Author: Ranjini Unnikrishnan

RED² NSSPI student evaluates exposure rates for triage following fission product release events

Check out our latest publication in the Health Physics Journal co-authored by RED² and NSSPI Ph.D. student, Ethan Asano. In the event of a radiological incident, the release of fission products into the surrounding environment and the ensuing external contamination present a challenge for triage assessment by emergency response personnel. Reference exposure rate and skin dose rate calibration data for emergency response personnel are currently lacking for cases where receptors are externally contaminated with fission products.

Mathematical skin phantoms were created using surface area and height specifications from International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 89. Simulations were conducted using Monte Carlo radiation transport code using newborn, 1-y-old, 5-y-old, 10-y-old, 15-y-old, and adult phantoms for 22 photon-emitting radionuclides. Exposure rate coefficient data were employed in a case study simulating the radionuclide inventory for a 17 × 17 Westinghouse pressurized water reactor, following three burn-up cycles.

The resulting data can be used as calibration standards for triage efforts in emergency response protocols resulting in populations with external contamination. This work was conducted under the support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

For further information on radiological emergency response for both members of the public and professionals, check out the CDC website.

ORIGEN-ARP/SCALE 6.3 generated activity inventory for fission products of interest as a function of decay time postrelease following three 1-y burn-up cycles at 14,600 MWd MTU−1 for a 17  17 Westinghouse PWR.

 

RED² Professor, Dewji, receives NSF ADVANCE Scholars Program Award

Congratulations to RED² professor, Dr. Shaheen Dewji, for being selected for the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Scholars Program at Texas A&M University. The ADVANCE Scholars Program is a faculty mentoring program designed to promote and advance the success of tenure-track faculty who have been historically underrepresented at Texas A&M University and in higher education. This Program is anchored in our Aggie Core Values that continuously challenge us to embrace, value, and integrate diversity and inclusion as the roadmap to achieving academic and institutional excellence. As such, the ADVANCE Scholars Program is a key component of our efforts at Texas A&M University to support the recruitment, retention, and academic success of our faculty. Through systemic approaches to increasing their professional advancement, this Program contributes to the development of an exceptional and more diverse faculty.

Participants are afforded access to invaluable academic and professional development experiences to advance their careers as scholars. The Program focuses on cultivating opportunities for personal and professional growth by addressing issues that adversely affect satisfaction, effectiveness, and retention of historically underrepresented groups in higher education. Texas A&M University recognizes that creating a more equitable climate contributes to a positive environment for the students we serve, and the university as a whole.

 

RED² evaluates radiation risk to hotel workers handling contaminated linens from I-131 therapy patients

Check out our latest publication in the Health Physics Journal authored by RED² student, Chase Foreman, which evaluates the external radiation dose to hotel workers handling contaminated bed linens from I-131 therapy patients.

Patients administered I-131 as a part of medical therapy will frequently stay in a hotel during their isolation period to avoid exposing family members. However, dosimetric estimates to hotel workers handling potentially contaminated bed linens due to I-131 radionuclide therapy has not been considered.

In the scope of Foreman’s work, calculations of external dose rate coefficients were conducted for hotel housekeepers handling bed linens used by potentially contaminated by patients administered I-131. Detailed simulations consider both the tissue and material attenuation of radiation through the use of anthropomorphic phantoms, as well as considering the biokinetic body burden to determine the time-dependent excretion of I-131 from the patient’s body.

Foreman graduated with his B.S. in Nuclear Engineering and minor in Radiological Health in Spring 2019 from TAMU and is currently pursuing his DMP in Medical Physics at UT Health – San Antonio.

Dewji Joins Group to Argue for Renewal of DOE Low-Dose Radiation Research Program

Original article: https://nsspi.tamu.edu/dewji-joins-group-to-argue-for-renewal-of-doe-low-dose-radiation-research-program/

October 22, 2019 | By Kelley Ragusa

On September 24, 2019, NSSPI Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering Dr. Shaheen Dewji participated in an event organized by the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in which experts were called on to discuss resurrecting the Department of Energy (DOE) low-dose radiation research program with congressional staffers. Dr. Dewji joined ANS Washington Representative Craig Piercy, John Starkey of ANS, Dr. David J. Brenner of Columbia University, and Dr. Antone L Brooks, research professor emeritus at Washington State University and one of the former lead scientists of the low-dose radiation research program from 1999-2008 to argue the importance of the program and call for its resurrection.

group photo

Mr. Starkey, Dr. Brenner, Dr. Dewji, Dr. Brooks, and Mr. Piercy in Washington, D.C. to support the resurrecting of the DOE low-dose radiation research program.

