What:  Radioactive Primer Presentation at the Hanford Advisory Board (HAB) Meeting – Learn radiation basics!

When: 6 p.m., April 8, 2015

Where: Red Lion Hanford House, 802 George Washington Way, Richland, WA  (Columbia/Benton-Franklin Room)

Who:  Richard Bloom, vice-chairman of the HAB’s Health Safety and Environmental Protection (HSEP) Committee, and Dr. Tony Brooks, HSEP member and former head of the DOE low dose program, will present a Radioactive Primer developed by a working group within the HSEP, as well as provide a demonstration of radiological monitoring equipment provided by the Washington State Department of Health.

Why: The presentation is intended to provide a basic understanding of radiological terms and effects.  For example:

• Types, sources and pathways of ionizing radiation
• Ways radiation is measured and the units that are used
• Potential exposure to radiation from different sources
• Radiation regulatory limits and the concept of “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA). 
• How individual doses vary widely from background and medical exposure
• Cancer risk associated with radiation, including the interactions between factors that can lead to greater risk and factors that can act as risk magnifiers
• The linear dose response prediction that cancer risk is present at even extremely low doses
• Differing views on the risks of radiation
• Cancer risk is proportional to exposure, and occupational limits are set at ALARA levels to minimize the risk of cancer in comparison to other risks