Over the years, Dave has written a lot about the benefits of attending conferences, not the least of which are the relationships people build at these events. In this editorial, he remembers one of his first “conference friends,” Adelene Gaw, who passed away in June, was a constant presence within CRPA, as well as the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA). She was also a regular contributor to the CRPA Bulletin. She will be missed.
Grant had to miss the recent CRPA conference in Halifax to attend RadSynch23—a conference held every other year for radiation safety personnel from synchrotron facilities around the world. Grant says the research and experiences shared at the conference (which he summarizes in his editorial), coupled with meeting and renewing contact with synchrotron radiation protection colleagues, makes attendance at the conference invaluable.
The Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee (FPTRPC), created in 1993, aims to advance the development and harmonization of practices and standards for radiation protection within federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions, and communicate these...
Valerie takes us on a creative journey with a bright-eyed, bushy tailed RSO who is starting out in a new position. While the surrounds can seem mystifying and unfamiliar, she reassures us that the journey is less daunting when you can reach out to others for guidance—if for nothing else than to see who else is out there and to share lessons learned, best practices, and solutions that can be modified and adapted. That, she says, is the most important value of CRPA membership.
Regular readers of the CRPA Bulletin have come to expect Dave Niven, chief editor, to interview incoming CRPA presidents. In this issue, Dave continues his interview series by talking with Jeff Fleming, CRPA’s president-elect. Jeff tells us about his job as an inspector in the Operations Inspections Division at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, about joining CRPA when he was looking for a network of professionals to help him grow and learn, and about the CRPA board of directors’ plans to launch a naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) taskforce.
Dave was very excited to be writing an editorial for the first conference issue of the CRPA Bulletin since 2019! While he concedes that there may be a bit of conference rust to shake off after four years, he is looking forward to the professional development, networking, and socializing—especially at the hospitality suite, which he says is one of the things that make the CRPA conference stand out from other events. He has no doubt that everyone attending the conference in Halifax this year will make up for lost time.
Each year CRPA’s Students and Young Professionals Committee organizes the Anthony J. Mackay Student Paper Contest in conjunction with the CRPA conference. The contest is open to all students enrolled full-time in a Canadian college or university program related to radiation sciences. From among the submissions, three finalists are selected and given the opportunity to present their work in a plenary session at the conference. These are this year’s finalists.
In the spirit of “Working Together,” (the theme of the 2023 CRPA conference) Erin Curry (CARST), asks how we can best support organizations and individuals working to raise radon awareness? She says that, as associations that unite professionals with a common interest, both CRPA and CARST know we will get further by forging partnerships, playing to our strengths, and—when it comes to awareness—not giving up! It takes consistent effort over time to see results.
