In 2006, Americans were exposed to more than seven times as much ionizing radiation from medical procedures as was the case in the early 1980s, according to a new report on population exposure released March 3rd by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) at its annual meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2006, medical exposure constituted nearly half of the total radiation exposure of the U.S. population from all sources.

The increase was primarily a result of the growth in the use of medical imaging procedures, explained Dr. Kenneth R. Kase, senior vice president of NCRP and chairman of the scientific committee that produced the report. “The increase was due mostly to the higher utilization of computed tomography (CT) and nuclear medicine. These two imaging modalities alone contributed 36 percent of the total radiation exposure and 75 percent of the medical radiation exposure of the U.S. population.” The number of CT scans and nuclear medicine procedures performed in the United States during 2006 was estimated to be 67 million and 18 million, respectively.

The NCRP Report No. 160, Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States, provides a complete review of all radiation exposures for 2006.

Background radiation, which in 2006 contributed fully half of the total exposure, comes from natural radiation in soil and rocks, radon gas which seeps into homes and other buildings, plus radiation from space and radiation sources that are found naturally within the human body.

Other small contributors of exposure to the U.S. population included consumer products and activities, industrial and research uses and occupational tasks. NCRP is working with some of its partners like the American College of Radiology (ACR), World Health Organization and others to address radiation exposure resulting from the significant growth in medical imaging and to ensure that referrals for procedures like CT and nuclear medicine are based on objective, medically relevant criteria (e.g., ACR appropriateness criteria).

This year marks the 80th anniversary of NCRP’s founding and the 45th anniversary of its charter from the U.S. Congress. For more information on the NCRP study and Report 160, please visit the NCRP Web Site: www.NCRPonline.org.

The First Announcement for the 3rd African IRPA Regional Conference has been published and can be found on the Publications,IRPA Documents and Reports page. The Conference will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, Septemeber 19 to 24, 2010.

Two Regional IRPA conferences have been held: South Africa in 2003; and Egypt in April, 2007. The theme of the 2010 conference is: “Strengthening Radiation Protection Infrastructures in Africa: To-wards Establishing Effective and Sustainable Co-operations and Networks. With this slogan, the organizers plan to create opportunities for open high level discussions by the relevant stake-holders with a view to present an accurate current situation of applications of radiation technologies and radiation protection practices in Africa, and make resolutions for necessary improvements. Such discussions will involve decision makers, professionals in various fields of applications of radiation, relevant organizations (local and international, governmental and NGO) and the general public.

The Conference scope is broad, multidisciplinary and intersectorial, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

• Radiation protection infrastructures (including establishment of legal framework and regulatory systems);
• Procedures and techniques for assessing occupational, public, and medical exposures; etc.
• Dosimetry, Radiation detection/measurement methods;
• Biological and health effects of radiation at low doses;
• Natural sources of radiation;
• Nuclear and other renewable energy options for Africa;
• Application of nuclear metrology to environmental studies;
• Health and safety concerns for non-ionizing radiation sources;
• Education and training in radiation protection.

Two new guidance documents have been posted on the IRPA Web Site Reports and Documents page:

1. IRPA Guiding Principles for Radiation Protection Professionals on Stakeholder Engagement is intended to provide to help radiation protection professionals to understand the objectives, requirements and demands of stakeholder engagement, encourage participation and provide a framework for establishing a constructive dialogue with other stakeholders. This document is presented following discussion at the Associate Societies Forum during the 12th International Congress IRPA in Buenos Aires.
2. The Model Constitution for IRPA Associate Societies is designed to assist societies that are forming and wish to become associated with IRPA. It will ensure that the IRPA requirements for the constitution are met. It is only a tool to help in the development of Associate Society Constitutions and need not be followed.

The 2009 meeting of the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) will be held on March 2 and 3 in the Hyatt Hotel Convention Center, Bethesda, Maryland.  The topic of this year's meeting is “Future of Nuclear Power Worldwide - Safety, Health and Environment”.  More information on the meeting can be found by clicking on the "2009 Meeting of the NCRP" entry under Latest docs in the right hand column of this page.  Registration information is also available on the NCRP web site - www.ncrp.com.