National Seminar & Exhibition on Non-Destructive Evaluation, NDE 2014, Pune, December 4-6, 2014 (NDE-India 2014)

Vol.20 No.6 (June 2015) - The e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing - ISSN 1435-4934
www.ndt.net/?id=17835

Training and Certification Status of BARC RT-1 course

Sridhar Sahoo, R. S. Vishwakarma, T. Palani Selvam and D. A. R. Babu
Radiological Phy sics and Advisory Division
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay , Mumbai - 400085
e-mail: barcsridhar@gmail.com
Key words: Radiograp hy , RT-1 Certification

Introduction

Radiograp hy testing is an imp ortant non-destructive testing technique. Radiograp hy ensures the
structural integrity, quality of equip ment and structures such as vessels, p ipes, welded joints,
192 60 75
castings etc. Radiograp hy camera containing radiation sources such as Ir, Co, Se and
industrial X-ray equip ment are used for radiograp hy p urp oses. These radiograp hy cameras and
X-ray machines are op erated by industrial radiograp hers.

Negligent and careless op eration of the radiography camera by the radiograp her or radiography
by untrained p erson can lead to radiation accidents like source getting stuck-up , disengagement
of source pencil, loss of sources etc. This radiation accident may result in excessive exp osure to
radiation workers and unnecessary exp osure to members of the p ublic. Therefore, it is necessary
that the radiograp her should thoroughly understand the radiograp hy princip les, techniques and
radiograp hy should be carried out with prop er training and radiological safety measures. M any
fabrication and insp ection codes insist that trained and certified radiograp hers are emp loy ed to
carry out radiography work. It is also mandatory by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)
that the emp loy er should engage the certified radiograp hers for carry ing out radiograp hy in
[1]
India.

Training courses on radiography testing

The Dep artment of Atomic Energy (DAE) was started radiograp hy technique in India for the
inspection of welds and assemblies during construction of CIRUS reactor in 1957. Currently
industrial radiography is a mandatory requirement in the manufacture of p ressure vessels, ship s,
turbines, space vehicles, aircrafts, p ip e lines etc. Radiograp hers certification course of 10 day s
duration is the first training course on radiography testing started in 1978 by Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC). 64 such courses were conducted during 1978-93 at different
institutions in the country and generated about 1760 certified radiograp hers.[2]

In 1994, this Radiograp hers certification course was discontinued and Radiograp hy Testing
level-1 (RT-1) course was started. First RT-1 course was conducted in Sep tember 1994 at
Institute of Quality M anagement (IQM), M umbai under guidance of BARC. Currently , this
course is conducted by four Institutes (see Table) and the Institutes are (1) IQM , Mumbai, (2)
Quality NDT Training Institute, Pune, (3) IRC Engineering Services, Noida and (4) Indian
Society for Non Destructive Testing, Tiruchirappalli. These training centers are app roved by
BARC and AERB. However, the certification is jointly done by BARC and AERB.
RT-1 course syllabus

The RT-1 training course is conducted as p er the ISO-9712 and Board of Indian Standards (BIS)
[3-5]
13805 document and sy llabus app roved by AERB. For p articipating in the course, the
candidate should p ass the 10+2 or equivalent examination with Science subjects, and
th
M athematics in 10 standard from a recognized Board or, Dip loma or Degree in
engineering/science from a recognized Board/University . Also, the candidate should have a
minimum of six months radiography experience as a trainee radiograp her with ap p roval from
[5]
AERB and enrolled for p ersonnel monitoring services of BARC. Duration of this RT-1 course
is 15 working days. 21 lectures (51 hrs) and 9 p ractical demonstrations (27 hrs) from various
top ics from radiograp hy techniques and radiation safety are covered in this course.

The top ics in radiograp hy techniques are General Concep ts of RT, Phy sical Princip les of the
Test, Equipment and Radiation Sources, Photograp hic & Non-p hotograp hic Recording, Work
Parameters and Conditions, Defectology, Selection of Radiograp hy Techniques, Radiography
Standards and Selection of Test Methods, Familiarization with radiography equip ment (X-ray s &
Gamma Rays) and their op eration, Dark room p ractices, Selection of radiograp hic techniques
for insp ection of objects with different Geometries – Plates & Pip es, Selection of test methods
according to standards, viewing of radiograp hs, interp retation of radiograp hs & p reparation of
rep orts.