The ANS event also included a webinar open to ANS members titled, “Low-dose radiation: What is the science telling us?” The webinar was a discussion by the group of experts aimed at increasing awareness of the program through discussing the health benefits and highlighting low-dose research and development that the continuation of the program could make possible.

The DOE terminated the low-dose radiation research Program in 2016, but the program has continued to garner support not only from members of the scientific community, but also from politicians on both sides of the aisle. In May, the House Appropriations Committee approved a request by the DOE for $10M in funding to support the restart of the program. On October 18, a bipartisan group of Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which included Representatives Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Brian Babin (R-TX) introduced the “Low-Dose Radiation Research Act of 2019.” If approved by the full Congress, the funding would allow for new research in this area that could incorporate the scientific advances made since the suspension of the program.

While low-dose radiation research has many potential applications for health and safety, the importance of this work for nuclear security lies in the realm of emergency preparedness for and response to radiological or nuclear terrorism events.

“Emergency response guidance and regulation, especially in the purview of emergency preparedness and response, requires an accurate evaluation of the detrimental effects following radiological or nuclear terrorism events involving exposures to members of the public, first responders, or military personnel,” argued Dr. Dewji. Moreover, she stated, “The work proposed under a renewed low-dose program is foundational in evaluating radiation risk informing post-event decision making.”

This work could help decision makers evaluate whether shelter-in-place measures or evacuation is more appropriate. In addition, the impact of the work further informs the development of radiation countermeasures following radiological or nuclear events involving exposures from improvised nuclear devices or nuclear weapons, or uptakes from radiological dispersal devices of improvised nuclear device or nuclear weapons fallout.

Recording radiation: Graduate student enhances interpretability of radiation exposure data

September 6, 2019 | By Hannah Conrad

A radiation warning sign

Kalinowski’s developing computational model will give insight into the health and disease effects of extended, low doses of radiation | Image: IG_Royal/Stock-Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Radiation is energy traversing space. Little particles shooting through the air that can be utilized as a means of curing cancer or could cause irreparable damage to a person’s health.

Autumn Kalinowski, a graduate student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University, is developing a computational model that converts raw data and radiation records from thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) badges into more readily useable values for epidemiological studies. As such, her model will produce information that can be utilized to investigate the epidemiological – health and disease – effects of radiation, especially low doses. This ongoing project is part of an internship with Oak Ridge Associated Universities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

RED² student, Autumn Kalinowski, is working on developing a model that can translate the raw database information into a format of values that can be more directly applied to epidemiological studies.

“Anyone who works in a nuclear field and is potentially exposed to radioisotopes, be it technicians, reactor operators or people who work in weapons fabrication or national labs, wears a TLD badge,” said Kalinowski.

These badges are scanned and read periodically throughout the year. The information is culminated annually and the total dose of radiation exposure for each individual is sent to Oak Ridge Associated Universities to be input into a massive database.

“This is so that we can go back and look at individuals and see their exposure over time to monitor it and make sure that it is falling within regulatory limits,” said Kalinowski.

Unfortunately, with how it is currently recorded and formatted, the data cannot be effectively applied to epidemiological studies – limiting how much insight and information can be gained regarding the health effects and disease development of prolonged exposure to low doses of radiation.

So, tackling this issue, Kalinowski is working on developing a model that can translate the raw database information into a format of values that can be more directly applied to epidemiological studies. This will not only be a key element in the advancement of nuclear research, but also stands to have a lasting impact on experts and engineers in the nuclear and medical industries at large. With access to real-world, interpretable data, researchers, industry leaders and others can track and investigate how radiation – especially at low levels – effects workers’ health and disease development over time.

As such, her model will also be a vital tool in better understanding radiation and how to keep workers safe in environments in which they are exposed to radioisotopes.

Having received her bachelor’s degree from the department, Kalinowski said that her experience as a nuclear engineering student at Texas A&M has helped her with her internship.

“The nuclear engineering program is really rigorous in terms of the amount of work that you do in your undergraduate and graduate degree. All the classes are super intense, and in order to do well in them, you have to have a strong, motivated work ethic and be willing to put the hours in to get it done,” said Kalinowski. “Learning how to work with tight deadlines and how to juggle priorities really helped prepare me for my internship and make sure I could get everything done while I was on site.”

Kalinowski was introduced to key movers and shakers at Oak Ridge Associated Universities by Dr. Shaheen Dewji, assistant professor in the nuclear engineering department.

“My advice is to talk to your professors and see if they know anyone that they can put you in contact with to start pursuing internships because this experience – that I’m very fortunate that Dr. Dewji helped me find – opened up a whole new world of options for me,” said Kalinowski.