The first order of business for this newsletter is to thank our newsletter editor, Linnea Wahl, for spear-heading the revamping of the Accelerator Section's website. If you haven’t looked at it yet, be sure to bookmark it under your favorites. She and Ruedi Birenheide have done a super job. Check back often, as we will be adding more information on the upcoming midyear.
The Accelerator Section is delighted to co-host the 2008 midyear meeting along with the Northern California Chapter of the Health Physics Society (NCCHPS). Our section is charged with developing the technical program for the meeting. One condition regarding the awarding of this meeting site was that we would have to appeal to a broader community than just the accelerator populations. We need to reach out to the industrial and medical communities. Therefore, we are looking for contact persons who can reach these communities. Kindly send all contact information to President-Elect Scott Walker. Additionally, we are looking for a catchy title that will generate broad appeal. The 1997 meeting in San Jose (which the society tells us was not a financial success) was simply titled "X-Ray Generating Machines."
We have requested a special accelerator session for the 2006 annual meeting to be held in Providence, Rhode Island, June 25-29, 2006. Scott Walker will give you more information on the upcoming call for abstracts. We are hoping to have an all-day session, beginning with a minisymposium. There would be a keynote lecture (45 minutes) followed by two invited 30-minute papers. So, please get those abstracts out so that we really can fill in the entire day with an excellent program, as we conclude the 50th anniversary of the Health Physics Society.
Please let me know whether you will be attending the 2006 midyear in Arizona. Louisiana is still under budget and travel freezes as a result of the recent hurricanes. However, it would be beneficial to meet as a group just to make sure we cover all the bases for the annual meeting. My e-mail remains day@lsu.edu.
The Health Physics Society, as a whole, is continuing to look at the human capital crisis of health physics professionals. As a society, we are aging and attracting fewer into the profession. Nowhere is that more evident than in the special field of accelerators. Part of the impetus to initiate the H. Wade Patterson Award was to entice young individuals who are training in health physics to consider specializing in accelerator health physics. This field offers new and exciting operational health physics problems that will continue to proliferate as machines grow in size, scope, complexity, and energy. It would be especially interesting to interact with our international colleagues to see whether they are facing similar problems and how they are planning to fill the gap as others retire. Today, some positions remain unfilled, even after one year. We must look to the future and we must formulate a plan of action. Kindly e-mail me if you would like to participate in a task force to study this particular dilemma.
Last month, I received the following U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fact sheet on accelerators from our congressional liaison, Keith Dinger. OSHA was apparently not receptive to comments, but I include it in this transmission for your perusal. I have no publication date set for the document, either.
What is an accelerator?
An accelerator is a linear or circular device that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to increase the speed, and thus the energy, of charged particles (molecular, atomic, or subatomic) that then collide with each other or a target. The beam of charged particles' interaction with matter releases subatomic particles that can then be used in numerous ways. Two simple examples of an accelerator are a conventional television picture tube where electrons are accelerated to produce a desired image directly on a phosphor screen or an x-ray tube where electrons are accelerated to a target that yields x-rays that produce a desired image on a film or phosphor screen.
Who regulates accelerators?
Federal OSHA currently regulates employee safety and health pertaining to hazards associated with accelerator operations. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 now requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to regulate accelerator produced materials. The NRC is currently doing the rulemaking that will implement the newly assigned responsibility for accelerator produced material. OSHA maintains regulatory authority related to occupational safety and health hazards associated with accelerator operations other than those associated with radiation exposure from the accelerator produced radioactive materials. In states that have OSHA-approved state programs, the state occupational safety and health program must be at least as stringent as Federal OSHA standards.
What are accelerators used for?
Accelerators were once devoted almost exclusively to physics research. They are now commonly used for
What are the types of accelerators?
Accelerators come in a wide range of sizes and energy, from low-energy tabletop medical accelerators to high-energy accelerators whose dimensions are measured in miles. Several types of accelerators exist. They include deuterium-tritium generators, Cockcroft-Walton accelerators, Van de Graaff accelerators, linear accelerators, and circular accelerators (e.g., cyclotrons, synchrotrons, betatrons). There are approximately 4,000 particle accelerators in the United States that range from small and simple to very large and complex.
What are some safety and health hazards associated with working at an accelerator facility?
Electrical hazards are common due to high voltage and electrical cable systems needed for accelerator operations. Some accelerators present a potential oxygen-deficient atmosphere in confined spaces. There is potential for electrical fires and concerns about emergency egress because of the volume and nature of supporting electrical systems and accelerator tunnel structures. Ionizing radiation hazards of accelerator operations are associated with the active beam and the target. The radiation from the beam dissipates quickly once the beam is deactivated and radiation generated from the target is generally low level. In addition, accelerator maintenance and upgrade periods present additional conventional and nonconventional hazards. While the list below is not intended to be comprehensive, it does provide samples of important considerations to ensure safe operations at accelerator facilities.
What are some basic safety considerations important for conducting work at an accelerator facility?
For more information