The Society for Radiological Protection is the leading UK professional body promoting learning and skills in the field of Radiological Protection. The Society was formed in 1963, and received its Royal Charter in 2007. It has the overall objectives of improving public knowledge and maintaining professional standards in that field. It is the largest society of its kind in Europe, and second largest in the world.
International policy relationships in radiological protection
Originally the UK branch of the US Health Physics Society, The Society for Radiological Protection was founded in 1963. The society was renamed as The Society for Radiological Protection when the formal connection with the Health Physics Society was dissolved two years later. The later part of the decade saw the adoption of a constitution and the first awards of Honorary Fellowships. The society started issuing the Certificate of Professional Competence in Operational Health Physics in 1979. This was later transferred to a separate legal entity: RPA2000.
The Journal of Radiological Protection was started in 1981, and is currently published by Institute of Physics Publishing. In 1996, the society developed the first NVQ standards in radiation protection, which were accredited in April 1997.
In 2000, the society set up RPA2000 with The Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine; the Institute of Radiation Protection and the Association of University Radiation Protection Officers. RPA2000 is the sole certifier of competence in radiation protection practice.[1] The Society for Radiological Protection is the major stakeholder in RPA2000.
The society received its royal charter in 2007, and in 2008 registered as charity number 1122804.
Chartered Status
The Society of Radiological Protection was granted a Royal Charter in 2007. This formally recognised radiation protection as a profession and allowed the creation of the title Chartered Radiation Protection Professional, with suitably qualified members being entitled to use the post-nominal letters CRadP.[2]
Rising Generations Group
Set up in early 2010 to promote less experienced radiation protection professionals in the Society, and to focus on the needs of newer members. The aim of the group is to help members develop their careers in the field of radiation protection. It is open to any member of the society who would be interested in establishing or progressing their career.
Partner Societies
The Society for Radiological Protection is partnered with:
Association of University Radiation Protection Officers (AURPO)
British Institute of Radiology (BIR)
British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS)
Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine (IPEM)
Radiography is an imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical radiography and industrial radiography. Similar techniques are used in airport security. To create an image in conventional radiography, a beam of X-rays is produced by an X-ray generator and is projected toward the object. A certain amount of the X-rays or other radiation is absorbed by the object, dependent on the object's density and structural composition. The X-rays that pass through the object are captured behind the object by a detector. The generation of flat two dimensional images by this technique is called projectional radiography. In computed tomography an X-ray source and its associated detectors rotate around the subject which itself moves through the conical X-ray beam produced. Any given point within the subject is crossed from many directions by many different beams at different times. Information regarding attenuation of these beams is collated and subjected to computation to generate two dimensional images in three planes which can be further processed to produce a three dimensional image.
Ionizing radiation, including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel up to 99% of the speed of light, and the electromagnetic waves are on the high-energy portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a royal charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The company established a library and its museum in 1813, which is the oldest specific collection of clocks and watches worldwide. This is administered by the company's affiliated charity, the Clockmakers’ Charity, and is presently housed on the second floor of London's Science Museum. The modern aims of the company and its museum are charitable and educational, in particular to promote and preserve clockmaking and watchmaking, which as of 2019 were added to the HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts.
Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation. Health physicists normally require a four-year bachelor’s degree and qualifying experience that demonstrates a professional knowledge of the theory and application of radiation protection principles and closely related sciences. Health physicists principally work at facilities where radionuclides or other sources of ionizing radiation are used or produced; these include research, industry, education, medical facilities, nuclear power, military, environmental protection, enforcement of government regulations, and decontamination and decommissioning—the combination of education and experience for health physicists depends on the specific field in which the health physicist is engaged.
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to enable prompt communication of safety significant information in case of nuclear accidents.
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an independent, international, non-governmental organization, with the mission to protect people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. Its recommendations form the basis of radiological protection policy, regulations, guidelines and practice worldwide.
William Valentine Mayneord, CBE FRS was a British physicist and pioneer in the field of medical physics.
The roentgen or röntgen is a legacy unit of measurement for the exposure of X-rays and gamma rays, and is defined as the electric charge freed by such radiation in a specified volume of air divided by the mass of that air . In 1928, it was adopted as the first international measurement quantity for ionizing radiation to be defined for radiation protection, as it was then the most easily replicated method of measuring air ionization by using ion chambers. It is named after the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen, who discovered X-rays and was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery.
The International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) is an independent non-profit association of national and regional radiation protection societies, and its mission is to advance radiation protection throughout the world. It is the international professional association for radiation protection.
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John Dunning Boice Jr. is an American radiation epidemiologist and health physicist.
Lauriston S. Taylor was an American physicist known for his work in the field of radiation protection and measurement.
G. William Morgan, also known as George William Morgan, health physicist and founding member of the Health Physics Society. Morgan held key health physics positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Manhattan Project and the Atomic Energy Commission. Morgan was instrumental in developing the regulations that we know today as I0 CFR 20, the Standards for Protection against Radiation.
The Royal Society of Chemistry awards the designation of Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry for distinguished service in the field of chemistry.
Madan M. Rehani is an Indian-born medical physicist.
Francis J. Bradley was an American health physicist, writer and founding member of the Health Physics Society.
The Institution of Metallurgists was a British professional association for metallurgists, largely involved in the iron and steel industry.
Richard JohnPentreath is a British marine scientist who made major contributions to radioecology, particularly with regard to alpha-emitting nuclides in the marine environment. He went on to broaden the international system of radiological protection to include animals and plants with respect to different exposure situations, as well as protection of the animal as patient in veterinary medicine. He also played a major role in the success of the National Rivers Authority and its subsequent merging with other bodies to form the Environment Agency.
References
↑ . "RPA2000", SRP Website, Accessed April 6, 2011.
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