Radiation safety expert services at Platom Oy
Platom’s radiation safety experts support the safe use of radiation in industry, research, and the nuclear energy sector.
Expert RSO services for the needs of industry, research, and nuclear energy
Platom’s radiation safety experts (RSO) provide professional services for radiation operations in industry and research, as well as for the use of nuclear energy. Platom has delivered RSO services since 2020, and the service is continuously developed in line with customers’ evolving needs.
Platom’s radiation safety experts work full-time on RSO projects, enabling close and smooth collaboration with customers. Customer feedback and day-to-day cooperation play a key role in developing the service. The goal is to build an RSO service offering that is even more impactful, flexible, and genuinely customer-oriented.
A broad customer base brings deep insight into radiation operations
Today, Platom’s RSO service supports a broad and diverse range of operators across different sectors. In Finland, the use of radiation in industry and research involves more than 1,000 safety permits, covering a wide variety of radiation sources and use cases.
Platom’s customers represent a comprehensive cross-section of radiation operations in Finnish industry and research. They use, for example, X-ray equipment and radiation sources containing radioactive substances, applied in the food, chemical, and energy industries, in the forest and sawmill sector, and in mining and recycled metals.
Our customers include, among others, NDT inspection companies, earthmoving and transport companies, heating plants, open radioactive source laboratories, research institutes, as well as radiation equipment service companies and importers.
This diverse customer base has given the RSO service broad insight into different radiation sources, equipment, and the practical arrangements of radiation protection. These learnings are also applied directly in RSO projects for new customers.
When should a radiation safety expert be used?
Under the Radiation Act, an operator must use a radiation safety expert in activities that require a safety permit, for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of radiation protection for employees and the public. In practice, this means activities involving the use of licensed radiation equipment or radioactive substances, for example in industry, research, or other professional applications.
Radiation safety experts should be used in particular when a new radiation activity is being started, or when an existing activity changes in a way that materially affects exposure risks.
The higher the radiation risks associated with an activity, the more closely involved the RSO is in day-to-day operations. In lower-risk settings, the need for an RSO is lighter, but with a few exceptions, an expert should always be available to the operator at some level.
The current Radiation Act has been in force since late 2018, and it includes a broad set of requirements concerning the use of RSOs. However, the regulations also leave room for interpretation, which in Platom’s day-to-day work is reflected in different practical delivery models for RSO services.
Platom provides RSO services flexibly as one-off projects, lighter framework agreements, and comprehensive annual contracts. Radiation exposure risk classification and legal requirements set the boundaries for the agreements, but in practice the service model is always tailored to the customer’s actual needs.
Some customers operating on a smaller scale have chosen a broader agreement, for example to enable regular radiation protection training—often a sign of a strong safety culture in other areas of their operations as well.
Safety culture at the heart of radiation operations
In practice, the safety of radiation operations is assessed at multiple levels: during regulatory inspections, internal audits, and as part of an organisation’s own safety management. In these situations, attention often focuses on individual findings and areas for improvement. STUK inspections and internal audits frequently highlight specific shortcomings, but assessing safety culture as a whole is not always straightforward.
Safety culture refers to an operating approach in which safety guides decision-making and everyday practices alongside other objectives—or even ahead of them.
Although radiation legislation does not provide an unambiguous definition of safety culture, it is referenced in several contexts. A key objective of Platom’s RSO service is to promote both radiation safety and safety culture in our customers’ operations. Many elements of the RSO service support this overall goal, even if day-to-day attention is often directed toward correcting individual deficiencies.
Radiation safety is one part of safety alongside others, such as occupational safety and information security—and it is worth developing through systematic, planned efforts.
I have been pleased to see that for many of Platom’s customers, using the RSO service is driven by a genuine desire to maintain and improve the safety of radiation operations—not merely by the need to comply with legislation or regulatory requirements. In my own work, I aim to approach requirements in a practical way and consider what real benefits they can bring to operations. — Jussi Aromaa, RSO
Versatile RSO services also for the use of nuclear energy
Platom’s RSO service covers a wide range of areas related to the use of radiation. Services include, among other things, support for applying for and updating a safety permit, organising refresher training in radiation protection, and providing Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA) services for the transport of radioactive materials.
In addition, Platom provides RSO services tailored to the specific needs of the use of nuclear energy, where high safety requirements, close cooperation with authorities, and long-term development of safety culture as part of the organisation’s operations are emphasised.
You can find more detailed information about the contents of the RSO service on Platom’s website.
https://platom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Platom_STA_A4-nettisivuille.pdf
Would you like to know more?
We can design a radiation safety expert service model that’s the right fit for you.
Contact: sta@platom.fi
Jussi Aromaa
Radiation Safety Expert (RSE)
Safety Adviser for the Transport of Dangerous Goods (DGSA)
044 901 6505
jussi.aromaa@platom.fi
Platom Oy