Setting up a Radiotherapy Programme: Clinical, Medical Physics, Radiation Protection and Safety Aspects 
IAEA, 2008, 255 p.

This publication provides guidance for designing and implementing radiotherapy programmes, taking into account clinical, medical physics, radiation protection and safety aspects. It reflects current requirements for radiotherapy infrastructure in settings with limited resources. It will be of use to professionals involved in the development, implementation and management of radiotherapy programmes.

Extraído de: http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PubDetails.asp?pubId=7694

Cultural and Structural Changes in Radioactive Waste Management Organisations:  Lessons Learnt
Nuclear Energy Agency - NEA, 12 December 2007, 44 p.

In recent years the socio-political environment of radioactive waste management (RWM) has been changing in a significant way. Stakeholder dialogue has become a leading principle. How have RWM organisations adapted to this societal transition? How do they balance the requirement of openness and the increasing concerns over the security of facilities? Are there organisations that have successfully changed from a technical- to a customer-focused culture? What resistance was met? Which tools and instruments helped organisations evolve?

This report documents the changes observed by RWM managers and sets those changes in an organisational sciences framework. All those who are intent on learning about the changes that have taken place in the field of radioactive waste management, or whose own organisations in any sector must adapt to societal demand, will be interested by the experience and insight reported here.

This publication is also available in French as: Changements culturels et organisationnels dans les organismes de gestion des déchets radioactifs - Enseignements tirés: http://www.nea.fr/html/rwm/reports/2007/nea6181-culturel.pdf

Extraído de: http://www.nea.fr/html/pub/ret.cgi?id=new#6180

The Measurement, Reporting, and Managementof Radiation Dose in CT
American Association of Physicists in Medicine, January 2008, 34 p.

Since the introduction of helical computed tomography (CT) in the early 1990s, the technology and capabilities of CT scanners have changed tremendously (helical and spiral CT are equivalent technologies; for consistency, the term “helical” will be used throughout). The introduction of dual-slice systems in 1994 and multislice systems in 1998 (four detector arrays along the z-axis) has further accelerated the implementation of many

new clinical applications. The number of slices, or data channels, acquired per axial rotation has increased, with 16- and 64-slice systems now available (as well as models having 2, 6, 8, 10, 32, and 40 slices). Soon even larger detector arrays and axial coverage per rotation (>4 cm) will be commercially available, with results from a 256-slice scanner having already been published. These tremendous strides in technology have resulted in many changes in the clinical use of CT. These include, but are not limited to, increased use of multiphase exams, vascular and cardiac exams, perfusion imaging, and screening exams (primarily the heart, chest, and colon, but also self-referred “wholebody” screening exams). Each of these applications prompts the need for discussion of radiation risk versus medical benefit. In addition, the public press in the United States, following publication by the American Journal of Roentgenology of two articles, on risks to pediatric patients from CT, has begun to scrutinize radiation dose levels from all CT examinations. Subsequent reports in the popular media have increased the concern of patients and parents of pediatric patients undergoing medically appropriate CT examinations. The importance of radiation dose from x-ray CT has been underscored recently by the attention given in the scientific literature to issues of dose and the associated risk. The dose levels imparted in CT exceed those from conventional radiography and fluoroscopy and the use of CT continues to grow, often by 10% to 15% per year. According to 2006 data, approximately 62 million CT examinations were performed in hospitals and outpatient imaging facilities in the United States. Thus, CT will continue to contribute a significant portion of the total collective dose delivered to the public from medical procedures involving ionizing radiation. The rapid evolution of CT technology and the resultant explosion in new clinical applications, including cardiac CT, combined with the significance of CT dose levels, have created a compelling need to teach, understand, and use detailed information regarding CT dose. All of these factors have created a need for the AAPM to provide professional, expert guidance regarding matters related to CT dose. Fundamental definitions of CT dose parameters require review and, perhaps reinterpretation, as CT technology evolves: some parameter definitions are not being used consistently, some are out of date, and some are more relevant than others with respect to patient risk or newer scanner designs.

Extraído de: http://www.aapm.org/pubs/reports/RPT_96.pdf

The Economics of Nuclear Energy Markets and the Future of International Security
University of Pennsylvania, January 2008, 42 p.

This paper discusses the evolution of nuclear energy markets and key drivers of the growing "nuclear renaissance." We focus on uranium, the largest part of the nuclear fuel markets, and analyze market demand, supply, and prices since the 1970s. We review the forces impacting this market—historically and prospectively—and note proliferation concerns surrounding nuclear energy: i.e. the same facilities that enrich uranium for electricity generation can also enrich it further for nuclear

weapons. We discuss proposals currently being offered by the international community to counter this proliferation challenge and propose a complementary solution: the development of a market-based approach that relies on what has become the largest industry in the world, insurance and finance. We analyze the feasibility of such an “Insure to Assure” approach, developed in conjunction with the public sector, and its implications for international security and nuclear energy markets (including the possible commoditization of enriched uranium).

