Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Title |
|---|---|
| ACDS | Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service |
| ANAO | Australian National Audit Office |
| ANRDR | Australian National Radiation Dose Register |
| ANSTO | Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation |
| APS |
Australian Public Service |
| ARPANSA | Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| CPRs | Commonwealth Procurement Rules |
| CTBT | Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty |
| CTBT | Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty |
| DCB | departmental capital budgets |
| DRLs | diagnostic reference levels |
| EA | Enterprise Agreement |
| FOI | Freedom of Information |
| IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency |
| IPL | intense pulsed light |
| IRRS | Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IAEA) |
| KPIs | key performance indicators |
| NATA | National Association of Testing Authorities |
| NDRP | National Directory for Radiation Protection |
| NRWMF | National Radioactive Waste Management Facility |
| NSC | Nuclear Safety Committee |
| OCEO | Office of the Chief Executive Officer |
| OPAL | Open Pool Australian Lightwater reactor |
| PAES | portfolio additional estimates statements |
| PBS | portfolio budget statement |
| PGPA Act | Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 |
| PRMS | Personal Radiation Monitoring Service |
| RHC | Radiation Health Committee |
| RPS | Radiation Protection Series |
| SES | Senior Executive Service |
| SMC | Strategic Management Committee |
| SME | small and medium enterprises |
| UPF | Ultraviolet Protection Factor |
| UVR | ultraviolet radiation |
| WHS | work health and safety |
Glossary
| Glossary Term | Glossary Definition |
|---|---|
| accident | An unintended event which causes, or has the potential to cause, employees or members of the public to be exposed to radiation from which the individual doses or collective doses received do not lie within the range of variation which is acceptable for normal operation. An accident may result from human error, equipment failure or other mishap; it may require emergency action to save life or to safeguard health, property or the environment; it requires investigation of its causes and consequences and, possibly, corrective action within the program for control of radiation; and it may require remedial action to mitigate its consequences. |
| activity | The measure of quantity of radioactive decay. |
| Australian National Radiation Dose Register | A centralised repository for the radiation dose records of workers as supplied by the employers, maintained by ARPANSA. It is currently limited to those engaged in the uranium mining and milling industry in Australia. |
| Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service (ACDS) | The ACDS is a national independent dosimetry auditing program, providing quality assurance for radiation oncology facilities and patients. |
| Australian Radiation Incident Register (ARIR) | The ARIR is Australia's national database of incidents and events, where radiation or radioactivity was implicated. The purpose of the ARIR is to raise awareness on where, how and why incidents and events occur, and how they can be best prevented. |
| Beryllium Oxide (BeO) Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) | A dosimetric system using OSL of BeO developed by the radiation physics group in Dresden. Blue light LED stimulation and reading of luminescence light with an enclosed photo sensor module are performed from opposite detector sides. A software controls stimulation, records the amplified and digitised photo sensor signal and generates a unified OSL signal. With the help of calibration these OSL signals can be used to specify dose. |
| ConvEx-3 | International Atomic Agency Convention Exercise. This is a full-scale exercise designed to evaluate international emergency response arrangements and capabilities for a severe nuclear or radiological emergency over several days, regardless of its cause. |
| CTBTO Radionuclide Laboratory | A Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization established laboratory. Each laboratory supports the 80-station radionuclide monitoring network and hosts expertise in environmental monitoring. Each provides independent additional analysis of international monitoring system (IMS) samples. The IMS consists of 321 monitoring stations and 16 laboratories built worldwide. These 337 facilities monitor the planet for any sign of a nuclear explosion. |
| diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) | Dose levels for medical exposures in medical radio-diagnostic practices, or levels of activity in the case of radiopharmaceuticals, applied to groups of standard-sized patients or standard phantoms for common types of diagnostic examination and broadly defined types of equipment. These levels are expected not to be consistently exceeded for standard procedures when good and normal practice regarding diagnostic and technical performance is applied. DRLs will be set by relevant professional bodies and published by ARPANSA or the relevant regulatory authority from time to time. |
| dose | A generic term which may mean absorbed dose, equivalent dose or effective dose depending on context. |
| dosimetry | The theory and application of the principles and techniques involved in the measurement, calculation and recording of radiation doses. |
| exposure | The circumstance of being exposed to radiation. |
| Electromagnetic energy |
