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Contextual Information for the Potential Enhancement of Annual Radiation Protection Program Review Reports.

ABSTRACT: Organizations possessing sources of ionizing radiation are required to develop, document, and implement a "radiation protection program" that is commensurate with the scope and extent of permitted activities and sufficient to ensure compliance with basic radiation safety regulations. The radiation protection program must also be reviewed at least annually, assessing program content and implementation. A convenience sample assessment of web-accessible and voluntarily-submitted radiation protection program annual review reports revealed that while the reports consistently documented compliance with necessary regulatory elements, very few included any critical contextual information describing how important the ability to possess radiation sources was to the central mission of the organization. Information regarding how much radioactive material was currently possessed as compared to license limits was also missing. Summarized here are suggested contextual elements that can be considered for possible inclusion in annual radiation protection program reviews to enhance stakeholder understanding and appreciation of the importance of the ability to possess radiation sources and the importance of maintaining compliance with associated regulatory requirements.

SUBMITTER: Emery RJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5898824 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Contextual Information for the Potential Enhancement of Annual Radiation Protection Program Review Reports.

Emery Robert J RJ Gutiérrez Janet M JM

Health physics 20170801 2

Organizations possessing sources of ionizing radiation are required to develop, document, and implement a "radiation protection program" that is commensurate with the scope and extent of permitted activities and sufficient to ensure compliance with basic radiation safety regulations. The radiation protection program must also be reviewed at least annually, assessing program content and implementation. A convenience sample assessment of web-accessible and voluntarily-submitted radiation protectio ...[more]

PMID: 28658063

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Project description:Objectives Radiation emergencies are rare but can have minor confined effects to catastrophic consequences across the large geographical territories. Geographical disparities in the preparedness for radiation emergencies can negatively impact public-safety and delay protective actions. We examined such disparities using the global and regional radiation preparedness data from the revised annual International Health Regulations (IHR) data sets. Settings We used IHR State Party Annual Reporting (SPAR) tool and its associated health indicators developed to mitigate public health risk from radiation emergencies. Using the most recent (2019) SPAR database developed for radiation emergencies, along with 12 other cross-sector indicators, we examined the disparities among WHO state and region-wide capacity scores for operational preparedness. Results Based on the analysis of the 2019 annual reporting data sets from 171 countries, radiation emergency was one of the top three global challenges with an average global preparedness capacity of 55%. Radiation emergency preparedness capacity scores showed highest dispersion score among all 13 capacities suggesting higher disparities for preparedness across the globe. Only 38% of the countries had advanced functional capacity with ≥80% operational readiness, with 28% countries having low to very low operational readiness. No geographical regions had ≥80% operational readiness for radiation emergencies, with 4/6 geographical regions showing limited capacity or effectiveness. Global data from 171 countries showed that the capacity to respond to radiation emergencies correlated with the capacity for chemical events with a correlation coefficient (ρ) of 0.70 (CI 0.61 to 0.77). Conclusion We found major global disparities for the operational preparedness against radiation emergencies. Collaborative approaches involving the public health officials and policymakers at the regional and state levels are needed to develop additional guidance to adapt emergency preparedness plans for radiation incidents.

Dataset Information

Contextual Information for the Potential Enhancement of Annual Radiation Protection Program Review Reports.

Publications

Contextual Information for the Potential Enhancement of Annual Radiation Protection Program Review Reports.

Similar Datasets

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