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RWA Certification Scheme

All about gaining RWA Certification

1. Legal Requirement

Any person wishing to act as a Radioactive Waste Adviser must:

  1. gain a Certificate of Core Competence from an Assessing Body recognised by the UK Environment Agencies; and
  2. be deemed ‘suitable for appointment’ by the Employer appointing that RWA.

An RPA 2000 Certificate of Core Competence remains valid for a period of 5 years, before the end of which it must be renewed.

2. Relevant RPA 2000 Documents

The documents that are relevant to any person wishing to apply for or renew an RPA 2000 Certificate of Core Competence to act as an RWA are listed below.

The following Documents provide general information that is applicable to all the Certification Schemes provided by RPA 2000, click on the one that you wish to view:

Doc. Ref Document Title
 G1 RPA 2000 Operating Procedures
 G2 Information for Applicants seeking Certification or Renewal of Certification under any RPA 2000 Competence Certification Scheme
 G3 Protocol for the introduction and maintenance of Specialist Certificates of Competence
G4 Code of Technical Conduct
G5 Complaints and Disciplinary
G6 Assessment Appeals
G7 Resources and Resilience
 GD2 Consequences of the failure of applicants to meet timescales for the renewal of certification
 GD3 Consequences of the failure of applicants to meet timescales for the provision of further information required by assessors

The following documents contain information that is specific to the competency scheme for a Radioactive Waste Adviser, please click on the one that you wish to view:

Doc. Ref Document Title
 RWA1 Application Form to gain Initial Certification of Competence to be an RWA
 RWA2 Instructions for the creation of the Portfolio of Evidence for RWA certification
 RWA3 Instructions for the Renewal of RWA Certification (RWA-RCS)
RWA4 Additional Guidance for the assembly of RWA portfolios in the medical sector

 

3. Applications for initial certification to act as an RWA

The requirements of the UK Environment Agencies (EAs) for the assessment of competence of persons seeking to gain recognition as Radioactive Waste Advisers (RWA) can be found in the most recent version of the ‘Environment Agencies Statement on RWAs’. The means for achieving this are detailed in the RPA 2000 Document RWA2 ‘Instructions for the creation of the portfolio of evidence for RWA certification’.

Applicants for initial certification by RPA 2000 will:

  • Require Documents RWA1 and RWA 2
  • Are advised to consult Document G2
  • May wish to refer to Documents G1

4. Applications for renewal of certification to act as an RWA

Persons wishing to apply to RPA 2000 to renew their RWA certification will have to use the RWA Renewal of Certification Scheme which will be found in the RPA 2000 Document RWA3 ‘Instructions for the Renewal of RWA Certification (RWA-RCS)’.

Persons may also apply for renewal of both the RPA certificate and RWA certificate using The Joint renewal Scheme for RPA and RWA Certification (Joint-RCS3).