Answer to Question #68 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

Can you recommend current HP texts for undergrads?

A

I recommend the following texts. Which would be the most appropriate for your course depends on the background of the students and the goals that you have for the course.

Radiation Protection, by R.L. Kathren, Medical Physics Handbooks 16, Adam Hilger Ltd. Bristol and Boston, 1985. Prepared for medical physicists and others as an overview of the scientific and engineering bases of ionizing radiation protection.

Basic Health Physics, by Joseph John Bevelacqua, Wiley, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 1999, 212-850-6569 (contact Joanne McKeever). A broad introductory survey of the health physics field. Assumes that the reader is familiar with the physics of radiation protection and is either a student in the field or is interested in learning more about the health physics profession.

Atoms, Radiation, and Radiation Protection, by James E. Turner, Pergamon Press, New York, NY, 1986. The book is written at the senior or beginning graduate level as a text for a one-year course in a curriculum of physics, nuclear engineering, environmental engineering, or an allied discipline.

Radiological Assessment, by Richard E. Faw, J. Kenneth Shultis, PTR Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, 1993. This book emphasizes radiological assessment, which deals with evaluation of radiation doses to individuals and population groups from radiation sources and the dispersal of radioactive materials in the environment.

Introduction to Health Physics, Third Edition, by Herman Cember, McGraw-Hill, Health Professions Division, New York, NY, 1996. The main purpose of this book is to lay the groundwork for attaining competency in health physics.

Radiation Protection, Fourth Edition, by Jacob Shapiro, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2002. This manual explains the principles and practice of radiation protection for those whose work in research or in the field of medicine requires the use of radiation sources. It is designed for a wide spectrum of users, including physicians, research scientists, engineers, and technicians, and it should be useful also to radiation safety officers and members of radiation safety committees who may not be working with the sources directly.

Basic Radiation Protection Technology, Third Edition, by Daniel A. Gollnick, 1994, Pacific Radiation Corporation, 2945 Stonehill Drive, Altadena, CA 91001, 818-798-8100.

Gen Roessler, Editor
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