Latest Radiation protection Stories

The Phantom Torso is back, and he has quite a story to tell.He's an armless, legless, human-shaped torso, a mannequin that looks like he's wrapped in a mummy's bandages. Scientists at the European Space Agency call him Matroshka, and like his NASA counterpart Fred, this mannequin is an intrepid space traveler. Now that he's spent four months on the International Space Station, scientists are learning about the space radiation that Matroshka endured.Lessons learned from Fred and Matroshka have...

Alien creatures are the least of NASA's worries when it comes to moon travel. There are several potential threats to future missions "“ with space radiation at the top of the list. Now, a group of students at North Carolina State University has developed a "blanket" of sorts that covers lunar outposts "“ the astronauts' living quarters "“ to provide astronauts protection against radiation while also generating and storing power.Astronauts who previously traveled to the moon...

 Patients who undergo numerous CT scans over their lifetime may be at increased risk for cancer, according to a study published in the April issue of Radiology."We found that while most patients accrue small cumulative cancer risks, 7 percent of the patients in our study had enough recurrent CT imaging to raise their estimated cancer risk by 1 percent or more above baseline levels," said Aaron Sodickson, M.D., Ph.D., assistant director of Emergency Radiology at Brigham and...

A new report released Tuesday by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) finds that Americans are exposed to seven times more radiation from diagnostic scans today than they were in 1980.The figures support other evidence that doctors are ordering too many diagnostic tests, increasing healthcare costs and potentially harming patients.A July study by the Government Accountability Office found Medicare spending on imaging doubled to nearly $14 billion annually...

RESTON, Va., March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A recent National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) report stated that the U.S. population is now exposed to seven times more radiation each year from medical imaging exams than in 1980. The American College of Radiology (ACR), Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR), Society of Breast Imaging (SBI), and the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance (SCBT-MR) urge Americans, including elected officials and...

BETHESDA, Md., March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In 2006, Americans were exposed to more than seven times as much ionizing radiation from medical procedures as was the case in the early 1980s, according to a new report on population exposure released March 3rd by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) at its annual meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2006, medical exposure constituted nearly half of the total radiation exposure of the U.S. population from all...

Minimal radiation was detected in equipment on the wreck of a Russian cruiser that has foundered on the Norwegian coast for 14 years, government officials say. The Murmansk ended up on the rocks outside Sorvaer in 1994 when it was being towed to India for salvage, Aftenposten reported Sunday. Government inspectors had determined the wreck was safe and radiation-free but then equipment taken from the ship for possible recycling set off radiation detectors. We have a zero tolerance for...

By McKenzie, Lawrence J The nuclear energy industry faces a critical shortage of workers over the next five years. According to Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) surveys conducted in 2004 and 20051, up to 23,000 workers may be eligible to retire, representing 40 percent of all jobs in the sector. Additionally, nearly half of industry employees are more than 47 years old and as of 2007, less than 4 percent of the nuclear technician workforce is under the age of 33. To meet the current and future...

By Jim Wyss, The Miami Herald Jul. 14--Ronald DeMeo places a radioactive wafer about the size of a silver dollar on his desk and waves a handheld Geiger counter over it. The machine chatters wildly, the numbers on the readout spin upward and visitors instinctively lean back. But when the Coral Gables doctor covers the disc, which is designed for materials testing and quite safe, with a thin piece of fabric, the numbers dive and the noise from the Geiger dips to a low growl. It's an...

For decades, we have been told that exposure to radiation is dangerous. In high doses it is certainly lethal and chronic exposure is linked to the development of cancer. But, what if a short-term controlled exposure to a low dose of radiation were good for our health. Writing in today's issue of the Inderscience publication the International Journal of Low Radiation, Don Luckey, makes the startling claim that low dose radiation could be just what the doctor ordered!Luckey, an emeritus...