– Edward Maher, Sc.D., Harvard University
Note: Borrowed from lowdoserad.org
That is a truth that Atomic Insights has recognized for many years, but the situation – so far – remains unchanged.
Under the auspices of the Eastern Washington Section of the American Nuclear Society and the Columbia Section of the Health Physics Society, a team of leaders, including General Chair: Alan Waltar, Assistant General Chair: Wanda Munn, and Assistant General Chair: Virginia Cleary-Ivanof has assembled a cast of contributors that is organizing a sustained effort that could produce beneficial movement.
They are leading the charge for the ANS and HPS to gather and organize the accumulated knowledge needed to encourage and support responsible standard-setting agencies to finally modernize radiation protection models. Part of their effort includes planning a joint topical meeting to be held from September 30-October 3, 2018. The meeting will be held in the Tri-Cities area of Eastern Washington.
Titled “Applicability of Radiation Response Models to Low Dose Protection Standards,” this meeting is being billed as being quite different from previous topical meetings.
“This is not just a ordinary topical meeting where distinguished professionals provide a paper that can be added to their dossier. Rather it is a meeting with potentially profound results for our entire industry.”
In an approach that is rare for professional society topical meetings, this one is being organized around a stated goal instead of a guiding theme.
The goal is to utilize current scientific data accumulated throughout the history of nuclear technology to update the approach to regulating the response to low level radiation doses.
(Emphasis in original announcement.)
A request for abstracts has been issued. In addition, the meeting organizers are actively seeking the contributions from recognized experts in the field. The topic list includes:
- Scientific foundations for radiation protection standards and emergency action guidelines
- Molecular basis of radiation response at low dose
- Applicability of linear no-threshold dose-response models
- Public perceptions of radiation risk
- Implementation of radiation protection regulations
- Opportunities for beneficial changes to radiation protection regulations
For more information, please visit http://www.lowdoserad.org.