Assessment of the application level of radiation protection and awareness of radiation safety regulations among the radiographers at Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia

A strong relation between cancers and radiation exposure has been reported. Radiation may damage DNA in thecell. Therefore, radiation protection program must be applied in the radiology department. Morover, the radiographershould have high level of awareness and risk assessment for radiation. Personal radiation monitoring is one of themain radiation protection, especially for pregnant worker and her fetus. This study was conducted to evaluate theapplication, awareness and risk assessment levels of radiation protection among radiographers at hospitals inYogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. This was a descriptive study, applying a cross sectional survey at hospitals inYogyakarta. The subjects were radiographers of both governmental and private hospitals. There were 101 respondentsfrom a total of 124 radiographers. The data obtained were tabulated and analyzed using Chi Square test. The studyrevealed that 69.3% of the respondents had low application level of radiation protection, 19.8% did not know themeaning of ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable), 50.5% were not aware of Inverse Square Law. The studyalso reported that 36.6% of the respondents did not know the amount of radiation that entered their body last year,61.4% of radiographers thought that the risk assessment of radiation was not enough, 18.8% of radiographerswere never use any radiation monitoring device, and 90.1% stated that there was no additional protection orradiation monitoring to the pregnant radiographer. However, there were no significant differences between durationof working, type of imaging modality, academic level, and training course for radiation protection. In conclusion,there was no difference in the application, awareness, and risk assessment levels of radiation protection among theradiographers at hospital in Yogyakarta Special Region between duration of working, type of medical imaging modality,academic level, and training on radiation protection. In addition, the application, awareness, and risk assessmentlevels of radiation protection were not sufficient.Key words: radiation protection – ALARA – radiographer – hospital – risk assessmen

Considering the Perspective of Emergency Management Professionals Regarding Radiological Response and School Resiliency

The purpose of the study is to consider the perspective of emergency management professionals regarding need for a radiological response plan and its implications to school resiliency. This study utilizes a three-round, Modified Delphi Method to provide structure for the group process, elicit experts’ opinions, and build consensus regarding radiological response and school resiliency. The experts’ opinions are analyzed at the conclusion of each round and synthesized to create considerations for school systems for a school-system-based radiological-specific response plan. The recommendations align existing school system’s capabilities, roles and responsibilities with required emergency response actions necessary to protect the health and safety of faculty, staff, and students during a disaster such as the release of radioactive substances. Emergent themes surfacing during this study include: (1) training, (2) all-hazard planning, (3) communication, (4) collaboration, (5) medical response, and (6) protective actions. The results and recommendations from this study have generalizability for future practice and implementation of emergency management in a school setting, business and industry and for other local, state federal and tribal organizations. The major finding from this study indicates that an all-hazards plan is sufficient for response to a radiological-specific emergency event

Knowledge about Radiation Related Health Hazards and Protective Measures among Patients Waiting for Radiologic Imaging in Jimma University Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Radiologic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures using ionizing radiation carry potential health risks. Hence, clients’ knowledge about radiation would play a key role in reducing unnecessary imaging and its impacts. However, information on client’s knowledge in low income countries specifically in the Ethiopian context has been was limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess knowledge about radiation related hazards and protective measures among patients waiting for radiologic imaging.METHODS: Descriptive cross sectional study design was employed on 388 patients waiting for radiologic imaging in Jimma University Hospital from Dec.25/2014 to Jan. 10/2015. Eligible participants were interviewed using pretested questionnaire. Data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21. A descriptive analysis was conducted to get summary values of clients’ radiation related knowledge.RESULTS: A total of 386 clients were included to the analysis.Two hundred and three (52.6%) participants had ever heard radiation related health hazards. Among these, 74.9% mentioned infertility, 64.0% indicated cancer followed by 26.6% who mentioned cataract as radiation related health hazards. A large number of clients (75.6%) had no idea about radiation protective measures, whereas 22% of them mentioned not entering examination room unless ordered by health professionals and 10.6% indicated covering sensitive body parts with lead (pb). The majority (85.8%) of the clients did not support unjustified repeated radiation imaging for diagnostic or other purposes.CONCLUSION: The overall knowledge of clients about radiation imaging seems inadequate. Thus, comprehensive awareness raising programmes targeted at different settinsg and levels should be designed and implemented.KEYWORDS: Radiation imaging, Knowledge, Radiation health hazards, Protective measures, Ethiopi

Occupational radiation safety studies in Nepal – a review

Occupational radiation safety and health is the most neglected aspect in the health sector in Nepal. There has been gross negligence in occupational safety and health as a whole in Nepal. This paper is a review of previously published articles on topics of occupational radiation safety and health in Nepal. Keywords such as Nepal, occupational safety, radiation safety, radiation risk, and health were used to search for relevant articles in PUBMED and Google Scholar. A total of 15 research articles were reviewed, which dealt with different forms of occupational radiation risks and exposure, regulatory works and consequently its knowledge and awareness among the professionals. The reviewed articles are basically of 3 types: analytical or progress reports, knowledge or awareness assessment, and measurement-based research articles. The overall status of occupational radiation safety and health does not look satisfactory. Although occupational radiation safety and health is a very important issue at an individual, social and national level in any hospital, agricultural or industrial sector, it has not received much attention so far in Nepal. This is evident by the minimal number of literature available on the status of occupational radiation safety and health in Nepal. Standard work situations and criteria have to be set up and regular radiation monitoring should be done to ensure the maintenance of quality at work. In addition, workshops, seminars, symposiums, training courses, and Continuing Professional Education (CPE) programs should be organized regularly to raise the level of radiation awareness in the profession. The state agencies need to develop and update respective national laws, policy and programs for occupational radiation safety and health. There is an utmost need for extensive researches to be performed covering overall radiation health and other services of the professionals in Nepal where radiation is being used for their advantageous purposes