Extraído de:
http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/risk/library/WP2008-01-08,EMK,DD_ENEM.pdf

Establishing a Code of Ethics for Nuclear Operating Organizations Report 
IAEA Nuclear Energy Series, 4 January 2008, 29 p.

A code of ethics is a standard that governs and guides ethical behaviour of an organization towards its employees, and interactions between the organization and its external stakeholders. This publication is intended to explain the benefits for nuclear industry operating organizations of having a well functioning code of ethics, to propose areas that should be considered for inclusion in a nuclear industry operating organization’s code of ethics, and to explain how to develop,

implement and sustain such a code. This publication is addressed primarily to senior managers of nuclear industry operating organizations and will prove useful to those in the nuclear industry that are establishing a code of ethics or benchmarking their existing practices.

Extraído de: http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PubDetails.asp?pubId=7823

Scientific Issues and Emerging Challenges for Radiological Protection
Report of the Expert Group on the Implications of Radiological Protection Science
Nuclear Energy Agency - NEA, 21 November 2007, 120 p.

Scientific knowledge is constantly evolving as more advanced technologies become available and more in-depth research is carried out. Given the potential implications that new findings could have on policy decisions, in 1998 the NEA Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) performed a survey of state-of-the-art research in radiological protection

science. This study suggested that, while the current system of radiological protection was well-underpinned by scientific understanding, growing knowledge in several areas could seriously impact policy and regulation. Ten years later, the CRPPH has again performed a survey of state-of-the-art research which reiterates and clarifies its earlier conclusions.

This report summarises the results of this latest CRPPH assessment of radiological protection science. Specifically, it explains that knowledge of non-targeted and delayed effects, as well as of individual sensitivity, have been significantly refined over the past ten years. Although at this point there is still no scientific certainty in these areas, based on the most recent studies and results, the report strongly suggests that policy makers and regulatory authorities should consider possible impacts that could arise from research in the next few years. Further, the report identifies research areas that should be supported to more definitively answer scientific questions having the most direct impacts on policy choices.

Extraído de: http://www.nea.fr/html/pub/ret.cgi?id=new#6167

Nuclear Power in a Warming World
Union of Concerned Scientists, December 2007, 82 p.

Because nuclear energy results in few heat-trapping emissions, an expansion of the nuclear industry could help curtail global warming. But a new report by UCS shows that safety and security risks—including a massive release of radiation due to an accident or terrorist attack—would also accompany an expansion of nuclear power unless the industry, regulators, and Congress adopt reforms.

La Dissuasion Nucleaire en 2030
Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, Décembre 2006, 58 p.

Cette étude consiste en une analyse prospective sur l’avenir à long terme de l’arme nucléaire, et notamment sur l’avenir de la dissuasion nucléaire française après 2015. L’horizon temporel retenu est 2025-2030. Il s’agit notamment d’essayer de réfléchir à ce que pourrait être le « monde nucléaire » de la première partie du XXIème siècle, au-delà de l’horizon des décisions de modernisation déjà prévues ou envisagées, et d’en tirer des conséquences pour la dissuasion française.

Because environmental protection is now a global issue, and an issue that impacts upon human activities in many different ways, all forms of actual or potential threats to the environment are a cause of concern, or of action, or of regulation, and this includes ionising radiation. In May 2000, the Commission therefore decided to set up a Task Group, reporting directly to it, chaired by Lars-Erik Holm, to address these issues. The final report of the

Task Group was accepted in 2002 and published as A Framework for Assessing the Impact of Ionising Radiation on Non-Human Species, ICRP Publication 91, in 2003. The Task Group considered (a) that a broader framework for radiation protection of the environment needed to be developed, and (b) that it should be sufficiently flexible to be applied within the context of the many existing and varied global approaches to environmental management generally, and to environmental protection in particular. It also considered that such an approach should relate as closely as possible to the current system for human radiological protection, and that these joint objectives could therefore best be met by the development of a limited number of Reference Animals and Plants.

The work of the ICRP Task Group on Environmental Protection: The Concept and Use of Reference Animals and Plants is nearing completion. The final draft report provides the practical basis for consideration of non-human species in radiological protection.  The ICRP would greatly appreciate comments and suggestions on this draft document.  It can be downloaded
from the ICRP Web Site.  Comments should be provided on the ICRP Web Site comment page. Input must be provided no later than Friday 28 March.

Extraído de: http://www.icrp.org/docs/RAP_Report(C1to8)draft_Dec2007a.pdf