ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

This Page:

• Introduction
• REMPAN Infrastructure
• REMPAN Objectives and Main Activities
• REMPAN in Australia
• ARPANSA Radiation Emergency Response
• Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute
• PMCI Services and Responses
• Manual on the Medical Management of Individuals Involved in Radiation Accidents
• Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS)

Introduction

As the lead United Nations agency for health issues, the World Health Organization has accepted the responsibility for shaping, coordinating and putting into operation health-related emergency assistance programs at the global level.

REMPAN Infrastructure

For the promotion of radiation emergency medical preparedness and for practical assistance and advice to countries in the case of overexposure from any source of radiation, WHO has established a network of collaborating centres - REMPAN.

At present REMPAN consists of 13 WHO Collaborating Centres located in specialized radiological institutions in Armenia, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, the Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Ukraine and USA. There are also 3 Liaison Institutions in China, Finland and India.

REMPAN Objectives and Main Activities

The primary objectives of REMPAN are

• To promote the preparedness for radiation accidents among WHO Member States;
• To provide advice and assistance in the case of a radiation accident and radiological emergency;
• To assist in follow-up studies and rehabilitation

REMPAN in Australia

The functions and titles of the Collaborating Centres vary slightly from one country to another. The Australian Radiation Laboratory (ARL) and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute have formed a WHO Collaborating Centre for Radiation Protection and Radiation Emergency Medical Assistance (CRPREMA) since 1985. In February 1999, ARL combined with the Nuclear Safety Bureau to form the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA). This new Federal Government agency is responsible for protecting the health and safety of Australian from the harmful effects of radiation, both ionizing and non-ionizing. The Agency seeks to promote uniformity of radiation protection and nuclear safety practices within Australia and to provide expert advice to Government and to the community on radiation matters.

ARPANSA continues to maintain a lead role in Australian Government planning for radiation emergencies. These plans cover visits by nuclear powered warships (NPW), reentry of radioactive space debris and response to radiation emergencies for the test reactor at Lucas Heights. A more recent consideration involves the dispersal of radioactivity from a terrorist incident. ARPANSA's role in these plans falls into four main areas: radiation emergency medical preparedness, health physics response, environmental monitoring and nuclear safety and risk assessments.

Its functions with respect to radiation exposures and contamination arising from accidents include:

• helping Member States in elaborating their plans for medical preparedness;
• promoting training of personnel in developing countries in medical preparedness and first aid;
• defining optimal methods for diagnosis or treatment of over-exposure; and
• providing medical assistance to exposed persons both on site and in specialised clinics, subject to bilateral agreement between Australia and the country(s) concerned.

ARPANSA Radiation Emergency Response

ARPANSA maintains two offices with Scientific (Melbourne) and Regulatory (Sydney) units. Radiation Emergency Planning is coordinated by the Health Physics Section of the Environmental and Radiation Health Branch, Melbourne. The coordination of Commonwealth response to State requests for radiation emergency support is through Emergency Management Australia (EMA).

In the event of a radiation accident or radiation emergency, and when requested by the responsible State or Commonwealth authorities, ARPANSA can provide Health Physics Advisors and Health Physics monitoring teams.

In 1989, ARPANSA (then the Australian Radiation Laboratory) was designated jointly with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute as a Collaborating Centre for Radiation Protection and Radiation Emergency Medical Assistance (CRPREMA), and is a member of the WHO Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network. This role requires that ARPANSA assist in training and dissemination of information on response to radiation accidents and emergencies, as well as respond to WHO requests for assistance for radiation accidents and emergencies in neighbouring countries. (REAC/TS in the US is also a member of REMPAN.)

Through ANSTO, ARPANSA are part of the IAEA EMERCON Network for assistance in international response to radiation emergency.

ARPANSA maintains an Australia-wide network of fallout monitoring stations as part of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) network of monitoring stations.

ARPANSA maintains extensive radiation resources, mainly in Melbourne. These include

• Health Physics radiation monitoring kits (10)
• GPS-based contamination mapping systems (4)
• Air sampling kits and portable Hi-Vol samplers.
• Field gamma spectroscopy (HpGe)
• Mobile field health physics laboratory
• Facilities for the radio analysis of environmental and other samples ( food, water, etc)
• Facilities for whole-body radiation monitoring of exposed individuals
• Computer models for the assessment of radiation dose following a radiation release.

Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute

Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute is Australias foremost cancer treatment centre and is the largest radiation oncology facility in the southern hemisphere. It provides the medical input to the Australian CRPREMA for REMPAN. Historically Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute was established as a free standing radiation oncology institute and has developed associated cancer treatment services since then. Hence the hospital does not have accident and emergency services or general medical and surgical facilities on site but collaborates with the other general hospitals in Melbourne for these services. However a comprehensive range of radiation oncology services, haematology and medical oncology facilities are available supported by a large health physics staff and research facilities.

The Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (PMCI) has 135 registered acute care beds. The medical staff comprises of:

• 24 EFT Radiation oncologists
• 8 EFT Medical Oncologists
• 4 EFT Haemtologists

In Australia, health care services are organised on a state level. The Federal government provides a global sum of money to each state for health care. The State government decides how that money is allocated for particular services and which hospitals provide particular facilities for the Australian population.

Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute has 2 roles in response to radiation accidents:

• State (Victorian) Disaster Plans
• In association with ARPANSA, National & International Role

PMCI Services and Responses

• Dose / Exposure estimation and medical assessment
• Advice on decontamination and treatment
• Management of patients with radiation sickness
• Risk assessment regarding radiation-induced complications
• Advice to other medical practitioners on management of radiation injuries/complications

All sophisticated medical treatments are available in each state, at least within each capital city. Whilst all these facilities are not available in any one hospital they can be accessed as needed for particular patients medical requirements. Expert advice on radiation medicine is available in each state but it is most probable that the first line medical response in a radiation accident in Australia would be the local acute general hospital. This is appropriate as these hospitals manage acute trauma routinely. In the event of accidents involving radiation, these hospitals can access the physics and radiation medicine advice they need by contacting the local state radiation centre or via ARPANSA.

Manual on the Medical Management of Individuals Involved in Radiation Accidents

The purpose of this Manual is to assist physicians, particularly those in accident and emergency departments of hospitals, nurses and medical and health physicists in the medical management of individuals who have been involved in radiation accidents. Medical administrators should also find it helpful in planning for action to be taken within a hospital when such individuals are admitted to the hospital.

For medical personnel it will enable them to more effectively manage people who are involved in radiation accident/emergency situations and to take into account the risks arising from different radiation sources. It will also give a better appreciation of the essential elements of a hospital's response plans for radiation emergencies and the adoption of disaster plans for multiple casualties.

For health physicists it will enable them to become aware of the different diagnostic and treatment modalities and gave them a better appreciation of pre-hospital and hospital emergency plans. In turn, they should be able to organise a more appropriate health physics response.

Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS)

Since its formation in 1976, the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/ Training Site has provided support to the U. S. Department of Energy, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the medical management of radiation accidents. A 24- hour emergency response program at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), REAC/ TS trains, consults, or assists in the response to all types of radiation accidents or incidents. The Center's specially trained team of physicians, nurses, health physicists, radiobiologists, and emergency coordinators is prepared around- the- clock to provide assistance on either the local, national, or international level.

Designated a WHO Collaborating Center in 1980, REAC/ TS is recognized around the world for its expertise and is called upon to assist the global community in providing medical care to radiation accident victims, either directly or indirectly as consultants. REAC/ TS staff bring this valuable experience to the classroom in their delivery of several different training courses that address the medical aspects of radiation accident management. Taught both at the unique REAC/ TS facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and at the various hospitals and nuclear facilities across the country, these courses train physicians, physicians' assistants, nurses, health physicists, and others who may have to respond to a radiation accident. Through lectures, discussions, and exercises, these participants learn the roles they play in the medical management of a radiation accident.

For more information on REAC/ TS, e-mail cooleyp@orau.gov or write: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education REAC/ TS

Attn: Pat Cooley
P. O. Box 117, MS 39
Oak Ridge, TN 37831- 0117
Phone: +1 865 576 3131
FAX: +1 865 576 9522

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