Radiation from mobile phones and towers

In view of the large scale usage of mobile phones, there has been much apprehension worldwide about the health concerns of its prolonged use.

It is reported that the latest Bluetooth devices use Radio Frequency (RF) with the spectrum in the range 2.4 GHz to 2.4835 GHz. The power output from a typical Class 3 Bluetooth device is 1 mW/square cm, which is of the same order of the limit for exposure of RF from cell-phones, which uses RF of 0.9 GHz. The Bluetooth devices are meant for attachment to the ear all the time. This may do irreversible damage to the ear internals.

RF radiation is also emitting from the towers erected on the buildings and almost everywhere. Some towers are legal and most of them are illegally erected. Some measurements carried out have shown that the levels of radiation exposures from the towers are significant and often exceed the limit. Long term effects are still not well known. Keeping in mind the uncertainty and the gaps in our knowledge about the health effects of exposure to the RF radiation, particularly due to its prolonged usage, it is not advisable to completely rule out adverse health effects, even at levels of RF exposures below the existing international guidelines.

Under the circumstance, it is advised to use mobiles for sending only messages and not for long gossip sessions. The mobiles should be kept away from the children. A separate regulatory body should be set up by the government to monitor the exposure levels from the towers at different areas to check compliance with the international regulatory limits.

Half a Century of Nuclear Safety

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s contribution to nuclear safety worldwide is marking a significant milestone this December 2008 with the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of the Agency’s safety standards. The first IAEA safety series publication, entitled Safe Handling of Radioisotopes, was issued in December 1958.

The IAEA safety standards are a collection of fundamental radiation protection principles, requirements for the protection and guidance that serves as a global reference for ensuring safety in all areas in the nuclear sector. The standards reflect international consensus on what constitutes a high level of safety for protecting people and the environment.

The application of IAEA safety standards through, inter alia, peer reviews and advisory services at national and international levels are essential to support the development of effective national safety infrastructures. A big part of the IAEA´s statutory mandate is the establishment and promotion of international standards and guides, says, Head of the IAEA´s Publishing Section, IAEA. International standards, however, should not be seen to be in conflict with national regulations.

More than 200 safety standards have been published. They cover nuclear safety, radiation protection, radioactive waste management, the transport of radioactive materials, the safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities and quality assurance.

"I CARE FOR YOU" WISHES ALL THE BLOGGERS/READERS A VERY HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SAFE NEW YEAR - 2009

Fire at Japan nuclear power plant, no radiation leak

(Report dated December 8, 2008)
A fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in northern Japan, at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex and a worker was sickened by smoke inhalation. The plant operator said that there was no release of radioactivity. The fire broke out at a turbine facility during welding of pipes aimed at enhancing quake resistance, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said in a statement. The fire was extinguished within one hour and there was no radiation leak from the incident. The cause of the fire is under investigation, the TEPCO said.

The nuclear power complex, which suffered extensive damage in an earthquake last year, has been out of service and undergoing repairs. The incident occurred just days after a Dec. 1-5 inspection by a team from the United Nations nuclear watchdog. The team of 10 experts from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessed safety measures designed to deal with the continuing threat of earthquakes.

Natural and man-made disasters like larger earthquakes, fire incidents and terrorist attacks can cause serious consequences involving radioactivity leakage and radiation exposure to public. Comprehensive preparedness plans should be in place to respond quickly to such situations with minimum loss to property and human lives.

Indian Association for Radiation Protection – National Conference

The Indian Association for Radiation Protection (IARP) and Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur organized the National Conference (IARPNC-2008) in Jodhpur during November 19-21, 2008. The focal theme of the conference was “Management of Nuclear & Radiological Emergencies”. Other topics related with the radiation protection and safety, were also covered in the conference by way of Invited talks, and Oral/Poster presentations. The conference was well attended by the top DRDO scientists, scientists from Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)family and a Hon’ble Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Delhi. In the end, there was a Panel Discussion on Public awareness regarding safety aspects in peaceful applications of ionising radiations.

The technical proceedings of the conference are brought out as a 464 page, hard-bound volume (Volume 31) of the journal “Radiation Protection and Environment”, published by the IARP. The enquiries for procuring the Proceedings volume may be directed to the Secretary, IARP, C/o, RP&AD, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai 400085, India (Email: bcbhatt2003@yahoo.com).

IRPA 12 Congress Sets New Attendance Records!

The highlight of the IRPA International Congress (on radiation protection) opening is always the presentation of the Sievert Lecture. This year’s award winner was Christian Streffer, Germany, who presented an excellent lecture titled Radiological Protection: Challenges and Fascinations of Biological Research. Prof. Streffer began by outlining the limitations faced by epidemiological studies in providing low dose radiation effects information. He went on to provide an excellent review of recent biological studies at the molecular level that are extending dose effects information to lower levels than is currently possible through statistical studies.

The IRPA 12 International Congress in Buenos Aires, October 19 to 24 drew 1,336 radiation protection specialists from 90 countries and 1491 contributed papers. These set IRPA Congress attendance records for both national representation and total attendance. This success is due, in part, to significant support for participation of young scientists, particularly those from developing countries, by the IAEA and several IRPA Associate Societies. The IRPA 12 was opened with a welcome to Buenos Aires by the Vice President for Congress Affairs, Abel Gonzales. The traditional Congress opening was declared by IRPA President, Phil Metcalf with the ringing of the Polvani bell. The opening session concluded with a touching tribute to former ICRP Chairman and Argentina native, Dan Beninson.

Three cheers for the good work done by the IRPA for providing this platform for radiation protection professionals, world-wide.

IARP Conference, Defence Labs, Jodhpur

The Indian Association for Radiation Protection (IARP) will be organizing its 28th IARP Conference with focal theme of “Management of Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies (IARP NC-2008), being held at Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur during 19-21 November, 2008. The “Proceedings” of the conference is being brought out as a special issue of the journal, Volume 31 (1-4), 2008.

All the thematic areas in radiation protection are covered in the conference. The papers submitted were peer reviewed by experts. In all, 128 papers were accepted for presentation in oral and poster sessions, over the three days. The Proceedings is also being brought out as Compact Disk for distribution to the members of the Association. The information is also available in the IARP website: www.iarp.org.in

What is new in the ICRP site?

The work of two sub-groups of an ICRP Task Group is nearing completion. The reports of the Task Group will address:

1. Nuclear decay data for dosimetric calculations; and
2. Reference computational phantoms of the adult male and female (a joint ICRP/ICRU Report).

These two drafts, which are interrelated in the sense that they both provide data for dosimetric calculations, are primarily collections of tabulated information, in the first report to describe radionuclide transformations as an extension of ICRP Publication 38, and in the second report to describe the characteristics of the voxel-based reference phantoms referred to in ICRP Publication 103.