The relationship between safety management practice and radiation safety awareness among employee in UUM University Health Centre

Safety awareness programs have been conducted comprehensively and actively in order to inspire employees’ engagement and commitment towards safety issues even though from time to time it has been reported that the number of incidents and accidents at the manufacturing firms is keep-on increasing. Furthermore in terms of radiation safety awareness, failure to reduce occupational exposure due to inadequate of knowledge, attitude and action towards ionizing radiation may result in cumulative radiation damage not only in Radiology Professionals but also the other citizens as well. The study was conducted in order to determine the relationship between safety management practice and radiation safety awareness in UUM University Health Centre. In addition, the study was done quantitatively by distributing questionnaires to all employees of University Health Centre. The data from 57 respondents were collected and then analyzed by using SPSS Version 24.0. The findings showed that safety management practice has strong correlation with radiation safety awareness. All these results and findings would provide fruitful guidance for scholars and practitioners in identifying “rooms for improvement” especially in radiation safety awareness campaign

Recommendations for improving public engagement with pre-incident information materials for initial response to a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) incident: a systematic review

The risk of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents has increased in recent years, due to advances in technology, and increased willingness of terrorists to use unconventional weapons. There are basic actions which can reduce or prevent harm during such incidents. The speed with which these actions can be taken may be enhanced by providing pre-incident public information about how to undertake such actions. However, limited research has been carried out to identify potential benefits of providing pre-incident information in relation to preparing for and responding to terrorist attacks, including those involving CBRN agents. This paper presents findings from a systematic literature review which aimed to: examine potential efficacy of pre-incident information campaigns for improving public preparedness for CBRN incidents; identify what information should be included within public preparedness campaigns for CBRN incidents; and identify the best method(s) of providing pre-incident information for CBRN incidents. The review was carried out using Ovid, and selection and screening of papers followed a PRISMA framework. Findings showed that providing a pre-incident educational intervention generally resulted in an improvement in preparedness, compared to not providing any information. However, the majority of studies focused on improving preparedness behaviour in the immediate or short-term (<1 month). It is therefore unclear whether any improvement in preparedness is sustainable over the medium to longer-term. Further research is required to examine to what extent public information campaigns can improve public preparedness over the longer-term, and how best to enhance preparedness for CBRN incidents specifically

Rad/Nuc EMS Response Roundtable, 8/19-20/2010

The Radiation Studies Branch (RSB) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) convened a meeting August 19\u201320, 2010, in Atlanta, Georgia. The meeting, a roundtable of Emergency Management Services (EMS) experts, was held at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel. Attachment 1 lists those attending.The meeting\u2019s goals, described by RSB Chief Dr. Charles Miller, were 1) to discuss the extent of the EMS community\u2019s preparedness for a mass casualty radiation incident, what it may need, and how CDC could help, and 2) to explore other questions that should be posed and addressed. The input from this and other similar meetings will contribute to the development of new or updated training aids and educational materials.Publication date from document properties.cdc-ems-radiation-roundtable-report-508.pd

Experiences with Teaching Nuclear Security Professional Development Courses for Health Physicists

Health physicists are professionals that are experts in the recognition, evaluation, and control of health hazards to permit the safe use and application of radiation. They typically have broad knowledge in radiation (ionizing and non-ionizing), biology, ecology and safety. With this wealth expertise we believe the health physicists would be useful partners in an effective security culture. As such over three years, a total of seven professional enrichment courses have been offered by the authors to health physics and radiation protection professionals, both nationally and internationally. Five have been through the Health Physics Society meetings, one through the International Radiation Protection Association meeting, and one at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This paper will briefly introduce these courses and will include learning objectives and descriptions of courses’ content. There was limited documented course participant feedback with only 1 of the 7 courses having documented course evaluations. Through both written and verbal feedback to the instructors it was clear the courses were well received

J Homel Secur Emerg Manag

ObjectivesEach of the nuclear power plants in the US is encircled by an Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). Within each EPZ, government officials, utility professionals, emergency managers, and public health practitioners collectively conduct extensive planning, exercises, and outreach to better protect their communities in the event of a nuclear accident. Our objective was to conduct a cross-sectional study of off-site public health preparedness within EPZs to better understand the dynamics of nuclear preparedness and uncover lessons for all-hazards preparedness.MethodsUsing a qualitative, interview-based method, we consulted 120 county emergency managers, state health preparedness officers, state radiation health officials, and industry officials from 17 EPZs in ten different states.ResultsInterviewees reflected that EPZ emergency preparedness is generally robust, results from strong public-private partnership between nuclear plants and emergency management agencies, and enhances all-hazard preparedness. However, there exist a few areas which merit further study and improvement. These areas include cross-state coordination, digital public communication, and optimizing the level of public education within EPZs.ConclusionsThis first-of-its-kind study provides a cross-sectional snapshot of emergency preparedness in the 10-mile EPZ surrounding nuclear power plants.U38 CE002353/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States2015-12-11T00:00:00Z26692825PMC467656