A form of energy that is reflected or emitted from objects in the form of electrical and magnetic waves that can travel through space. There are many forms of electromagnetic energy including gamma rays, x rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves and radio waves. |
| International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) | The IAEA is the international centre for cooperation in the nuclear field. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. |
| incident | An event which causes, or has the potential to cause, abnormal exposure of employees or of members of the public and which requires investigation of its causes and consequences and may require corrective action within the program for control of radiation, but which is not of such scale as to be classified as an accident. |
| Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) | A peer review and appraisal service offered by the IAEA to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of a national regulatory system in nuclear, radiation, radioactive waste, transport safety and nuclear security. |
| Intense Pulsed Light Devices (IPLs) |
Instruments that use a full spectrum (noncoherent), non-laser, broadband, filtered Xenon flash lamps. Flash lamps emit in the UVR, visible and IR region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The UVR and IR wavelength components of the emissions are blocked using specific cut-off filters. These properties allow for variability in selecting individual treatment parameters and adapting to different skin types. Cosmetic uses of IPLs include hair removal, removal of skin pigmentation, wrinkles and the treatment of certain skin disorders by dermatologists. |
| ionisation | The process by which one or more electrons are removed from, or sometimes added to, an atom leaving the atom in a charged state. |
| ionising radiation | Radiation which is capable of causing ionisation. |
| licence | A written authorisation issued to an operator which allows the operator to carry out an operation legally. |
| medical exposure | Exposure of a person to radiation received as a patient undergoing medical diagnosis or therapy, or as a volunteer in medical research, or non-occupational exposure received as a consequence of assisting an exposed patient. |
| non-ionising radiation | Ranges from extremely low frequency radiation, through the radiofrequency, microwave, and visible portions of the spectrum into the ultraviolet range. |
| occupational exposure |
Exposure of a person to radiation which occurs in the course of that person’s work and excludes the component of exposure that arises from natural background radiation. |
| optimisation | The process of determining what level of radiation protection and safety makes exposures, and the probability and magnitude of potential exposures, as low as reasonably achievable with economic and societal factors being taken into account. |
| National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRMWF) | The proposed NRWMF will only manage waste generated in Australia. It will be designed to permanently dispose of low-level waste and potentially store intermediate-level waste on a temporary basis. The facility will only manage immobilised solid waste. Find out more at arpansa.gov.au/NRWMF-radioactive-waste. |
| radiation | Electromagnetic waves or quanta, and atomic or sub-atomic particles, propagated through space or through a material medium. |
| radioactive material | Material which spontaneously emits ionising radiation as a consequence of radioactive decay. |
| radioactive waste | In Australia, radioactive waste is left after the production of nuclear medicine, research at universities, advanced industrial manufacturing and testing. Other low and intermediate waste types include soil, fire, alarms, exit signs, paper, plastic, glassware and pieces of equipment from radioisotope-producing operations. This waste emits radiation as it decays. |
| radiofrequency | Electromagnetic energy with frequencies in the range 3 kHz to 300 GHz. |
| Radiotherapy calibration | Calibration is the process of configuring an instrument to provide a result for a sample within an acceptable range. ARPANSA provides calibration services for radiotherapy dosemeters. These dosemeters are used by radiotherapy providers to calibrate the output of linear accelerators and kilovoltage X-ray tubes for patient treatment. |
| radiofrequency field | A physical field, which specifies the electric and magnetic states of a medium or free space, quantified by vectors representing the electric field strength and the magnetic field strength. |
| radiofrequency field | A physical field, which specifies the electric and magnetic states of a medium or free space, quantified by vectors representing the electric field strength and the magnetic field strength. |
| radiological or nuclear emergency | An emergency in which there is, or is perceived to be, a hazard due to:
|
| radionuclide |
A species of atomic nucleus which undergoes radioactive decay. |
| Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) | Solar UVR is invisible energy produced by the sun. It’s made up of three wavelengths, UVA, UVB and UVC. Both UVA and UVB can reach the earth’s surface and are classified as human carcinogens. This means they cause cancer. |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi is the name of a popular wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed Internet and network connections. |
| X-ray |
Ionising electromagnetic radiation emitted during the transition of an atomic electron to a lower energy state or during the rapid deceleration of a charged particle. |
