Work in connection with revision of the basic regulation for radiation protection and use of radiation has been going on for several years, and drafts are now being circulated for comments. The former basic regulations have been split into two regulations: one for radiation protection and one for environmental prtection. The environmental regulation contains a […]
On 17th December 2008, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS, National Institute of Health, advisory body for the Minister of Health) organised the international workshop Depleted uranium research: an update, the sequel to a first workshop on the subject held in October 2004. The ISS’s interest in this issue is due to the request made […]
In April 2009, HPA published an atlas of radon in homes in Scotland (HPA-RPD-051). The report brings together all the data held in the UK national radon database on radon levels in Scottish dwellings. It updates previous reports and presents the first complete radon probability map for the whole of Scotland including the inhabited off-shore […]
Authors: N. Stritt, M. Dorthe (SFOPH, Switzerland)
Legal provisions
The use of ionising radiation in medicine in Switzerland is regulated by several ordinances. The Radiological Protection Ordinance provides a general framework and more detailed requirements are specified in technical Ordinances, such as the Use of unsealed sources, the Use of sealed sources in medicine and the X-ray Ordinances. In radiation therapy, requirements regarding Quality Assurance, such as dosimetry checks, are specified in the Ordinance on Medical Accelerators, with full details for the application given in the Swiss Society of Radiobiology and Medical Physics (SSRMP) Recommendation 11.
Author: D. Célier (ASN, France)
In March 2009, ASN was requested by the French Agency for the Safety of Health Products (AFSSAPS, the French competent authority for biomedical research), for advice about a proposed clinical trial intended to evaluate a PET tracer to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This test involves not only the participation of AD patients, but also of healthy volunteers, all aged 60 years or over. The protocol involves 2 PET-CT examinations, issuing a total effective dose of 18 mSv (F-18 + CT).
Authors: F. Drouet, P. Croüail (CEPN, France)
Introduction
In October 2008, the French nuclear safety authority (ASN) was informed about the detection of radioactivity in lift buttons, manufactured by a French company, MAFELEC. This company manufactures lift buttons whose metal base comes from India. The detection was made on the assembled buttons and it appeared that the 60Co contamination came from Indian suppliers. After investigation by the French authority, it turned out that MAFELEC has only one customer, OTIS, a lift company located in several places all over the world. As a consequence the distribution of contaminated buttons was not limited to France and measures to identify and remove buttons were taken in many countries in Europe.
At the occasion of the EAN Steering Group meeting in December 2008, discussions confirmed that many EAN countries had to deal with this issue. Then EAN decided to launch a request through its mailing list for information on the management of this event in European countries. Between January and July 2009, answers from 13 different countries were received. This article is a summary of these answers.
In 2005 the French nuclear safety authority (ASN) requested the French Comittee of Non-Destructive Testings (COFREND) to work on improving radiation protection in gammagraphy. To perform this task COFREND asked for collaboration with the French Radiation Protection Society (SFRP). Thus in 2006-2007, 9 working groups on different topics (for instance, regulation, training, dosimetry, risk assessment […]
In 2005 the French nuclear safety authority (ASN) requested the French Comittee of Non-Destructive Testings (COFREND) to work on improving radiation protection in gammagraphy. To perform this task COFREND asked for collaboration with the French Radiation Protection Society (SFRP). Thus in 2006-2007, 9 working groups on different topics (for instance, regulation, training, dosimetry, risk assessment […]
Following recommendation from the three first EAN workshops, the European Commission has set up a research project on the application of ALARA for the internal exposure. The SMOPIE (Strategies and Methods for the OPtimisation of Internal Exposure of workers from industrial natural sources) project came to its end in June 2004 and has generated important […]
Context The principle of optimisation in radiation protection has been published by the ICRP in the recommendation No. 22 for the first time in 1973. Since 1980 the ALARA principle has been part of the European Basic Safety Standards and has been progressively introduced into national regulations. Nowadays the effective radiation protection practice […]