In radiation safety, the top ics covered are basic radiation phy sics, interaction with matter,
radiation quantities, biological effects, dose limits, detection, hazard evaluation and control,
design and safety asp ects of radiograp hy camera, transp ort of radioactive material, radiation
accidents, regulatory asp ects and emergency response p lans and p rep aredness.

The RT-1 examination consists of a written examination of three theory p ap ers and two p ractical
examinations (total 500 marks). The practical examination includes vive-voce on Radiation
Safety . Aggregate marks are weighted as p er the ISO-9712 standard. The candidates are declared
successful on scoring marks not less than 70% each in written and p ractical examinations and not
less than 80% in aggregate. Head, Radiological Phy sics & Advisory Division, BARC ap p oints
Convenor, Board of examination for the RT-1 examination. On successful comp letion of the RT-
1 training course, certificates signed by Director, Health, Safety & Environment Group , BARC
are issued to the candidates. Based on these certificates, AERB will allow the candidates to work
as certified-radiograp hers in India.

RT-1 statistics

Currently about 15 RT-1 courses are conducted p er y ear in the four RT-1 training centers (see
Table). 130 RT-1 courses have been conducted so far since 1994 which resulted in generation of
about 3000 radiograp hers. The p assing p ercentage is in range of 60 to 80 %. From 2010
onwards, app roximately 300 radiograp hers are being certified per y ear. Year-wise distribution of
RT-1 courses, p ass p ercentage and number of p articip ants attending during 1994-2014 are shown
in fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 3 resp ectively . Considering the industrial and economical growth in
India, the number of courses and radiographers are likely to increase.
References
1. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Safety Code for ‘Industrial Radiograp hy ’, AERB/SC/IR-1,
Mumbai, India, 2001.

2. Shah B. K., Ramakrishnan P. S., Training and Certification schemes for NDT Personnel in
India, NAARI Bulletin, Vol.12, No.1: P-126-135, 2005.

3. International Standard on ‘Non-destructive Testing- Qualification and Certification of

Personnel’ ISO - 9712:2005(E).

4. General Standard for Qualification and Certification of Non-destructive Testing Personnel –

Sp ecification, IS 13805:2004.

5. Standard Sy llabi for Training Courses on Radiological Safety , AERB Standard Sy llabi:
AERB/RF/Training-Syllabi/2012.

Table : BARC and AERB app roved RT-1 training centre

Sl. Name and contact details of training centre
No.
Institute of Quality M anagement,
Faizan Apartments: B-Wing,
S.V. Road, Jogeshwari (West), Mumbai - 400 102.
1.
Ph.022-26795906, 26790217, 9819310476
e-mail: rramani@ixar.in

Quality NDT Training Institute

Plot No. B.G.A. -1/4, Bhosari General Block,
MIDC, Bhosari, Pune - 411 026.
2.
Ph.020-27121843, 27119490, 8600100700
e-mail: bkp _qndt@y ahoo.in

IRC Engineering Services India Pvt. Ltd.

A-53, Sector-63, Noida - 201 301.
3. Ph.0120-3352709, 4276613
e-mail: ircengg@gmail.com

ISNT-Trichy Chap ter, C/o NDTL, Building .1, BHEL,

Tiruchirapp alli - 620 014.
4. Ph. 0431-2556154, 2575237
e-mail: isnt.trichy@gmail.com
 20

18

16

14
No. of c ourses

12

10

0
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Year

Fig 1. Year-wise distribution of RT-1 courses conducted during 1994-2013.

90

80

70
Pass percentage (%)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Year

Fig 2. Year-wise p ass p ercentage of RT-1 course conducted during 1994-2013.

500

450

400
Number of participants

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Year

Fig 3. Year-wise distribution of number of candidates p articip ated in the RT-1 course (1994-
2013).