Radiography is the method with a regulatory layer no other NDT discipline carries. Training has to cover both the examination and the licensed handling of radiation, and the two have separate requirements.
Training covers radiation production from both X-ray tubes and gamma sources, the inverse-square law, attenuation and half-value layer, and the geometry that governs image quality — source-to-film distance, focal spot size and the geometric unsharpness they produce. Density and contrast are taught as measurable quantities, not impressions, because acceptance depends on them.
Level I performs exposures to a written technique and processes the result. Training centres on radiation safety, technique execution, IQI placement and processing discipline. In many jurisdictions the safety component is a separate licensed qualification and must be held before a candidate touches a source.
Level II develops the technique, interprets the radiograph and evaluates against acceptance criteria. This is the interpretation level — distinguishing porosity from slag, lack of fusion from lack of penetration, and geometry from a defect, then applying the referencing code correctly. Interpretation is a trained skill built on hundreds of images.
Level III approves techniques and procedures, qualifies personnel, and handles the difficult calls. Preparation covers technique justification, the interaction between the examination and the radiation-safety programme, and the acceptance criteria across the codes the employer works to.
Under ASNT SNT-TC-1A the employer sets training hours and documented experience hours per method and level in its own Written Practice, so the requirement you must satisfy is your employer's — not a universal number. Under ISO 9712 a central body examines and certifies, and the certificate travels with you between employers. Either way the pattern is the same: classroom or structured theory, supervised practical work, then general, specific and practical examinations. Training hours and experience hours are separate requirements, and candidates most often stall on the experience log rather than the coursework. Start documenting hours before you need them. How employers run the programme · the certification pathway in full.
The practical examination tests technique calculation, correct IQI selection and placement, and — the part that separates candidates — reading images consistently against the criteria rather than by instinct. Digital radiography has shifted the tooling but not this: an interpreter who cannot articulate why an indication is rejectable will not survive a challenged report.
ASME Section V Article 2, ISO 17636, API 1104 for pipeline girth welds, with acceptance from the referencing construction code. Radiation safety runs under national and state licensing separately from NDT certification.
Fabrication and pressure-equipment manufacture, pipeline construction, refining turnarounds, aerospace and casting inspection. RT remains mandatory in codes where a permanent image is required, which keeps demand steady.
Computed and digital radiography are increasingly the delivered form. The interpretation skill transfers directly; the workflow, storage and image-processing discipline do not, and are worth training explicitly. Digital radiography · the full RT guide.
Programmes are built and taught by practising ASNT Level IIIs. For companies, delivery is on-site at your facility — the practical work uses specimens representative of what your people actually examine, which is the single biggest difference between training that transfers to the job and training that does not. For individuals, scheduled cohorts and blended delivery combine structured theory with supervised practical. We are straightforward about the model: Atlantis does not operate walk-in training centres, and we will tell you when a local provider is the better answer for a single candidate.
It depends on the level and on how quickly you accumulate documented experience hours, which is usually the binding constraint rather than the coursework. A candidate already working under supervision progresses considerably faster than someone starting cold, because the experience accrues while they work.
Yes for Level I — it is designed as an entry point. Level II requires documented Level I experience in the method, so the sequence matters. The Level I route · Level II requirements.
Under SNT-TC-1A, no — employer-based certification lapses when you leave, though your documented experience travels with you and the new employer can certify you against their Written Practice. Under ISO 9712 the certificate is yours. This distinction is worth understanding before choosing a route. The comparison in full.
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US radiography carries two separate qualifications. RT method certification runs under ASNT SNT-TC-1A — 40 training hours and 210 RT hours for Level I, 40 further hours and 630 cumulative hours for Level II. Radiation safety is regulated separately under 10 CFR Part 34 or the equivalent Agreement State rule, and requires certification through a recognised certifying entity.
An RT Level II certificate does not authorise you to operate a gamma source, and a radiation safety card does not qualify you to interpret a radiograph. US employers satisfy both. Method certification follows the employer's SNT-TC-1A Written Practice, or ANSI/ASNT CP-189 where a contract invokes it, or ISO 9712. Industrial radiography operations are licensed under 10 CFR Part 34 by the NRC, or under the equivalent regulation in an Agreement State, which covers the majority of US states. Part 34 requires each radiographer to be certified through a certifying entity recognised under Appendix A to Part 34 — in practice the ASNT Industrial Radiography Radiation Safety Personnel examination — to complete documented training on the licensee's operating and emergency procedures, and to work under a Radiation Safety Officer named on the licence. Occupational dose is capped at 5 rem total effective dose equivalent per year by 10 CFR 20.1201.
