Program Presentations No. 48 – Emerging Issues in Radiation Protection in Medicine, Emergency Response, and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle (2012)

Two recent events have focused public and governmental attention on issues surrounding the increasing use of ionizing radiation in medicine and industry. The first was the publication of NCRP Report No. 160, Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States (2009), which showed that medical exposures now account for about 50 % of the annual radiation dose received by the entire population of the United States. The second was the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors and spent-fuel storage facilities in March of 2011. The 2012 Annual Meeting of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) will focus on these events and the resulting societal issues. The meeting will begin with a session on medical exposures, with a discussion of the latest recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, the development of a safety culture in radiation oncology, patient protection in interventional radiology, and standardization of nomenclature and protocols in computed tomography scanning. Turning to the Fukushima accident, the meeting will discuss the circumstances of the accidents and lessons learned, its environmental and community impacts, and guidance for developing community resilience for such events. Finally, the emergency response provided by U.S. federal agencies will be described, including speakers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and others.