldingPlans@dhec.sc.gov.
• Submissions are processed and reviewed on a first come, first serve basis once we have received the complete application, supporting documentation and the application/review fee. Submissions are reviewed in the order in which they are received and deemed complete. The turnaround time for review is 10-15 business days.

Once DHEC receives the application and all required documentation (to include the review fee), we will:

• Review the application for completeness and accuracy.
• Review the operator protection and control location.
• Review the barrier radiation shielding specifications and descriptions of all assumptions used in the shielding calculations.
• Review any recommendations and provisions indicated by the shielding vendor.
• Analyze the workload and the type of X-rays that will be performed.
• Review the occupancies of the surrounding areas.

Once your equipment is installed, you must submit "as-built" drawings and the area survey to DHEC along with DHEC's As-Built/Area Survey Submission Form.

Shielding Design: Regulatory Guide

Consult our Regulatory Guide B6 - X-ray Facility Shielding Plans for clarification on South Carolina's requirements.