Radiation Safety Management and Quality Assurance in Qatar
October 1, 2026
8 min read
DITEC Experts, Radiation Protection Team, ALDuha Institute for Training and Environmental Consulting
Three articles, one chain
Three articles scattered across the Regulation say one thing when read together: competence is not good management practice; it is a legal condition.
Article 61 requires a management system that assigns responsibility and provides training and qualification. Article 62 requires a programme giving adequate assurance that the training was sufficient. Article 70 closes the loop in a single line: sources may be handled only under the permanent supervision of a qualified and licensed user.
Article 61: proportionality is written into the text
Article 61 does not impose one management system on everyone. It requires a system proportionate to the size and nature of the licensed practice.
That settles a question every small dental clinic asks: am I held to the same standard as an industrial site? The text answers no. But proportionality is not exemption. The clinic needs the same system with its four elements, at a scale that fits. Two written pages may suffice where a plant needs a full manual; having nothing at all is not proportionality.
Item 2 deserves a pause. In a manner consistent with their significance means a graded response. A faded sign and a dose exceeding a limit do not enter the same queue. A system that treats both alike delays the serious to process the trivial.
Item 4 contains a phrase easily skimmed: information must flow at all levels existing in the entity to which the licensee belongs. That is the parent entity, not the department alone. Where a radiation unit sits inside a larger company, the provision reaches the company's levels.
The four elements of Article 61, and where each usually fails
| Item | What it requires | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clear steps for protection and safety decisions | Decisions made verbally, with no identified owner |
| 2 | Prompt correction of problems in a manner consistent with their significance | Every observation gets equal priority, so none is acted on |
| 3 | Each individual's responsibilities defined clearly, with training and qualification | The job description never mentions radiation |
| 4 | Arrangements for easy, fast communication at all levels | Information stops at one supervisory layer |
Article 62: adequate assurance, twice
Article 62 uses the phrase adequate assurance in two consecutive items: adequate assurance that the specified protection and safety requirements are met, and adequate assurance that workers are trained and qualified.
The phrase shifts the burden. Stating compliance is not enough; something must assure it to an adequate degree. That is the difference between a claim and evidence.
Item 2 contains a scope point often missed: training covers all workers on whom protection and safety depend, a wider circle than radiation workers. The maintenance technician who opens the equipment, the receptionist who directs people away from a door, the storekeeper who receives the package: protection depends on them, so they fall within the item.
Item 3 requires quality assurance mechanisms and procedures for reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of the radiation protection and safety systems. The system is to be revisited, not written once.
Article 70: the chapter's shortest article, and its heaviest
Handling and use of radioactive sources shall be under the permanent supervision of users qualified and licensed by the Council. That is the article in full.
One line, three constraints. Handling and use, not use alone: internal movement, storage and handover are all handling. Permanent supervision, not supervision at the outset followed by absence. Qualified and licensed, two conditions joined rather than alternatives, and the licence comes from the regulator, not from the employer.
A note on wording: "the Council" in the Regulation is the Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves, as defined in Article 1. Its environmental and radiation competences subsequently passed to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and a facility's operational reference today is the Ministry's Radiation Protection Department. The word is retained inside verbatim quotations.
In practice a user's licence is personal and tied to their employer, so a member of staff moving between facilities is a matter to be taken up with the regulator; an internal letter does not settle it.
Questions this article gets asked
My facility is small. Do I need a full management system?
The text requires a system proportionate to the size and nature of the practice. The scale adapts; the four elements remain. Proportionality lightens the form, not the substance.
Who are the workers on whom protection and safety depend?
A wider circle than radiation workers: anyone whose work affects the protection arrangements, such as maintenance, receiving and storage, or cleaning in designated areas. The precise circle depends on the nature of each facility.
Does a course certificate make a user qualified and licensed?
Article 70 requires both, and the licence is issued by the regulator. A certificate serves the qualification condition; it does not replace the licence.
Does the Institute build quality assurance systems?
ALDuha Institute provides licensed training and consulting services on building the protection framework, the instructions and the qualification path. It does not provide laboratory analysis, instrument calibration or equipment testing.
How the Institute can help
Articles 61, 62 and 70 look administrative when read apart. Read together they are one chain: assign responsibility, train, verify the training was adequate, and let no source be handled except under qualified, licensed supervision.
Licensed Radiation Protection Officer training that serves the qualification condition, and advisory support in building the management system, the quality assurance programme and the training records that evidence it.
Scope of what the Institute does: licensed training and consulting. Field radiation surveys are carried out through specialist partners. The Institute does not carry out laboratory analysis, instrument calibration or equipment testing.
This article is an explanatory overview based on the official Arabic text of Executive Regulation No. (4) of 2003. It is not legal advice and does not replace your licence conditions or review by the regulator. English quotations are unofficial translations; the Arabic text prevails.