Annals of the ICRP最新文献

The ALARA principle, keeping the likelihood of incurring exposure, the number of people exposed, and the magnitude of their individual doses 'as low as reasonably achievable, taking into account economic and societal factors', is at the core of radiation protection (RP). Historically the stakeholders involved in the application of the ALARA process have typically been internal to an organisation, such as an operator, and include a combination of both RP practitioners and non-RP specialists. However, could there be instances when the public should be a key stakeholder in the decision-making? And how understandable is the system of protection to those wider stakeholders? The talk presented at ICRP 2023, and this supporting article explores the role of effective communication in terms of both explaining radiation risk and the system of protection to the wide range of stakeholders who may be involved in decision-making. It pulls on a number of case studies presented at an ICRP and World Nuclear Association Workshop on Communication held in Bristol, UK, on the 28th of September. This includes case studies across the nuclear fuel cycle including uranium mining, new nuclear build, operators, and waste management facilities, from the perspective of radiation protection professionals, regulators, academia, and journalists. Learning from these case studies is used to highlight the key lessons learnt and the importance of effective communication and stakeholder engagement as part of the system of protection.

The nuclear industry has had a good track record of progressively reducing occupational, public, and environmental exposures across the nuclear fuel cycle through the practical implementation of the as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) principle. Worker and public doses remain low, and environmental impacts are being better understood, although the environmental impacts continue to be low. However, more recently, the industry is concerned that there is pressure to continue to reduce exposures despite there being no justifiable reason. This is often because of radiation being considered in isolation or prioritised above other potential hazards and leads to misallocation of resources (including physical, human, and financial). The broader concern is that this downward pressure re-enforces the perception of risk at very low exposure levels and biases decision-making about the benefits of the nuclear fuel cycle. With the ongoing concerns of climate change, many countries have made a commitment to embrace low-carbon energy systems. In support of this ambition, new nuclear power has been identified as a key part of the energy mix, highlighting the need to ensure that the decision-making mechanisms at low dose and exposure levels do not constrain the global needs and that there is a balanced treatment of the radiological risk of nuclear power, taking into account the wider non-radiological hazards, environmental considerations, and societal impacts. This article explores the radiological impacts to the environment across the nuclear fuel cycle from mining to the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of new nuclear plants, and finally the management of radioactive liabilities (including spent fuel and radioactive waste). The article provides real-life examples showing how the System of Radiological Protection is applied and how its over-application leads to unsustainable outcomes.

Medical exposure for patients is part of the planned exposure situations. Unique aspects of radiological protection distinguish medical exposure for patients from public or occupational exposures. The ultimate goal of the process of medical uses of radiation is the delivery of quality healthcare to the patients, i.e. maximising the benefits for patients' care while taking under control radiation risks. The application of radiation protection principles is a key driver for the quality of medical procedures using radiation. In order to better understand the concepts of tolerability and reasonableness in relation to the principles of justification and optimisation in medicine, it is interesting to investigate the generic dimensions of quality in healthcare. Tolerability and reasonableness assume the presence of a radiation safety culture, including policies, processes, quality assurance, and training. Radiation safety culture needs to encompass all stakeholders who could affect the exposure of a patient, including the patient her/himself. The development of a radiation safety culture requires an organisation that takes into account radiation protection and safety, good medical practice, and human factors.

The aim of this research is to identify the radiological protection problems after the Fukushima accident from the citizens' perspective and to clarify the major points which should be included in the revised General Recommendations. As research methods, both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to clarify the damage to residents in and outside of Fukushima Prefecture. For these reasons, we critically review the description of the ICRP Publication 146 Annex B Fukushima nuclear accident (Annex B. The Fukushima Nuclear Accident). Our team includes researchers who were affected by the disaster directly; their personal experiences were also reflected. Through this research, important insights of affected citizens missed in ICRP Publication 146 were obtained. ICRP Publication 146 and the General Recommendation should be revised to address these issues pointed out by the affected population.

Imaging modalities such as on-board kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography (kV CBCT) on a linear accelerator (linac) are utilised daily to verify positioning in the multi-week fractionation schedule of a cancer patient undergoing treatment. There is a need for optimisation of radiological protection in kV CBCT imaging protocols to avoid unnecessarily high doses to normal tissues surrounding the target. Traditionally, a 100 mm ionisation chamber and a cylindrical PMMA phantom are used in measuring CT doses, but these are not available in many radiotherapy centres. This study explores an alternative setup using a 0.6 cc Farmer-type ionisation chamber and a 30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm cubically shaped phantom comprising slabs of water equivalent material typically used in radiotherapy centres. The weighted dose index values determined from the alternative setup are compared with those determined from the conventional cylindrical CT phantoms. The results indicate that the alternative setup using equipment more accessible in radiotherapy facilities is a viable alternative to the use of a CT phantom to quantify kV CBCT radiation dose from linac-based image-guided radiotherapy equipment that can be used for optimisation processes. This should allow most radiotherapy centres all over the world to engage in meaningful dose measurement and optimisation for CBCT.

