ICRP Publication 91 (2003) provided the basic framework for assessing the impact of ionizing radiation on non-human species. In order to provide further guidance on the issue, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) brought out a draft document, the work of an ICRP Task Group, to address “Environmental Protection: The Concept and Use of Reference Animals and Plants”.
This draft provides the practical basis for consideration of non-human species in radiological protection. The draft report can be downloaded from the ICRP site. It is said that the ICRP would much appreciate receiving comments and suggestions regarding this draft by all concerned not later than Friday 28 March, 2008.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
ICRP Publication 103: Recommendations of the ICRP
Annals of the ICRP Volume 37/2-3
Elsevier, Price: £ 116.00
Abstract- These revised Recommendations for a System of Radiological Protection formally replace the Commission’s previous, 1990, Recommendations, and update, consolidate, and develop the additional guidance on the control of exposure from radiation sources issued since 1990.
The present Recommendations update the radiation and tissue weighting factors in the quantities equivalent and effective dose and update the radiation detriment, based on the latest available scientific information of the biology and physics of radiation exposure. They maintain the Commission’s three fundamental principles of radiological protection, namely justification, optimisation and the application of dose limits, clarifying how they apply to radiation sources delivering exposure and to individuals receiving exposure. The Recommendations evolve from the previous process-based protection approach using practices and interventions by moving to an approach based on the exposure situation. They recognise planned, emergency, and existing exposure situations, and apply the fundamental principles of justification and optimisation of protection to all of these situations. They maintain the Commission’s current individual dose limits for effective dose and equivalent dose from all regulated sources in planned exposure situations. They re-inforce the principle of optimisation of protection, which should be applicable in a similar way to all exposure situations, subject to restrictions on individual doses and risks: dose and risk constraints for planned exposure situations, and reference levels for emergency and existing exposure situations. The Recommendations also include an approach for developing a framework to demonstrate radiological protection of the environment.
(For details: www.icrp.org)
Elsevier, Price: £ 116.00
Abstract- These revised Recommendations for a System of Radiological Protection formally replace the Commission’s previous, 1990, Recommendations, and update, consolidate, and develop the additional guidance on the control of exposure from radiation sources issued since 1990.
The present Recommendations update the radiation and tissue weighting factors in the quantities equivalent and effective dose and update the radiation detriment, based on the latest available scientific information of the biology and physics of radiation exposure. They maintain the Commission’s three fundamental principles of radiological protection, namely justification, optimisation and the application of dose limits, clarifying how they apply to radiation sources delivering exposure and to individuals receiving exposure. The Recommendations evolve from the previous process-based protection approach using practices and interventions by moving to an approach based on the exposure situation. They recognise planned, emergency, and existing exposure situations, and apply the fundamental principles of justification and optimisation of protection to all of these situations. They maintain the Commission’s current individual dose limits for effective dose and equivalent dose from all regulated sources in planned exposure situations. They re-inforce the principle of optimisation of protection, which should be applicable in a similar way to all exposure situations, subject to restrictions on individual doses and risks: dose and risk constraints for planned exposure situations, and reference levels for emergency and existing exposure situations. The Recommendations also include an approach for developing a framework to demonstrate radiological protection of the environment.
