News Archive

Latha Vasudevan, Section President

AIRRS Section roundtable, top left to right, Ruth McBurney, Caitlin Root, Latha Vasudevan, and Alex Bakken, bottom, Alan Jackson
Photos courtesy of Latha Vasudevan

The Academic, Industrial, and Research Radiation Safety (AIRRS) Section conducted its third consecutive roundtable special session at the 67th Health Physics Society (HPS) Annual Meeting on 21 July 2022. This year there were four panelists (subject matter experts) who initiated engaging conversations on four different topics encompassing areas in private industry, academia, research, and a cadre of contemporary challenging issues confronting today's health physicists.

The first panelist was Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD) Executive Director Ruth McBurney, CHP. She started the discussion on decommissioning issues from the CRCPD standpoint and showed some slides of actual site decommissioning and site remediation. Alan Jackson, CHP, radiation safety officer for the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, was the next panelist (virtual) and he discussed issues associated with health physicist retention and staffing challenges in the industry today. The third panelist was Alex Bakken, radioisotope research & development (R&D) specialist at Niowave, Inc., in Lansing, Michigan. He discussed challenges and issues facing R&D related to isotope production. The final, speaker was Caitlin Root, a safety advisor at Yale University and secretary/treasurer of the AIRRS Section. She discussed the challenges and developments in radiation safety culture.

AIRRS Section President Latha Vasudevan, PhD, CHP, served as the moderator for this year's special session. The AIRRS Section supported early-career member Ian Parker who monitored the chat room function virtually. Parker is a radiological engineer for Newtech Environmental Solutions.

All the panelists presented their topics in an organized fashion and created a very vibrant and interactive atmosphere. Several thoughtful questions and comments came from the audience who also shared their experiences and challenges. Altogether, the special session was very well attended with almost 40 attendees including in-person and virtual participants. AIRRS thanks the panelists and all those who participated in the interactive session.

Carl Tarantino, left, and Latha Vasudevan at the AIRRS Section business meeting
Photo courtesy of Latha Vasudevan

The special session was immediately followed by the AIRRS Section business meeting where the newly elected board members were announced. AIRRS Section Past President Carl Tarantino, CHP, thanked all the outgoing board members and welcomed the incoming members. A discussion of the future initiatives of AIRRS followed. The first AIRRS "Outstanding Radiation Safety Program Award" was awarded to the University of Massachusetts Lowell. University Radiation Safety Officer Steven Snay and two of his team members were present during the meeting. The award plaque was sent to the university.

AIRRS members are encouraged to visit the section's website to read and learn of historical and current activities, board meeting correspondences, etc. The AIRRS board invites its members to be proactive in submitting noteworthy articles, industry experiences, photos, videos, links to webinars/webcasts, or other items that deal with academia, industry, research, and any radiation safety related initiatives. Further, the AIRRS board solicits and encourages member comments to enhance AIRRS mission and offer suggestions for future activities. If any member wishes to participate in a board meeting, usually conducted using the Zoom platform, contact any board officer to be included in the invitee list for the meeting.