News

Task Group 113 - Reference Organ and Effective Dose Coefficients for Common Diagnostic X-ray Imaging Examinations

Task Group 121 - Effects of Ionising Radiation Exposure in Offspring and Next Generations

Would you like to know more.

The 10th International Symposium on NORM is organized by the Dutch foundation “Radiation Protection Symposium North-West Europe”, under the auspices of the Dutch Society for Radiation Protection (NVS). 25 years ago the first NORM symposium was also organized in the Netherlands. 

Find more info on there website: https://normx2022.com/ 

And the attached brochure

ICRP has announced that they are seeking applications from organisations to loan staff to work in the ICRP Scientific Secretariat, remotely or in the Ottawa office (or a combination of both), full-time or part-time, for a period of one year or more. Would you like to know more? https://icrp.org/page.asp?id=566.

The outcome of the DCF Workshop has been placed on ARPANSA’s “Have your say” page for further consultation for a three week period.

You can find the details here: NORM Dose conversion factor update | ARPANSA

Comments can be sent to rhc@arpansa.gov.au

IRPA 2022 North American Regional Congress is almost 1 month away!

The early registration rate has been extended to January 26!

Still not sure about your format plans? You will be able to change your registration format! Register now and email Jennifer Rosenberg (jrosenberg@burkinc.com) if any changes come up.

Wednesday is packed with Health Physics content including an all-day session covering major disasters in Health Physics History. This special series includes talks on the 1976 Hanford accident, the 2014 WIPP event, Trinity studies, Goiânia Brazil, TMI, and many more! Need a break and a snack? Wednesday morning will also feature a collection of 16mm classic films Dr. Uhland has collected while working in radiation safety.

As a reminder, this conference is FULLY HYBRID. This means ALL sessions are available LIVE in person and online. They will also ALL be recorded and available online to anyone who registered. Speakers and Attendees will be able to participate virtually and in person!

The latest IRPA bulletin has been released and can be found the the IRPA website. This issue contains:

• President's blog
  

• Norm x - 19th international symposium on norm
  

• The montreal fund needs your support!

• IRPA website updates: careers in RP and IRPA 15 materials

• Croatian radiation protection society updates

• The 2021 national conference of the Romanian society of radiation protection
  

Direct link to Issue 32: Here

On January 26^th 2022 the IAEA will organize a webinar related to NORM. During this webinar, Leo van Velzen will promote NORM X.

The webinar announcement is available at https://www.iaea.org/resources/webinar/in-the-spotlight-naturally-occurring-radioactive-material-norm

The IAEA DS519 Draft Safety Guide - Protection of Workers Against Exposure due to Radon is now available for Member State comment and is open for comments from ARPS.

What is the purpose of the guide? 

The objective of the Safety Guide is to provide recommendations on protection of workers against exposure due to radon in workplaces, in planned and existing exposure situations, including the case of combined exposure to radon and other sources. The recommendations in the Safety Guide are based on the application of the graded approach. The Safety Guide is aimed at governments, regulatory bodies or other relevant competent authorities, employers, licensees, registrants, workers and service providers.

Comments are requested in relation to: 

• Relevance and usefulness: Are the stated objectives appropriate and are they met by the draft text?
• Scope and completeness: Is the scope appropriate and is it adequately covered by the draft text? 
• Quality and clarity: Does the guidance in the draft text represent the current consensus among specialists in the field and is this guidance expressed clearly and coherently? 

Please submit comments by 21 March 2022 through the ARPANSA Have Your Say page https://www.arpansa.gov.au/iaea-ds519-draft-safety-guide-protection-workers-against-exposure-due-radon.

On the 3^rd October 2021, ARPS provided feedback to the International Radiation Protection Association on the paper “Keeping the ICRP Recommendations Fit for Purpose”. ARPS has been asked to revisit their feedback and provide only the Top 3 Priorities for ARPS.

This is an opportunity to have input on the future of radiation protection. Please find attached the original feedback provided by ARPS. Below are the top 3 priorities identified based on feedback received to date.

 Please provide feedback by COB 13^th December 2021

 Top 3 Priorities

1. There is consensus among ARPS members that the system of protection must be  clear, logical and practical. Although the system is generally effective, in its current form it is  viewed as complex. Feedback indicates that this contributes to difficulty implementing the system. In general, ARPS does not support revisions that further complicate the system.
2. ARPS proposes the introduction of a low dose threshold, e.g. between 1  and 5 mSv, with planned exposures below this threshold subject to no regulatory governance. The objective is to balance managing risks at low doses to the degree that the efforts of regulatory governance and financial burden is commensurate with comparable risks in other industries.
3. There is a need to rethink whether “one system for all” is the right approach. By trying to bring everything under one system, it is getting more complicated and difficult to enact. It may be advantageous to have different systems for medical, natural, and nuclear.

You are invited to share the information with your relevant national organisations, professional associations and experts to provide their comments. The deadline for comments by Member States on this draft is 28 February 2022.The document as well as the Verbal Notes are available at https://www.iaea.org/resources/safety-standards/draft-standards-for-ms-comment