Radiation Physicist

Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) is the area surrounding a nuclear power plant for which plans required by the NRC have been made in advance to ensure that prompt and effective actions are taken to protect the health and safety of the public in case of an incident. There is a plume exposure pathway EPZ which extends about 10 miles in radius around a plant. Its primary concern is the exposure of the public to, and the inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination. The ingestion pathway EPZ extends about 50 miles in radius around a plant. Its primary concern is the ingestion of food and liquid that is contaminated by radioactivity.

High-level radioactive waste: the radioactive material resulting from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. This can include liquid waste directly produced in reprocessing or any solid material derived from the liquid waste having a sufficient concentration of fission . Other radioactive materials can be designated as high-level waste if they require permanent isolation. This determination is made by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the basis of criteria established in U.S. law.

Demonstrates a patient-centered approach to developing treatment plans.

Cesium-137 (Cs-137) has a half-life of 30.17 years and decays by beta and gamma radiation. Cs-137 is produced by nuclear fission for use in medical devices and gauges and is one of the byproducts of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing. Small quantities of Cs-137 can be found in the environment from nuclear weapons tests that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s and from nuclear reactor accidents, such as the Chernobyl power plant accident in 1986, which distributed Cs-137 to many countries in Europe. (HHS/CDC)

Decay chain (decay series) is the series of decays that certain radioisotopes go through before reaching a stable form. For example, the decay chain that begins with uranium-238 (U-238) ends in lead-206 (Pb-206) after forming isotopes, such as uranium-234 (U-234), thorium-230 (Th-230), radium-226 (Ra-226), and radon-222 (Rn-222).

Healthcare workers in a hospital or other facility where victims arrive for treatment. First receivers provide medical care at locations remote from the incident and not at the site of a hazardous materials release. Since victims may arrive for treatment still contaminated with hazardous materials, first receivers must also protect themselves by putting on appropriate PPE before delivering medical care.

A level of exposure to airborne contaminants likely to cause death; immediate or delayed permanent adverse health effects; or prevent escape from such an environment. IDLH values are considered a maximum level above which only a highly reliable breathing apparatus providing maximum worker protection is permitted.

Non-ionizing radiation: radiation that has lower energy levels and longer wavelengths than ionizing radiation. It is not strong enough to affect the structure of atoms it contacts but is strong enough to heat tissue and can cause harmful biological effects. Examples include radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and infrared from a heat lamp.

A radiation detection and measuring instrument consisting of a gas-filled tube containing electrodes, between which an electrical voltage but no current flows. When ionizing radiation passes through the tube, a short, intense pulse of current passes from the negative electrode to the positive electrode and is measured or counted. The number of pulses per second measures the intensity of the radiation field. Geiger counters are the most commonly used portable radiation detection instruments.

Dose reconstruction scientific procedures that assist with 4 activities - managing victims of radiation emergencies, such as providing input to decisions on protection of emergency workers and members of the public or medical treatment of exposed individuals; providing exposed individuals or populations with information about the doses they received; investigating dose-response relationships in epidemiologic studies; determining whether individuals whose disease might have been induced by radiation qualify for compensation.

Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) The Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) is also known as Radiation Sickness. A person exposed to radiation will develop ARS only if the radiation dose was high, penetrating (e.g., x-rays or gamma rays), encompassed most or all of the body, and was received in a short period of time. Clinical severity of the four subsyndromes of ARS (hematopoietic, cutaneous, gastrointestinal, and neurovascular) will vary with dose and host factors (e.g., young or old age, immunosuppression, and medical co-morbidity--especially extensive trauma and burns).

Committed dose equivalent (CDE) The dose to a specific organ or tissue that is received from an intake of radioactive material by an individual over a specified time after the intake. For radiation protection purposes, the specified time is to the age of 70, which is normally taken to be 50 years for a radiation worker and 70 years for a member of the public.

high-energy electromagnetic radiation emitted by certain radionuclides when their nuclei transition from a higher to a lower energy state. These rays have high energy and a short wave-length. All gamma rays emitted from a given isotope have the same energy, a characteristic that enables scientists to identify which gamma emitters are present in a sample. Gamma rays penetrate tissue farther than do beta or alpha particles but leave a lower concentration of ions in their path to potentially cause cell damage. Gamma rays are very similar to x-rays.

Tests communication and patient-management skills.

An occurrence or event, natural or manmade that requires a response to protect life or property. Incidents can include major disasters, emergencies, terrorist attacks, terrorist threats, civil unrest, wild land and urban fires, floods, hazardous materials spills, nuclear accidents, aircraft accidents, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical storms, tsunamis, war-related disasters, public health and medical emergencies, and other occurrences requiring an emergency response.

Illustrates whether the individual has a competent bedside manner and if they can handle highly emotional situations without becoming flustered.

Cumulative dose the total dose resulting from repeated or continuous exposures of the same portion of the body, or of the whole body, to ionizing radiation.

A traveling wave motion that results from changing electric and magnetic fields. Types of electromagnetic radiation range from those of short wavelength, like x-rays and gamma rays, through the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions, to radar and radio waves of relatively long wavelengths.

Lead federal agency (LFA) the federal agency that leads and coordinates the emergency response activities of other federal agencies during a nuclear emergency. After a nuclear emergency, the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan