We’re pleased to announce that the newest location in our ultraviolet (UV) radiation monitoring network is now online.

In collaboration with the Central Highlands Regional Council, we have installed a new sensor in Emerald, Queensland, which will provide by-the-minute UV Index for the region.

The sensor detects UV radiation similarly to human skin, producing a UV Index. Sun protection is recommended when the UV Index reaches 3 or above.

ARPANSA scientist Dr Stuart Henderson travelled to Emerald to complete the installation and conduct maintenance training for onsite staff.

‘It’s great to be working with the council on this installation and to have Emerald as part of our network.’

Emerald is the fourth location in Queensland to join our UV monitoring network and the first inland location. The climate in Central Queensland is very different to that of the three coastal regions monitored in the state.

Residents and workers in the Emerald region can now access real-time UV Index information from our website and the SunSmart app. The expansion also provides our researchers and the Bureau of Meteorology with an important dataset of UV radiation to improve knowledge of UV in Australia and internationally.

‘Emerald has a lot of outdoor workers, so having real-time data on UV Index will help the council protect their workers and residents’ said Dr Henderson.

‘We’ve been assessing the data coming through and it is interesting to see that, even during winter, the UV Index has reached a maximum of 6 each day since the installation. This shows how valuable this sensor can be to people locally. It’s a good way to remind everyone to Slip on a shirt, Slop on some sunscreen, Slap on a hat, Seek shade and Slide on sunglasses to ensure protection from harmful UV radiation.’

Central Highlands Regional Council CEO Scott Mason said the collaboration was an initiative by council’s staff to work smarter and reinforce messaging of sun safety that people so easily become complacent about.

‘A lot of people in the Central Highlands, including in our organisation, spend significant time working outdoors,’ Mr Mason said.

‘From an employer perspective, we can provide all the appropriate protective equipment for UV exposure, but despite rules and requirements, installing the habit of doing the right thing and being aware of UV risks is not easy.

‘Having access to the data through this collaboration allows us to back our requirements with facts not only for our own employees but people in our communities – and researchers are able to use the data to build compelling models right here in our region.

‘It’s a win-win situation.’

Read more: ARPANSA expands ultraviolet radiation monitoring

ARPANSA collates and publishes an annual report on radiation incidents in Australia. This report is produced with input from various radiation regulators around the country, based on incidents submitted to them and any subsequent investigations they carry out.

ARPANSA regulates Commonwealth entities that use radiation, while state and territory regulators oversee all other radiation use including medical procedures, industrial applications and cosmetic treatments within their region.

The latest Australian Radiation Incident Register Annual Report has recently been featured in the media. The report covers incidents that have occurred in Australia in 2017 (published in December 2018).

The register highlights an increase in reports of radiation incidents with 575 recorded in the 2017 calendar year. We believe this is a positive sign, showing an increase in reporting, rather than increased occurrence, due to greater awareness of the national register amongst regulators and end users. We expect this trend to continue over the next few years as we further develop and promote this register.

Radiation is routinely used across Australia by more than 50 000 licensed users who perform millions of individual tasks each year. The incidents that occur and the resulting outcomes show that radiation use in Australia is generally very safe. However, unexpected events occasionally occur even with strict controls in place.

The vast majority of these incidents (95%) occurred in relation to medical procedures including diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. The largest primary factor was human error, which was found to trigger 69% of incidents. However, incidents typically have a range of contributing factors without which an incident may not have occurred.

The collation and publication of an annual report is an important tool for analysis and education to reduce incidents involving unintentional exposure. In particular, the insights gained from this work can help regulators and users to learn from events that did not happen locally, and mitigate risks to reduce the likelihood and severity of any future incidents.

The Australian Radiation Incident Register annual report covering all 2018 incidents will be published at the end of this year.

This form is to be filled out by the RSO and/or PRMS contact representatives of a centre that no longer requires registration of personal radiation monitors.

We require at least four weeks’ notice to cancel centre registrations. Cancelling within four weeks will incur full payment of monitors if already dispatched.
 

In Australia, skin cancer accounts for around 80% of all newly diagnosed cancers each year and UV radiation from the sun is one of the leading causes of skin cancer. With high UV radiation year-round in many parts of Australia, people who regularly work outside face a higher risk of developing cancer from sun exposure.

ARPANSA is proud to have contributed to the Cancer Council’s new resource for people who work outdoors and their employers. Skin cancer and outdoor work— A work health and safety guide provides workers with information and strategies on identifying and managing UV radiation as a workplace hazard.

Adequate sun protection, including regular application of sunscreen, wearing UV-resistant protective clothing and minimising exposure during peak UV periods are essential to protecting workers from the hazard presented by UV exposure from the sun.

The new guide was prepared with technical input from ARPANSA. Dr Rick Tinker, Section Manager, Assessment and Advice at ARPANSA stated, ‘there has been a strong focus on protecting people from the overheating risks related to outdoor work, but not a strong focus on the long term impacts of UV exposure. This resource is vital in helping develop good safety practices within a group that is at higher risk than many sectors of the community.’

The guide includes a sample UV policy, risk assessment template and toolbox resources for workplaces to use as well as clear guidance for individual workers.

‘It’s a great resource for employers, health and safety representatives and all employees who work outdoors’, said Dr Tinker.

Access the guide and other information about sun protection in the workplace on the Cancer Council website.

We’re proud to announce that Dr Gillian Hirth, Head of Radiation Health Services and deputy CEO at ARPANSA, has been elected as Chair of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) for the 66th and 67th sessions in 2019 and 2020. 

Gillian took over as Chair from Dr Hans Vanmarcke, from the Nuclear Research Centre in Belgium, in June. 

Gillian has been involved with the Committee since 2012 and previously served as the Committee’s Rapporteur in 2017 and 2018.

UNSCEAR is a world authority on the effects of ionising radiation on human health and the environment. The Committee meets annually to assess and report on the effects of exposure to ionising radiation on human health and the environment as well as reviewing evidence of radiation-induced health effects around the globe. 

The assessments made by UNSCEAR are used as the scientific basis for evaluating radiation risk and establishing protective measures globally and are used for formulating international standards designed to protect both the general public and workers from ionising radiation. Australia has been a member of the Committee since it was founded in 1955.

Congratulations to Gillian on her appointment, which recognises her expertise and leadership in radiation health as well as Australia’s contribution to nuclear science in the global arena. 

Production of nuclear medicine at ANSTO’s nuclear medicine (ANM) facility[1] was halted on 21 June following an accident in which the hands of three workers were exposed to radiation. Two of the workers received a dose that exceeded the statutory annual dose limit for the hands. ARPANSA has given the accident a preliminary rating of Level 2 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, INES[2].

ARPANSA instructed ANSTO to not resume operations until ARPANSA had assessed how and why the accident happened, and reviewed ANSTO’s own assessment of the accident including their proposed controls to keep workers safe.

On Friday 5 July, the CEO of ARPANSA restricted production in the ANM Facility to a level that can satisfy the domestic demand for nuclear medicine only.  ANSTO was authorised to recommence production with this restriction from 6 July.

The CEO’s decision was informed by previous safety events during nuclear medicine production at ANSTO as well as ARPANSA’s review of the circumstances around this accident, including the sequence of events, effectiveness of controls and contributing factors.

The CEO has stated that ANSTO must direct its attention to a number of safety issues, with particular focus on organisational and human factors such as production pressure, situational awareness and leadership and management for safety.

ANSTO must allocate sufficient resources to address safety as a priority above the demands of production. Production will remain restricted until ARPANSA has noted demonstrable progress and is satisfied with workers’ safety.  

ARPANSA is continuing its investigation into the causes and contributing factors of the accident.  A formal decision on whether there has been a failure on ANSTO’s part to comply with conditions of the ANM licence is pending.

Read more: Contamination event at ANSTO Nuclear Medicine facility

On Friday 21 June 2019, ARPANSA was notified of a radiation contamination event at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Nuclear Medicine (ANM) production facility in Lucas Heights, New South Wales.

The ANM facility was only recently licensed to undertake routine operations, on 24 May 2019. This decision was made after ANSTO had taken a year to carry out commissioning tests and comply with ARPANSA’s regulatory requirements.

