News

IRPA is conducting a survey on the Public Understanding of Radiation and Risk and has requested society members to participate.

Please find below both a word document and a link for the survey. The word document is provided if you can not access the link.

The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete.

The output of this survey will be used to help inform the future activities of IRPA Task Group on Public Understanding of Radiation and Risk.

The survey is now on-line: https://forms.gle/YVfKj1SMSDincQH69

The survey word format: Survey from the IRPA Task Group on Public Understanding

For word documents, please return to Brent (secretary@arps.org.au) and he will collate and send to IRPA.

The deadline for answering the survey is August 31st, 2023, so any word documents, please return to me by 24^th August.

 Thank you very much

Click the button below if you or a colleague have interest in becoming a mentee for:

Task Group 103 - Mesh-type Reference Computational Phantoms

 OR

 Task Group 126 - Radiological Protection in Human Biomedical Research

The first CRREI atom newsletter has just been posted and can be found here:

https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?u=61982b25fae24953365aed1d0&id=7ac46656f6

The Phoenix Leaders Education Program is recruiting new students.

 The October 2023 admission process for the 'Phoenix Leader Education Program for Renaissance after a Radioactive Disaster' of Hiroshima University has begun.

 Program officials expect and accept outstanding students from around the world who wish to take on responsibilities in the management of possible future radioactive disasters.

 Academically, the interdisciplinary and practical program is based on the experiences and achievements of Hiroshima University in support after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.

 The program aims to train personnel with the necessary skills to protect human health against radiological risks and also protect the environment and society against radioactivity.

 The 4-5 year integrated program is designed to develop interdisciplinary and comprehensive global leaders (Phoenix Leaders) capable of acting appropriately in circumstances of radiation risk and contributing to the restoration of post-disaster situations based on a clear philosophy.

 For more information on the program visit http://phoenixprogramlp.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/

Dear IRPA Associate Society Presidents and colleagues

From IRPA, we are pleased to inform you that IRPA Bulletin Issue #36 has already been posted on the IRPA website

https://irpa.net/members/54592/%7B479EF2B4-0FE4-47A9-AEAA-7BB65828F3A4%7D/IRPA%20Bulletin%2036%20(English).pdf

IRPA is pleased to inform on the First IRPA International Webinar: News on IRPA Task Groups. Webinar hosted in coordination with the Health Physics Society (HPS).

The webinar will be on Thursday July 7, 2022, from 01:00 p.m. CET to 03:00 p.m. CET. Please, save the date!

Registration Link –

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8703493675260593167

Very soon there will be more information.

COURT NOTICE University of Sydney pleads guilty and is convicted for offences against the Radiation Control Act 1990 and the Radiation Control Regulation 2013. The University of Sydney (“the University”) has pleaded guilty and been convicted by the Land and Environment Court of NSW for offences under section 6(6) of the Radiation Control Act 1990 (“RC Act”) and clause 34(1) of the Radiation Control Regulation 2013. The convictions relate to an incident which occurred in January 2019 in which the University engaged a contractor to decommission and dispose of a positron emission tomography scanner which contained a sealed radioactive caesium- 137 source (“the Source”). The University was required to obtain consent from the EPA’s Chairperson to dispose of the Source, and to ensure that it was not given to or possessed by any person who did not hold an appropriate licence. It did not do so. The Source was transported from the University’s premises in Camperdown NSW to a scrap metal yard in Chipping Norton NSW by a company which was not licensed under the RC Act to transport it. The Source was subsequently sent from Chipping Norton to another scrap metal yard in Hexham NSW, where it was detected via a radiation alarm and reported to the EPA. No actual harm was caused to the environment or any person as a result of the offences and the Source remained in its protective casing at all times. There is no suggestion the offences were intentional or caused by negligence or recklessness. The University was prosecuted by the EPA and pleaded guilty to the two offences. On 14 April 2022 the Court ordered the University to: 1.   pay a fine of $61,000 with 50% of the fine to be paid to the EPA as a moiety; 2.   pay the EPA’s legal costs as agreed or assessed; and 3.   cause this notice to be published in the Sydney Morning Herald, the ARPS Quarterly Newsletter, on its website and posted on Facebook. The Court’s judgement can be accessed here: Environment Protection Authority v University of Sydney - NSW Caselaw.

“ARPS Task Group on Recruitment of New Professionals into Radiation Protection”

Overview

The recruitment of graduates and professionals into the field of radiation protection and the retention of experienced practitioners in Australia is currently proving to be difficult.

The demand for practitioners is expected to increase in coming years with a number of government projects and industry projects coming online.

ARPS is the national body representing radiation protection practitioners and is therefore well place to consider current and previous practices and provide practical advice and guidance to government and private industry to address the situation. To achieve this, ARPS is establishing a multidisciplinary task group aimed at developing a set of recommendations for consideration by the ARPS Executive.

The task group will provide, as a minimum, recommendation to the ARPS Executive by end of 2022, with status updates during the July 2022 and October 2022 executive meetings.

The task group will bring together ARPS member from a number of organisations including defence, health sector, metalliferous and energy industries, education, and regulatory agencies with the following aims:

• ·         Estimate the possible government and industry projects which may come online, and projected practitioner numbers required over the next 3, 5 and 10 years
• ·         To identify opportunities for different groups to work together
• ·         To determine possible strategies to attract new professionals
• ·         To determine possible strategies to retain experienced professionals
• ·         To provide advice on mentoring, in-service education, and succession planning
• ·         To provide a set of recommendations and present to the ARPS executive.

The work of the Task Group will primarily be via videoconferencing, internet, email and telephone

Workgroup Formation

ARPS has invited Mark Sonter to chair the workgroup, based on his extensive multi-disciplined experience. It is intended that the workgroup will have no more than 10 members serving in personal (not sectoral representative) capacities.  The workgroup may, from time to time, wish to bring in certain expertise, whether internal or external to ARPS, to assist with specific discussions.

ARPS members are invited to apply to be part of the task group, with members working in a pro-bono capacity, however certain out-of-pocket expenses will be considered for approval by the ARPS executive.

If you would like to contribute and participate, please submit your expression of interest to the ARPS secretariat at secretariat@arps.org.au by Thursday 14^th April. All applicants will receive a reply by end of April.

Secretariat

ARPS will provide the secretariat to assist the workgroup in meeting its objectives.  The secretariat will assist in arranging the meetings, taking minutes and maintaining the business arising/action list.  Any further assistance will need to be considered by the ARPS executive.

ICRP 2023, the 7th International Symposium on the System of Radiological Protection, will be held in Tokyo, Japan. It will be hosted by National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), in collaboration with Japanese academic societies.

This International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Symposium will be a major milestone in the review and revision of the System of Radiological Protection. Attendees can expect world-class sessions and hospitality.

ICRP 2023 will be held 6-9 November 2023 at the Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba, conveniently located 20 minutes from Haneda Airport (HND) and 90 minutes from Narita Airport (NRT), and is directly accessible from Daiba Station on the Yurikamome Line.

More information will be available in the coming months.

"Exploring Relative Biological Effectiveness" will take place on 16 March 2022 from 12:00 to 1:30pm GMT, and will be hosted by Gayle Woloschak (Professor, Departments of Radiation Oncology, Radiology, and Cell and Molecular Biology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University) and ICRP Task Group 118.