This article examines the challenges and benefits of social media use for communicating radiation emergencies and malicious events. As traditional crisis communication principles have to adapt to the evolving social media landscape, this article emphasises the need for communicators to keep pace with platforms such as X, WhatsApp, and TikTok. Challenges include inconsistent messages, conflicting information, and the risk of misinformation spreading. However, social media offers advantages such as rapid information dissemination and increased visibility for communicating authorities. The discussion draws from case studies, including the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lost radioactive capsule in Australia, highlighting the necessity for adaptable crisis communication strategies in response to situational contexts and changes in online communication. Future work involves analysing past incidents, developing recommendations for effective social media use, and designing social media templates for timely messaging during radiation emergencies within the framework of ICRP Task Group 120.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry is one of the most important tools for dose assessment after unexpected radiological accidents. Its use for triage after an incident in which a large number of people were exposed to potentially clinically significant levels of radiation has attracted attention. The EPR technique allows to determine the absorbed dose by measuring the signals arising from radicals formed under the influence of ionising radiation. These radicals interact with their environment, so the relationship between the intensity of the EPR signal and the radiation dose must be analysed for each material. The material could be the biological tissues of the victim: hair, nails, tooth enamel, and bones. The extensive use of tooth enamel for this technique has been published as an IAEA technical report. In our studies detailed here, we have performed experiments on the widely used X-band spectrometer (9.4 GHz), but examples of studies demonstrating the advantages of Q band (34 GHz) instruments and the suitability of L-band (1.1 GHz) for in-vivo dosimetry are also reported here. The results obtained using established protocols associated with different sample including nail and hair sample performed in our laboratory are given, the recommendations about protocols from sample collection to dose reporting are proposed, and finally the future of EPR dosimetry is discussed.

Since the 1990s, significant technological developments for the preparation and delivery of radiation treatment have resulted in the need for the use of more advanced imaging in radiotherapy. However, errors in treatment (events that can lead to unintended and accidental medical exposures and near misses) can occur while using these images. Several sources provide information feedback on events reported in the use of imaging. Events recorded in Radiation Oncology Incident Learning Systems, reports and newsletters for experience feedback from nuclear safety authorities, and the Safety in Radiation Oncology (SAFRON) database of the IAEA have been reviewed, and descriptions of incidents were analysed. Types of incidents resulting from image guidance that occur more frequently have been identified, and some of the steps that can be taken to prevent such events from occurring are summarised.

The co-expertise initiative in the Suetsugi district of Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, located 27 km from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, was carried out through collaboration between the volunteer group Ethos in Fukushima and the Suetsugi community from 2011 to 2020. As the initiative neared its end in 2017, the residents expressed a desire to document their post-nuclear accident experiences. This effort led to the creation of the Suetsugi Atlas in the spring of 2022. The development of the Atlas revealed a high degree of satisfaction among residents with the co-expertise process. However, it also shed light on the challenges of building trust beyond their direct experience, suggesting that lives affected by the accident still face unresolved issues. It also revealed that for co-expertise to be successful, the full engagement of public authorities alongside affected people in the recovery process is essential. These results are valuable for refining the methods and applications of the co-expertise process.

Ionising radiation induces various types of DNA damage, which, if not repaired correctly, lead to mutations. Nonetheless, the association between radiation exposure and hereditary effects has not yet been confirmed in humans. In this study, we used WGS to study low dose rate radiation-induced mutations in cultured human cells. Normal human fibroblast NB1RGB cells were seeded as single cells by limiting dilution and grown under irradiation with ¹³⁷Cs γ-irradiation of 1 or 20 mGy day^-1 for 21 days. The genomic DNA prepared from respective clones or the bulk culture was sequenced using the Illumina NGS platform with paired-end 150-bp reads with reference to the standard human genome assembly GRCh38. By subtracting the calls in the bulk culture and applying several filters, approximately 750-1200 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 2500 small insertions/deletions (indels) per clone were obtained on average. The number was not substantially different between unirradiated and irradiated cultures. Spectral analysis revealed that the C > A transversion, which is associated with guanine oxidation, was dominant.