(For details: www.icrp.org)
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Latest ICRP Recommendations -2007 are now available
NEWS ITEM
User’s Edition
This lower-cost version includes the full text of the actual Recommendations
(pp. 1 – 135) but not the scientific Annexes with background data (pp. 137 – 332); it can be ordered at: http://intl.elsevierhealth.com/catalogue/
Bulk orders and/or sponsored copies
Significant discounts are available if you wish to purchase a number of copies, e.g., for your employees, or regulators may wish to distribute copies to licensees. It is also possible if desired to discuss overprinting the cover with your logo on a print run (however, ICRP reserves the right to edit or reject specific proposals). For more information about these options, please contact Sarah Cahill at our publisher’s, at: s.cahill@elsevier.com
Special discount options and translations
Developing countries
In about 100 countries, the reports of ICRP (and many other scientific publications) are available at little or no cost through the ‘HINARI’ programme. In order to investigate whether you qualify for this programme, and to register, please visit: http://www.who.int/hinari/en/
IRPA Associated Societies
If your IRPA Associated Society has made the appropriate deal with our publishers and ICRP, there is a discount for members. For more information, please see: http://www.icrp.org/freepubl.asp
User’s Edition
This lower-cost version includes the full text of the actual Recommendations
(pp. 1 – 135) but not the scientific Annexes with background data (pp. 137 – 332); it can be ordered at: http://intl.elsevierhealth.com/catalogue/
Bulk orders and/or sponsored copies
Significant discounts are available if you wish to purchase a number of copies, e.g., for your employees, or regulators may wish to distribute copies to licensees. It is also possible if desired to discuss overprinting the cover with your logo on a print run (however, ICRP reserves the right to edit or reject specific proposals). For more information about these options, please contact Sarah Cahill at our publisher’s, at: s.cahill@elsevier.com
Special discount options and translations
Developing countries
In about 100 countries, the reports of ICRP (and many other scientific publications) are available at little or no cost through the ‘HINARI’ programme. In order to investigate whether you qualify for this programme, and to register, please visit: http://www.who.int/hinari/en/
IRPA Associated Societies
If your IRPA Associated Society has made the appropriate deal with our publishers and ICRP, there is a discount for members. For more information, please see: http://www.icrp.org/freepubl.asp
Monday, December 17, 2007
Microwaves for Cancer treatment
It is reported in Cancer Therapy Journal that large tumors in the breast, treated with a combination of chemotherapy and microwave heat treatment, have shown 50% higher size reduction than the tumors treated with chemotherapy alone. The combination of different cancer treatment techniques has been consistently showing better results than using a single technique such as chemotherapy or surgery.
It is worth mentioning here that radiation, either ionizing radiation such as X-rays and gamma rays or non-ionizing radiation such as microwaves can cause cancers under some conditions, and can also cure (destroy) cancers when the dose and dose rates are sufficiently high to kill the cancer tissues.
Two important precautions, however to be taken from the considerations of radiation protection are i) to ensure that the radiation dosage given should be optimized (not less, not more) and ii) the healthier tissues around the tumor are protected while giving the radiation dose.
It is worth mentioning here that radiation, either ionizing radiation such as X-rays and gamma rays or non-ionizing radiation such as microwaves can cause cancers under some conditions, and can also cure (destroy) cancers when the dose and dose rates are sufficiently high to kill the cancer tissues.
Two important precautions, however to be taken from the considerations of radiation protection are i) to ensure that the radiation dosage given should be optimized (not less, not more) and ii) the healthier tissues around the tumor are protected while giving the radiation dose.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) is being revised
A staff reporter of the IAEA reported that the INES scale, originally developed for nuclear power plants in the 1990s, is being revised to make it more versatile and informative tool. Its aim is to consistently communicate the severity of nuclear and radiological incidents and accidents in nuclear industry in the scale 1-3 (incidents) and 4 to 7 (accidents). The scale will now cover all events associated with radiation and radioactive material, including transport related events and human exposure to sources of radiation. The underlying methodology of assessment originally planned for the events rating has not changed. However, the previous procedures were not detailed enough to consistently rate events related to all radiation sources and transportation of the radioactive materials. Over the years, the procedures employed for rating the events have been considerably improved /modified.
The revised scale considers the impact on people and the environment of localized events of exposure of a few people close to the location of the event, or widespread impact, as with the release of radioactive material from an installation. The impact on facilities covers unplanned increased radiation fields due to breach in shielding and spillage of significant quantities of radioactive material resulting from failure of barriers. Degradation in defense-in-depth covers those events without direct impact on people or facilities but for which the measures put in place to prevent accidents did not function as intended.
The revision process has engaged IAEA experts, the INES Advisory Committee and consultants in nuclear safety and radiological protection. The target date for officially issuing the new and improved scale is the end of 2008.
The revised scale considers the impact on people and the environment of localized events of exposure of a few people close to the location of the event, or widespread impact, as with the release of radioactive material from an installation. The impact on facilities covers unplanned increased radiation fields due to breach in shielding and spillage of significant quantities of radioactive material resulting from failure of barriers. Degradation in defense-in-depth covers those events without direct impact on people or facilities but for which the measures put in place to prevent accidents did not function as intended.
The revision process has engaged IAEA experts, the INES Advisory Committee and consultants in nuclear safety and radiological protection. The target date for officially issuing the new and improved scale is the end of 2008.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
HEALTH CONCERNS OF MOBILE PHONES
It is true that mobile phones have brought in revolution is telecommunications industry. These devices keep people from anywhere is the world connected. The expected mobile phone usage is projected to be 500 million within a short period of time. As per the recent reports, of the service providers have projected erection of over 90,000 base stations all over India to meet the ever increasing demand from rural areas.
