The Radiation Protection Officer in Qatar: Duties and Limits
September 21, 2026
9 min read
DITEC Experts, Radiation Protection Team, ALDuha Institute for Training and Environmental Consulting
Named, not transferred
Ask most facilities who is responsible for radiation protection and the answer is a person: the RPO. Article 29 of the Regulation puts it differently. It is headed Local rules for supervision, and its opening line is addressed not to the officer but to the licensee: the licensee is bound, as regards supervision, to follow the rules that come after it.
Naming the officer is the first of six rules: the licensee names a person responsible for radiation protection, called the radiation protection officer, and the instructions for radiation protection officers are issued by a decision of the Chairman. The other five rules remain the licensee's. Appointing an RPO is how the licensee meets rule one - it is not a way of handing over rules two to six.
Note also where the officer's detailed instructions live: in a decision of the Chairman, not in the Regulation. It is the same pattern as Article 21 for worker licensing and Article 24 for inspection. The duties of the role are published separately, and the current decision is worth holding on file.
The six rules of Article 29
Article 29 - addressed to the licensee
1. Name the officer
- A named person responsible for radiation protection, called the radiation protection officer. Instructions for the role are issued by decision of the Chairman.
2. Write the local rules - with the officer
- In cooperation with the officer, and consulting the workers where needed: the local rules and procedures, in writing and in a language the workers and the public understand, communicated to everyone they apply to and to anyone else who may be affected by them.
3. Inform every worker of the health risks
- Sufficient information on the health risks of occupational exposure, whether that exposure is normal or potential, with adequate instruction and training.
4. Inform female workers about pregnancy
- Women whose work takes them into controlled or supervised areas are told the risk to an embryo, and the importance of informing the licensee as soon as they know of a pregnancy.
5. Train those with a role in the emergency plan
- Information, instruction and training as appropriate for workers connected with the emergency plan.
6. Keep training records
- Keeping records of the training each worker receives - for each worker, not a single attendance sheet for the site.
Written, and in a language the workers understand
Rule two carries two conditions that are easy to meet on paper and easy to miss in practice. The local rules must be in writing. And they must be in a language the workers and the public understand.
On a site in Qatar, that second condition has real weight. A radiography crew, a storekeeper and a driver may share no single first language, and a set of local rules written only in English does not meet the wording for the worker who does not read it. The practical answer is short versions of the rules that matter at the point of work, in the languages actually spoken on that site.
The rule also reaches beyond employees: the rules are communicated to the workers they apply to and to the other persons who may be affected by them. Contractors, visiting engineers and delivery drivers are among the people the rules have to reach.
Where the officer appears in the other articles
Article 29 names the officer, but the officer's working duties are spread through the articles that follow. Read together, they make the role concrete.
The officer across the Regulation
| Article | Who it names | The duty |
|---|---|---|
| Article 29 | The licensee, with the officer | Name the officer; write the local rules in cooperation with the officer |
| Article 32 | The persons responsible for radiation protection | Carry out the three area measurements and record every result |
| Article 33 | Licensees and radiation protection officers, jointly | Make sure every worker in a controlled area wears a working dosimeter, correctly, and that readings are taken and recorded |
Frequently asked questions
If we appoint an RPO, is the RPO legally responsible instead of the company?
Not on the wording of Article 29. The article opens by binding the licensee, and lists naming the officer as the first of six rules the licensee must follow. The officer is the named person for radiation protection; the obligations in the article stay with the licensee.
Is it RPO or RSO?
The Regulation's own term is the radiation protection officer. In English both Radiation Protection Officer (RPO) and Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) are used for the same function in Qatar, and job advertisements and courses use both. What matters for compliance is the named person and the duties, not the acronym on the letter.
Can our local rules be in English only?
Article 29 requires them to be in a language the workers and the public understand. If every worker they apply to reads English, English meets the wording. If some do not, it does not for those workers. The test is the people on the site, not the language of the company.
What does the RPO need to be qualified?
Article 29 places the instructions for radiation protection officers in a decision of the Chairman, and Article 25 requires anyone doing radiation work to have their scientific and technical qualifications verified first. The specific requirements for the role therefore come from that decision; ask the competent authority for the version in force before appointing.
How the Institute can help
An RPO who has been trained but not given written local rules, a monitoring programme and a place in the emergency plan has been given a title rather than a role.
ALDuha Institute runs the Radiation Protection Officer course, and advises licensees on the rest of Article 29 around the appointment: drafting local rules per area and in the languages used on site, and setting up the training record for each worker.
Scope of what the Institute does: training and consulting. Field radiation surveys are carried out through specialist partners working in the field. The Institute does not carry out laboratory analysis, instrument calibration or equipment testing.
This explanation is published for awareness by the radiation protection team at ALDuha Institute for Training and Environmental Consulting. The English text is an explanation, not a certified translation: the Arabic text published in the Official Gazette governs in case of any difference, and this article does not replace the official text or advice from the competent authority. Last updated 21 September 2026.