As most provinces and territories do not have formal waste control regulations addressing naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), CRPA has established a NORM Task Group to support radiation professionals in NORM industries. Theys will be administering a three-day NORM Radiation Safety Officer Course this summer.
Jeff Fleming uses his last president’s message to encourage you to attend our annual conference this year in Edmonton, consider signing up for a professional development session, and support our corporate members.
This issue brings together expertise in an integral area of radiation protection—the continual process of emergency preparedness—with an article about emergency response drills conducted by McMaster University and University Health Network last fall and Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Review (EPREV) mission led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Mackenzie Tigwell discusses Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada’s most recent annual conference and celebrates the release of the completed Gender Balance Roadmap, part of Canada’s Equal by 30 campaign.
Sandor Demeter says Canada is experiencing a nuclear renaissance. This raises concern among radiation safety professionals about potential health and environmental hazards. How can governments, the nuclear industry, and nuclear regulators not only reassure the public but also demonstrate that them that they are safe from long-term and accidental radiation exposure? For the first time, Canadian researchers have used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) on teeth to measure lifelong radiation exposure for those living close to nuclear power plants.
Alicia Douglas, a recent graduate from McMaster University, shares her experience as a first-time CRPA conference attendee. She describes her time in Halifax this past May, makes suggestions for how future conferences may encourage more students and younger professionals to attend, and offers advice to future first time attendees so that they can make the most of their experience.
Chief Editor Dave Niven talks with Sheila MacMahon, a new member of the CRPA board of directors. Sheila talks about being a long-time CRPA member, her desire to give back to the association, and where she hopes to take the organization in the next few years.
In February 2023, a small cylindrical capsule fell out of a fixed radioactive gauge on a truck somewhere along a 1,300 km drive from a Rio Tinto mine in Newman, Australia, to Perth. The tiny capsule was found by driving slowly along the route and using a gamma-ray detector. While no one was hurt in this incident, Dr. Sandor Demeter, a nuclear medicine and public health physician, explores other potential outcomes and the possibility of something similar happening in Canada.
