Health Physics Society: origins and development

Events leading up to the birth of the Health Physics Society in June, 1955, are reviewed. Membership requirements, chapters, and sections are discussed. An international organization, International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA), founded in 1963, was the outgrowth of the Health Physics Society. Other events in the history of the organization, such as the initiation of publishing of a society journal in 1957, the employment of the first Executive Secretary in 1965, and the establishment of awards, are reviewed. The two appendixes include lists of the officers of the society and award recipients. (JGB

Survey of Remote Area Monitoring Systems at U.S. Light-Water-Cooled Power Reactors

A study was made of the capabilities and operating practices, including calibration, of remote area monitoring (RAM) systems at light-water-cooled power reactors in the United States. The information was obtained by mail questionaire. Specific design capabilities, including range, readout and alarm features are documented along with the numbers and location of detectors, calibration and operational procedures. Comments of respondents regarding RAM systems are also included

Survey of Remote Area Monitoring Systems at U.S. Light-Water-Cooled Power Reactors

A study was made of the capabilities and operating practices, including calibration, of remote area monitoring (RAM) systems at light-water-cooled power reactors in the United States. The information was obtained by mail questionaire. Specific design capabilities, including range, readout and alarm features are documented along with the numbers and location of detectors, calibration and operational procedures. Comments of respondents regarding RAM systems are also included

Collective dose as a performance measure for occupational radiation protection programs: Issues and recommendations

Collective dose is one of the performance measures used at many US Department of Energy (DOE) contractor facilities to quantitatively assess the objectives of the radiation protection program. It can also be used as a management tool to improve the program for keeping worker doses as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Collective dose is used here to mean the sum of all total effective dose equivalent values for all workers in a specified group over a specified time. It is often used as a surrogate estimate of radiological risk. In principle, improvements in radiation protection programs and procedures will result in reduction of collective dose, all other things being equal. Within the DOE, most frequently, a single collective dose number, which may or may not be adjusted for workload and other factors, is used as a performance measure for a contractor. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the use of collective dose as a performance measure for ALARA programs at DOE sites