Radiation Protection Issues Research Articles

Ethical issues in radiation protection.

In this note the authors survey existing international radiation-protection recommendations of the ICRP, the IAEA, and the ILO. After outlining previous work on the ethics of radiation protection and risk assessment/management, the authors review ethical thinking on five key issues related to radiation protection and ethics. They formulate each of these five issues in terms of alternative ethical stances: (1) Equity vs. Efficiency, (2) Health vs. Economics, (3) Individual Rights vs. Societal Benefits, (4) Due Process vs. Necessary Sacrifice, and (5) Stakeholder Consent vs. Management Decisions.

Radiation protection issues

Radiation protection issues

Radiation protection issues associated with nuclear medicine out-patients

Radiation protection issues associated with nuclear medicine out-patients

Radiation protection issues associated with nuclear medicine out-patients.

This paper reviews the published data relating to the radiation hazards associated with nuclear medicine outpatients. It is discussed both in the context of the current UK advice as well as potential guidelines following the recommendations in ICRP 60. For diagnostic studies there is little need for restrictions. The main exceptions are for a prolonged journey home by public transport with high levels of 99Tcm and for the situation of an outpatient given 111In who has to look after a fretful infant. The main problem occurs following the administration of 131I therapy for thyrotoxicosis. The principal hazards are associated with external exposure; radiation doses from ingestion due to contamination are small. Restrictions should only be necessary for administered activities greater than 400 MBq (e.g. public transport, return to work, sleeping with partner). With such restrictions it is considered that 131I therapy for thyrotoxicosis can continue to be given on an outpatient basis.

Issues in space radiation protection: galactic cosmic rays.

When shielding from cosmic heavy ions, one is faced with limited knowledge about the physical properties and biological responses of these radiations. Herein, the current status of space shielding technology and its impact on radiation health is discussed in terms of conventional protection practice and a test biological response model. The impact of biological response on optimum materials selection for cosmic ray shielding is presented in terms of the transmission characteristics of the shield material. Although liquid hydrogen is an optimum shield material, evaluation of the effectiveness of polymeric structural materials must await improvement in our knowledge of both the biological response and the nuclear processes.

Book reviews

The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has issued a series of informative reports over the years. This latest report replaces Report 91. It is a statement by NCRP on radiation protection issues following the recent assessment and publication of data on the biological effects of radiation by various international bodies.

Radiation protection issues in galactic cosmic ray risk assessment

Radiation protection involves the limitation of exposure to below threshold doses for direct (or deterministic) effects and a knowledge of the risk of stochastic effects after low doses. The principal stochastic risk associated with low dose rate galactic cosmic rays is the increased risk of cancer. Estimates of this risk depend on two factors (a) estimates of cancer risk for low-LET radiation and (b) values of the appropriate radiation weighting factors, w R, for the high-LET radiations of galactic cosmic rays. Both factors are subject to considerable uncertainty. The low-LET cancer risk derived from the late effects of the atomic bombs is vulnerable to a number of uncertainties including especially that from projection in time, and from extrapolation from high to low dose rate. Nevertheless, recent low dose studies of workers and others tend to confirm these estimates. w R, relies on biological effects studied mainly in non-human systems. Additional laboratory studies could reduce the uncertainties in w R and thus produce a more confident estimate of the overall risk of galactic cosmic rays.

Cancer mortality and radiation risk evaluation for the Techa river population

The current nominal risk coefficients for radiation induced cancer are predominantly based on the follow-up of the atomic bomb survivors, i.e. a collective of persons exposed to a short duration, high dose rate exposure. It is one of the central issues in radiation protection, whether these data are representative also for protracted, low dose rate exposures. The International Commission for Radiological Protection has postulated a dose and dose rate reduction factor in the derivation of the nominal risk coefficients; but this factor has been debated. Direct observations on populations that were subjected to prolonged low dose exposures are, therefore, of especial interest, and a major contribution to the problem may result from the long term observation of the population exposed at the beginning of the 1950s as a result of massive releases of fission products by a plutonium producing facility into the Techa river in the southern Urals [1,2]. The present article deals with the cancer mortality in this population during the period 1950–1982.

69. Radiation protection issues in clinical PET

Lowe, J.; Marsden, P.; Bachelor, S.; Dynes, A.; Lewis, P.; Maisey, M. N.; Croft, D. N. Author Information

Ethical Issues in Radiation Protection—The 1992 Sievert Lecture

This paper reports that the specific absorption rate induced in the embryo or fetus can exceed that recommended for the general public when the mother is exposed to radiofrequency radiation at the occupational limits. This result applies to two-tiered radiofrequency radiation standards where a factor of 5 differentiates occupational and nonoccupational exposure limits. Using simple axisymmetric geometries for the pregnant worker, and assuming plane wave exposures, a finite element method provides estimates of prenatal exposure. Various layered shapes are used to model skin, fat, uterus, blood, embryonic, and fetal tissues. Applying current exposure limits given by IRPA, ANSI, and SAA, the results indicate that overexposures to the embryo or fetus can occur from early pregnancy at 80-100 MHz, and in late pregnancy across the range 300-1500 MHz.

The impact of the Chernobyl accident on radiation protection.

The science of radiation protection is a fundamental outgrowth of peaceful and military applications of ionizing radiation and the use of nuclear energy. Scientific progress in radiation protection has not, however, been as dramatic as progress in other scientific endeavors, because many users of ionizing radiation have perceived that the major technical and institutional problems have already been solved. This misperception is not based on solid fact and is not shared by radiation protection professionals, who have a broader vision of both past achievements and problems remaining in this area. Experience gained as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident has highlighted new problems and demonstrated the urgency of finding better answers to some old questions. This paper addresses the future impact of the recent Chernobyl accident on the science of radiation protection. In summary, the accident demonstrated that particular emphasis should be directed toward: Improvement of dosimetric and health-effects models for predicting the consequences of exposure of the public to low doses of ionizing radiation. Development of optimized, realistic countermeasures and improvement in emergency preparedness. Education of the public, including students, scientists and politicians with regard to radiation protection issues. Development of advanced computer programs and radiation instruments for evaluating reactor accidents and their consequences. Transfer of learned concepts, methods and approaches to other scientific fields, such as environmental sciences, toxicology, pharmacology, etc.