20 August 2024
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is continuing its almost 40-year-old partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) by extending its formal agreement as a radiation protection collaborating centre for another 4 years.
ARPANSA’s Chief Radiation Health Scientist, Dr Rick Tinker, says they have been supporting WHO’s radiation protection activities since 1985.
‘The partnership we have in place with WHO means they are able to access resources at ARPANSA such as technical advice to support the delivery of their radiation protection programs,’ Dr Tinker said.
‘ARPANSA has supported many of WHO’s activities in radio wave and ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure, emergency preparedness and health physics.
‘It’s a mutually beneficial partnership where we too use WHO’s public health advice to support our work in ensuring Australians are protected from the harmful effects of radiation,’ said Dr Tinker.
ARPANSA has recently supported WHO with key programs including systematic reviews to inform an updated health risk assessment of radio wave exposure and delivery of medical radiation response training.
‘We’re proud of what we’ve been able to deliver in our role as a WHO collaborating centre,’ said Dr Tinker.
WHO has established more than 800 collaborating centres globally for the benefit of its 194 member states.
ARPANSA’s formal agreement as a WHO collaborating centre is in place until June 2028.