Source: 10 CFR Part 34, Licenses for Industrial Radiography and Radiation Safety Requirements for Industrial Radiographic Operations, including 10 CFR 34.43 and Appendix A; 10 CFR 20.1201 and 20.1208; ASNT SNT-TC-1A (2020 edition); ASME BPVC Section V, Article 2; API 1104; ISO 17636-1 and ISO 17636-2.
| Credential | Governing document | Minimum required | What it authorises |
|---|---|---|---|
| RT Level I | Employer Written Practice per ASNT SNT-TC-1A | 40 training hours, 210 RT experience hours, 400 total NDT hours | Make exposures to a written technique and process the image. No interpretation. |
| RT Level II | Employer Written Practice per ASNT SNT-TC-1A | 40 further training hours, 630 cumulative RT hours, 1,200 total NDT hours | Develop the technique, interpret the radiograph, evaluate against acceptance criteria and sign the report. |
| RT Level III | ASNT SNT-TC-1A education-plus-experience route | 4 years beyond Level II for a high-school graduate; 2 years with a two-year technical degree; 1 year with a four-year engineering or science degree | Write and approve procedures and techniques, qualify RT personnel, own the interface with the radiation safety programme. |
| Radiographer certification | 10 CFR 34.43 and Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 34, or the Agreement State equivalent | Pass a recognised certifying-entity examination (ASNT IRRSP), plus licensee training on operating and emergency procedures and a documented practical | Operate a radiographic exposure device without personal supervision. |
| Radiographer's assistant | 10 CFR Part 34, or the Agreement State equivalent | Licensee training and demonstrated competence, documented | Assist only under the personal supervision of a certified radiographer. |
No. Method certification and radiographer certification are separate. Operating an exposure device requires certification through a certifying entity recognised under Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 34 — in practice the ASNT IRRSP examination — plus documented training on the licensee's operating and emergency procedures. An RT Level III without radiographer certification still cannot make the exposure.
IRRSP is ASNT's Industrial Radiography Radiation Safety Personnel certification, the examination that satisfies the certifying-entity requirement in 10 CFR 34.43 and Appendix A to Part 34. Every individual acting as a radiographer on a US industrial radiography licence holds it. Radiographer's assistants work under the personal supervision of a certified radiographer instead. The certification runs on a five-year cycle.
5 rem, or 0.05 sievert, total effective dose equivalent per year, set by 10 CFR 20.1201. A declared pregnant worker's embryo or fetus is limited to 0.5 rem across the entire gestation period under 10 CFR 20.1208. Monitoring requires a film badge or OSL dosimeter processed by an accredited service, plus a direct-reading dosimeter and an alarming ratemeter worn during operations.
Yes. ASME BPVC Section V Article 2 carries mandatory appendices covering computed radiography and digital detector arrays, and ISO 17636-2 is the digital counterpart to film's 17636-1. Interpretation qualification does not change — an RT Level II reads either. What changes is the image-quality demonstration, the file integrity chain and long-term storage, all of which the written procedure addresses.
Through the body of the hole-type image quality indicator, transmitted density is 1.8 minimum for X-ray sources and 2.0 minimum for gamma sources, with 4.0 the maximum for single-film viewing. Density through the area of interest holds within minus 15 percent to plus 30 percent of the density measured through the IQI. Density is measured with a densitometer, not judged.
API 1104 governs welding and inspection of pipeline girth welds, and its acceptance criteria for porosity, slag inclusions and incomplete penetration differ from ASME Section VIII and B31.3. Personnel qualification still comes from the employer's written practice under SNT-TC-1A. A radiographer moving from fabrication to pipeline construction relearns acceptance criteria, not technique.
Tell us the methods and levels you need and how many technicians. We reply with available dates, the delivery options that fit, and what your written practice requires — usually the same working day.
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Training scopes are quoted from the national radiographic testing service: film and digital radiography with the source logistics, exclusion zones and permanent image records a contract requires.