It's no accident that state inspectors gave Harvard's radiation safety program high marks during a surprise inspection in January.

Over the past two years, the University has re-examined its radiation safety programs with the goals of making them more effective and establishing a more cooperative effort among radiation safety staff, faculty, and users who are conducting research using radioactive materials in hundreds of labs. This work was overseen by the Radiation Safety Committee, which is staffed on a volunteer basis by members of the faculty and administration.

Amin Kassis, associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, praised the improved system. He said the radiation safety staff now "works with us rather than separately from us." His lab uses large amounts of radioactive material, mostly iodine- 125, to make radioactively tagged molecules that can be used for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Much of the radioactive material used at Harvard emits low doses of radiation and has a short half-life, meaning it degrades quickly and becomes harmless. Nonetheless, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has strict rules about use, storage of, and access to the materials.

Kassis was just one of several faculty members whose input was sought before changes to procedures and training were made, according to Joseph Ring, Harvard's radiation safety officer. Harvard's program has always worked to ensure safety, but the faculty members and staff trained and monitored by the Radiation Protection Office weren't always part of the process.

"The faculty and users of [radioactive] material have really come together to assist us in implementing a better program," Ring said.

In addition to revamping procedures to ensure, for example, that radioactive materials are always either locked up or in use, as required by regulation, the radiation safety program conducts its own surprise inspections to point out areas for improvement in individual labs. Also, Radiation Protection Office staff visit each radioactive materials laboratory monthly as an overall safety resource.

"Radiation training programs are very much regulatory training. Most programs provide training that details the rules and says: 'This is what you have to do,' " Ring said. "Our new program provides practical tips and methods and, secondly, says: 'If you use these practices, you won't have to worry about the regulations because you will already be in compliance.' "

One aim of the training, Ring said, is to take the mystery out of radioactivity. Many people hear the word "radioactive" and automatically assume the worst. Radiation Protection Office trainers try to dispel some of that feeling by measuring the natural radiation in everyday items, such as substitutes for ordinary table salt. Salt substitutes are radioactive because they use potassium, which is more radioactive than sodium. Other everyday items with their own naturally occurring radioactivity include some ceramic plates, watches, and the mantles of gas camping lanterns.

The surprise state inspection, conducted in late January by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), praised the University for a variety of things, including having an active and engaged Radiation Safety Committee, which oversees the radiation protection program; for proper materials handling; and for challenging inspectors who enter labs without authorization.

The detailed inspection by the DPH team included a review of radioactive material purchasing, storage, use, and disposal, as well as inspection of exposure-monitoring and training programs and records. No regulatory violations were cited by the Department of Public Health.

Ring said his office is continuing to improve the radiation safety program. One current aim is to write one-page fact sheets about certain radioactive materials.

"It's our goal to continue to make things easier for users so that by the time they have a question, it's answered," Ring said.

Hidde Ploegh, the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor of Immunopathology at the Medical School, said radiation safety staff have to walk a very fine line between the requirements of government regulators on one side, and the demands of faculty members conducting research on the other.

Programs that enlist the faculty to meet the government regulations, he said, are always the most successful.

"Unless lab workers are part of the effort, it's very difficult to maintain tight control and observe the rules, regulations, and procedures that minimize problems of safety," Ploegh said. "The labs that have that cooperation are the labs where you find the highest level of compliance."