The contamination event has resulted in accidental radiation exposure to the hands of three employees. 

ANSTO’s preliminary assessments indicate that the dose received by two of the employees is approximately two to three times above the statutory annual dose limit for the hands. The exposure of the third employee is expected to be significant but below the statutory annual dose limit.

If the exposures are confirmed to exceed the statutory annual dose limit, ARPANSA will make a notification under the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) at level 2. The INES scale ranges from zero (with no safety significance) to 7 (major accident).

ARPANSA inspectors conducted a visit to ANSTO on the same day the accident occurred and again on Monday 24 June 2019.

Production of nuclear medicine at ANM has ceased and ARPANSA has notified ANSTO that they are not authorised to resume operations at ANM without ARPANSA’s approval. ANSTO must provide ARPANSA with a satisfactory assessment of what happened, why it happened and how they will prevent it from reoccurring. 

ANSTO has initiated an investigation and will provide us with an investigation report by 5 July 2019.

ARPANSA will assess the information as we receive it in order to form a view on the safety of ANSTO’s operations and to identify next steps, including any further regulatory actions.

We have published the Guide for Radiation Protection in Emergency Exposure Situations. 

This Guide provides the framework in Australia for the protection of emergency workers, helpers, the public and the environment in emergency exposure situations as well as providing guidance for the planning, preparedness, response and transition required to effectively respond to an emergency. 

The Guide is published in two parts and describes objectives for protection of human health, drawing on international best practice in planning, preparedness, response and transition in nuclear or radiological emergencies. 

Guide for Radiation Protection in Emergency Exposure Situations (RPS G-3, Parts 1 and 2, 2019)
 

On 24 May 2019, ARPANSA’s CEO, Dr Carl-Magnus Larsson amended a licence issued to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to operate the ANSTO Nuclear Medicine (ANM) facility.

The amendment enables ANSTO to commence routine production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) in the ANM facility for Australian and international markets. 

Mo-99 is the parent isotope of technetium-99m, a medical isotope used for diagnostic imaging of cancer tumours and undertaking organ function studies such as in cardiac and renal imaging.

On 12 April 2018, the CEO of ARPANSA issued a licence to ANSTO authorising it to operate the ANM facility for the purpose of ‘hot’ commissioning only. Licence condition 8 specified minimum requirements that would need to be fulfilled before routine operations for the supply of nuclear medicine to the Australian and international markets could commence.

On 12 March 2019, ANSTO submitted an application under section 63 of the ARPANS regulations to remove Licence Condition 8 in order to commence routine operations. ARPANSA officers reviewed this submission and made recommendations to the CEO to remove the licence condition. Taking this assessment into account, the CEO of ARPANSA was assured that the actions taken by ANSTO satisfy licence condition 8 and he amended the licence to remove it. Licence condition 8 will now be replaced by a new licence condition which requires ANSTO to update its risk assessment using a revised methodology for the ANM facility by April 2020.

You can read the CEO of ARPANSA’s Statement of Reasons.

On 2 April 2019, the CEO of ARPANSA amended a licence issued to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to authorise limited production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) in the ANSTO Nuclear Medicine (ANM) Facility.

Mo-99 is the parent nuclide of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) which is the radioisotope used in nuclear medicine procedures for the diagnosis of heart disease and other diseases. Mo-99 is currently produced in Building 54 whereas the ANM Facility only has a hot commissioning licence to produce Mo-99 and is not licensed for the routine production of nuclear medicine for domestic and international markets. 

However, following receipt of an application from ANSTO under section 63 of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 2018, the CEO of ARPANSA authorised production of 30 batches of Mo-99, before the full operating licence for ANM is issued, for the purpose of mitigating risks of interruption in the supply of Mo-99 and its decay product Tc-99m to domestic and international customers. The request by ANSTO was prompted by failures of operating plant at Building 54 which have the potential to interrupt supply of Mo-99 to these markets.

The request was assessed by ARPANSA and no safety issues were identified. A licence condition was added to the amended licence to allow production of 30 batches and provide additional reporting during this period.

You can read the CEO of ARPANSA’s Statement of Reasons below: