In order to ensure best radiological preparedness, it is important that nuclear personnel are able to train against highly realistic scenarios in relevant locations and, ideally, while using their own operational equipment.
One of the most common obstacles in delivering hands-on radiological instruction however, is finding a way to balance the desire for realism with the essential need for safety.
Providing military and civilian responders with access to realistic hands-on training is crucial in ensuring that they are able to confidently handle the challenges of a diverse range of CBRNe incidents.
A common issue for CBRNe instructors however, is how to deliver a training experience that offers the desired combination of authenticity, consistency and effectiveness.
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.
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.
Technology and equipment is making a powerful contribution to the realism and learning outcomes of radiological training programs for emergency responders, firefighters and HazMat personnel.
With the help of innovative new simulator-based training tools, instructors are able provide their trainees with the crucial hands-on experience that they need to safely handle the challenges of live radiation incidents.