Polyethylene Oxidation in Total Hip Arthroplasty: Evolution and New Advances

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) remains the gold standard acetabular bearing material for hip arthroplasty. Its successful performance has shown consistent results and survivorship in total hip replacement (THR) above 85% after 15 years, with different patients, surgeons, or designs

Comparison of the Belgian interventions levels and the new ICRP recommendations for emergency exposures

The new recommendations on emergency exposure situations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) advise a reference level for the residual dose in a range of between 20 and 100 mSv effective dose (acute or per year). At the same time, the protection strategy should account for the simultaneous consideration of all the exposure pathways, as well as all of the protective actions. Similarly to other countries, the actual Belgian nuclear emergency plan is based on individual projected doses (thyroid committed dose and total effective doses) and independent protective actions that mainly focus on the early phase of an emergency situation. The two approaches are compared in this study on the basis of the projected and residual dose calculations obtained using JRODOS and the Belgian Noodplan models for different radiological or nuclear accidental scenarios. The comparison has been made by considering separately the early and the late phase contributions. The ingestion dose has been investigated from the predicted deposition values and compared to the single level of the ICRP 109 recommendations

'Do (not) go to vote!' media provocation explained

This article conceptualizes media provocation, a common but understudied practice of mediatized protest and resistance, marketing or (self-)promotion and awareness raising. It is defined as a mediated act that questions or contravenes norms, values, laws, rules and symbolic power, thereby intentionally running counter to the normal horizon of expectations in a certain situation or context. As such, media provocation can have a major impact on public debate, politics and the course of events. In this article, the key elements of media provocation are initially examined and subsequently illustrated by drawing on a case study on Stijn Meuris, a Belgian rock artist and television personality. In 2010, he announced his refusal to vote in the next elections, although it is mandatory in Belgium for all adults to vote. The findings of this case study demonstrate the contingency of the component ‘intentionality’ in the definition of media provocation

Generic guidance on the lifting of emergency countermeasures

Generic guidance on the withdrawal of sheltering, withdrawal of evacuation and evacuation of sheltered populations (displacement) has been developed based on previously unpublished work in the UK and France and on input from stakeholder panels in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK. The guidance is a living document that can be developed further in the future, both in its generic form and also as customised versions in some Member States. The guidance outlines the many factors which influence the withdrawal of emergency countermeasures: official confirmation that any release has stopped; adequacy of monitoring data; radiological criteria; radiological protection advice; availability of resources; social and psychological needs; stakeholder dialogue; and communication strategy. The relative importance placed by decision makers on each of these criteria would vary according to the nature and scale of the accident and also on socio-political, economic and cultural perspectives. In the event of a radiological incident, decision makers will need to be in a position to construct a strategy for managing the withdrawal of emergency countermeasures. For larger scale, longer duration releases involving several nuclides, a management strategy is likely to be complex. The guidance therefore includes a series of checklists which have been developed in conjunction with stakeholders to take into account the main criteria and factors which should be considered

Environmental modelling of NORM

Within the IAEA EMRAS programme, a working group was established to look at the modelling of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in a variety of environments. There are many models already available. However, guidance on how and when to apply specific models is lacking in many cases. Development of models has often been carried out without a clear understanding of the possible applications of the models. Some models have been developed only for specific applications in specific industries, and are not generally useful. The work carried out during this program has resulted in the identification of several important issues that require consideration in the selection and utilization of computer models for NORM risk assessment. These issues discussed below cover suitability, selection, use and misuse of available models, as well as training and guidance for modelers, and acquisition of data for model inputs

Predicting the radiation exposure of terrestrial wildlife in the Chernobyl exclusion zone: an international comparison of approaches

There is now general acknowledgement that there is a requirement to demonstrate that species other than humans are protected from anthropogenic releases of radioactivity. A number of approaches have been developed for estimating the exposure of wildlife and some of these are being used to conduct regulatory assessments. There is a requirement to compare the outputs of such approaches against available data sets to ensure that they are robust and fit for purpose. In this paper we describe the application of seven approaches for predicting the whole-body (90Sr, 137Cs, 241Am and Pu isotope) activity concentrations and absorbed dose rates for a range of terrestrial species within the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Predictions are compared against available measurement data, including estimates of external dose rate recorded by thermoluminescent dosimeters attached to rodent species. Potential reasons for differences between predictions between the various approaches and the available data are explored

Inter-comparison of models to estimate radionuclide activity concentrations in non-human biota

A number of models have recently been, or are currently being, developed to enable the assessment of radiation doses from ionising radiation to non-human species. A key component of these models is the ability to predict whole-organism activity concentrations in a wide range of wildlife. In this paper, we compare the wholeorganism activity concentrations predicted by eight models participating within the IAEA Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety programme for a range of radionuclides to terrestrial and freshwater organisms. In many instances, there was considerable variation, ranging over orders of magnitude, between the predictions of the different models. Reasons for this variability (including methodology, data source and data availability) are identified and discussed. The active participation of groups responsible for the development of key models within this exercise is a useful step forward in providing the transparency in methodology and data provenance required for models which are either currently being used for regulatory purposes or which may be used in the future. The work reported in this paper, and supported by other findings, demonstrates that the largest contribution to variability between model predictions is the parameterisation of their transfer components. There is a clear need to focus efforts and provide authoritative compilations of those data which are available