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Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
Published in T. D. Luckey, Radiation Hormesis, 2020
Resources used to foster policies of minimal radiation should be channeled into research and methods to determine safe optima and supplementation of background radiation. Meinhold, then president of the Health Physics Society, stated: “…just as no one should be exposed to (excess) ionizing radiation for trivial reasons, so no one should be denied the benefits …by trivial objections.”610
Education and Training for Radiation Protection in Nuclear Power Plants
Published in Kenneth L. Miller, Handbook of Management of Radiation Protection Programs, 2020
The primary purpose of health physics is the protection of workers and the public from the harmful effects of radiation. Other purposes of reactor health physics include protecting the employer from regulatory penalties and from litigation, and helping to provide reliable and inexpensive electricity. Health physicists play a major role in maintaining the public confidence that is necessary for efficient operation; in at least one instance, health physics deficiencies played a major role in the permanent shutdown of a plant.
Micronutrients in Protecting Against Lethal Doses of Ionizing Radiation
Published in Kedar N. Prasad, Micronutrients in Health and Disease, 2019
The current unit of low LET radiation dose is Gy (named after a famous radiobiologist, Dr. Gray), whereas the unit used for radiation protection recommendation is Sv (named after a famous health physicist, Dr. Sievert). The unit Sv accommodates any difference in relative biological effectiveness (RBE) between low and high LET radiation. RBE is a ratio of a dose to produce an effect by low LET radiation and a dose to produce the same effect by high LET radiation.
Birth outcomes in women exposed to diagnostic radiology procedures during first trimester of pregnancy: a prospective cohort study
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2022
Andrea Missanelli, Niccolò Lombardi, Alessandra Bettiol, Cecilia Lanzi, Francesco Rossi, Ilaria Pacileo, Lucia Donvito, Valentina Garofalo, Claudia Ravaldi, Alfredo Vannacci, Guido Mannaioni, Alessandra Pistelli
Fetal radiation dose was calculated only for women who were exposed to abdominal or lumbar radio-diagnostic procedures (Cohort A), that is, when the uterus is directly invested by the IRs beam. In these cases, the radiologist who performed the radio-diagnostic procedure was assisted by a health physicist, to collect technical parameters and calculate the fetal radiation dose [12]. When technical parameters were collected, the health physicist calculated the radiation doses. Calculations were always retrospectively performed using computational methods, such as Monte Carlo simulations [13]. As these calculations are affected by a large uncertainty, the health physicist provided a range for the calculated dose value, expressed as minimum and maximum values. For the purposes of this study, we considered only the maximum value of the fetal radiation dose, expressed in terms of dose equivalent, measured in milliSievert (mSv). Based on the estimated maximal radiation dose, women were advised about the teratogenic risk and provided clinical counselling [14].
Study logistics that can impact medical countermeasure efficacy testing in mouse models of radiation injury
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2021
Andrea L. DiCarlo, Zulmarie Perez Horta, Carmen I. Rios, Merriline M. Satyamitra, Lanyn P. Taliaferro, David R. Cassatt
Accurate dosimetry is dependent on a reference standard to measure the dose rate of the irradiator, and the measurement of the specific dose delivered to a mouse within a specific setup and radiation type. The manufacturer usually initially calibrates irradiators, and dosimetry should be repeated on a regular basis (usually yearly) by well-trained technicians. Ideally, a NIST-traceable reference should be used to ensure the irradiator is working properly and emitting the expected free-in-air energy11. The second component measures midline to tissue exposure using an ionization chamber, radiochromic film, optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs), or thermal luminescence dosimeters (TLDs) to accurately determine the actual dose at a specified radiation position (Yoshizumi et al. 2011). Therefore, to obtain accurate dosimetry for animal studies, it is essential that a radiation health physicist properly and regularly calibrate radiation devices using the geometry planned for the experiment.
COHERE – strengthening cooperation within the Canadian government on radiation research
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2021
Vinita Chauhan, Julie Leblanc, Baki Sadi, Julie Burtt, Kiza Sauvé, Rachel Lane, Kristi Randhawa, Ruth Wilkins, Debora Quayle
The Canadian radiation protection framework is modeled on the international framework which to date are informed by human health risks from radiation exposure derived using large databases of cancer and non-cancer health outcomes from atomic bomb survivors, nuclear accidents, and occupational and medical exposure scenarios. Accumulating scientific knowledge emerging over the last decades clearly indicates that these models may not be accurate at the low doses and more research is needed to reduce this uncertainty. Globally, conversations around this topic have led to identifying priority areas for research, efforts to better coordinate projects (to prevent unnecessary duplication of work), and improved ways to inform stakeholders about risks. Canada is a leader in low dose research (Radiation Research Special Issue: Snolab 2017; Health Physics Special Issue: Canadian Radiation Protection and Research 2019). Alone and in collaboration, HC and CNSC have contributed significantly to the Canadian landscape of LDRR in areas that include dosimetry, radiobiology, and epidemiology, demonstrating the value of a more formalized approach to cooperation and coordination between the two government institutions.