The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was formed in 1957 with the aim of creating a specialist market for the development, distribution and sale of nuclear power within Europe.
On March 11th 2011, the biggest recorded earthquake in Japanese history triggered a tsunami off Japan's north east coast, causing devastating damage to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and leaving approximately 20,000 dead or missing.
The aftermath of the events at Fukushima would go on to have had an indelible impact not just on the more than 150,000 people living and working in the surrounding area but also on the global approach to nuclear safety, radiation protection and disaster recovery.
The past decade has seen the UK radiation protection community facing a diverse range of opportunities and challenges, fueled in no small part by developments in science and technology, the implications of the 2013 EURATOM Basic Safety Standards and ongoing study into the nature and scale of radiological risk.
The Society for Radiological Protection (SRP) will address these topics and more over the course of its highly-anticipated annual conference which is scheduled to take place in Bournemouth, UK, from July 5th to 8th 2021.
One of the most common challenges that CBRNe and HazMat instructors face in delivering hands-on chemical hazard training is the extensive time that it can take to plan, set up and oversee their scenarios.
Even once an exercise is up and running, the practical demands of keeping tabs on every detail and delivering vital information to students via verbal or written cues, can leave precious little time for observing trainees’ actions and responses.
In the spring of 2021, the HazMat Guys invited Argon Electronics’ North American Business Development Manager Bryan Sommers to join them in a podcast discussion where they talked about ongoing challenges in the provision of HazMat training and what new simulation technologies are bringing to the table.
Training is an essential aspect of preparing radiation professionals for the realities of live radiological incidents, whether they are operating in the field of first response, law enforcement, customs and border control or the military.
While much of the essential theoretical and regulatory information can be conveyed in the classroom setting, there is also the vital need to exercise, hone and verify that knowledge through hands-on training.
With the increasing use of radioisotopes within educational institutions, industrial facilities and healthcare environments, there also comes the need to maintain a rigorous and robust approach to radiological safety.
Protecting people and the environment from the effects of radioactive materials relies on two core practices - implementing appropriate radiological safety measures to prevent exposure to radiation and ensuring that there are robust security systems in place to prevent radioactive materials being misappropriated for malicious use.
Radioactive sources provide a vast array of benefits within the field of nuclear medicine, from their use in diagnostic scanning procedures to the sterilisation of equipment and the treatment of cancers.
The earliest applications of nuclear medicine date back to the mid-twentieth century when physicians with an interest in the endocrine system first used iodine-131 in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease.
After a year of digital interaction, online events and virtual networking, many within the CBRNe industry will no doubt be keenly awaiting the return to face-to-face conferences and exhibitions.
Among the live events that were previously postponed due to COVID-19 is CBRNe Summit USA which is currently scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 12th to 14th 2021.
Attendees at this highly-anticipated inaugural conference, exhibition and live demonstration will have the opportunity to hear insights from military and civilian officials representing the spectrum of CBRNe preparedness, training and response.
It is twenty-six years since the Japanese terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo released the deadly nerve agent sarin in a series of five coordinated attacks on Tokyo's subway system.
Twelve people lost their lives in the aftermath of the incident on March 20th 1995. More than 5,000 civilians required medical attention, with some fifteen-hundred found to have been moderately to severely poisoned by the effects of the toxin.
Subsequent analysis of the harrowing events of that day would reveal a number of key lessons which continue to inform and guide authorities, responders and medical teams in their preparedness and response to chemical incidents.