Communication between a mobile phone and the nearest base station is achieved by the microwave emissions from the transmitters connected to the antennas mounted at the base stations, located on top of buildings or specially built towers. The beams from the antennas spread out with distance and tend to reach ground level at distances in the range 50-300 meters from the antennas. With larger capacity base stations having multiple transmitters, the output power can vary over time and with the number of calls being handled. The total radiated power from an antenna could be up to around 100 W with multiple transmitters present.
In view of this exponentially increasing and prolonged usage of the mobile phones, there is much apprehension worldwide about the long term health effects. Some of the health effects of exposure to the microwave radiation can be thermal effects such as heating of the exposed tissues. The exposure is reported to increase the risk of malignant tumors on the side of the head. Many other non-thermal health effects such as cellular genotoxicity are also reported in the literature. Most of the results could not be confirmed due to limited exposure period of 10 to 15 years available. Indirect effect can be just increase in the road accidents due to mobile usage during driving.
Keeping in mind of the above uncertainty, scanty nature of the studies and the gaps in our knowledge about the health effects, it is advised to keep the exposure much below the international guidelines. There is a need for strict regulation with respect to the manufacturers maintaining the limits on the radiation emission levels of the mobiles much lower than the standards. The required numbers of the base stations should be minimized and optimized by way of sharing of the base stations by the different service providers. Regulators should periodically monitor the ambient levels near base stations for compliance of the limits by the service providers.
Communication between a mobile phone and the nearest base station is achieved by the microwave emissions from the transmitters connected to the antennas mounted at the base stations, located on top of buildings or specially built towers. The beams from the antennas spread out with distance and tend to reach ground level at distances in the range 50-300 meters from the antennas. With larger capacity base stations having multiple transmitters, the output power can vary over time and with the number of calls being handled. The total radiated power from an antenna could be up to around 100 W with multiple transmitters present.
In view of this exponentially increasing and prolonged usage of the mobile phones, there is much apprehension worldwide about the long term health effects. Some of the health effects of exposure to the microwave radiation can be thermal effects such as heating of the exposed tissues. The exposure is reported to increase the risk of malignant tumors on the side of the head. Many other non-thermal health effects such as cellular genotoxicity are also reported in the literature. Most of the results could not be confirmed due to limited exposure period of 10 to 15 years available. Indirect effect can be just increase in the road accidents due to mobile usage during driving.
Keeping in mind of the above uncertainty, scanty nature of the studies and the gaps in our knowledge about the health effects, it is advised to keep the exposure much below the international guidelines. There is a need for strict regulation with respect to the manufacturers maintaining the limits on the radiation emission levels of the mobiles much lower than the standards. The required numbers of the base stations should be minimized and optimized by way of sharing of the base stations by the different service providers. Regulators should periodically monitor the ambient levels near base stations for compliance of the limits by the service providers.
Monday, July 30, 2007
AN IRRADIATION EVENT
There was an irradiation incident on June 15, 2007 involving, a radiation therapist at the radiation therapy centre Georges François Leclerc at Dijon, France. This event occurred during the treatment of a patient in radiation therapy. The irradiation of the patient was started as a radiation therapist was still present in the treatment room. The irradiation was interrupted in emergency after around ten seconds. The radiation therapist (occupational worker) who was staying near the accelerator has been exposed to a part of the radiation beam delivered to the patient. An assessment of the dose received by the radiation therapist could confirm that the dose received was in excess of the annual regulatory dose limit allowed for a worker of 20 mSv, the effective dose received was about 30 mSv. No health effects are expected for this person from this exposure. Investigation of the incident is being performed to determine the chronology and causes of the incident and to assess the corrective actions taken by the centre. It has been found that the incident resulted from human errors and a lack of proper procedure.
It is reported that the centre has taken immediate corrective administrative measures and committed itself to perform an in-depth risk identification analysis. Due to the overrun of one of the regulatory exposure limits (effective dose in excess of the yearly limit of 20 mSv), the Nuclear Safety Authority of France (ASN) ASN rates this incident at level 2 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. – Source IAEA News
It is reported that the centre has taken immediate corrective administrative measures and committed itself to perform an in-depth risk identification analysis. Due to the overrun of one of the regulatory exposure limits (effective dose in excess of the yearly limit of 20 mSv), the Nuclear Safety Authority of France (ASN) ASN rates this incident at level 2 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. – Source IAEA News
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