Sun protection is in Australians’ hands with the SunSmart Global UV app, which provides users with local UV forecasts.

Launched in Melbourne by SunSmart this week, the free app aims to reduce skin cancer rates, as well as UV-related eye and sun damage, by providing users with daily sun protection times and 7-day weather and UV forecasts specific to their location. 

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s (ARPANSA) Assistant Director EMR and UVR Exposure Assessment, Dr Stuart Henderson, said he hopes that checking the app will become a daily habit for users, much like remembering to ‘Slip, Slop, Slap, Slide and Shade’.

‘Evidence shows personal habits in relation to sun exposure, including sunscreen use, clothing choice and time spent outdoors, are the most important individual risk factors for UV radiation damage,’ Dr Henderson said.

‘Protecting Australians from the harmful effects of UV radiation is a core part of ARPANSA’s role. The SunSmart Global UV app is an important resource that to inform and empower people to ensure they protect themselves during times of higher UV exposure,’ he said.  

Two out of three Australians will develop some form of skin cancer during their lifetime, which equates to 2,000 deaths every year.

Crucially, this disease is almost entirely preventable with effective sun protection.

‘ARPANSA recommends that sun protection is used whenever the UV Index reaches 3 or above. As the UV Index regularly reaches Very High and Extreme levels through much of the year in Australia, having access to easy-to-use and timely information and alerts through the app will help people better protect themselves and their families from the harmful effects of sun exposure,’ he said.  

App users can also choose to customise alerts for specific times or when sun protection is recommended to take the guesswork out of when to use sun protection.

The app also includes a guide on how best to protect yourself during these times.

Head of Prevention at Cancer Council Victoria, Adjunct Associate Professor Craig Sinclair is urging all Australians to download the SunSmart Global UV app to identify the UV times of the day that puts them at risk of skin damage.

‘We want people to use UV and sun protection times to help guide behaviours, and not rely on the temperature, as you can’t see or feel UV radiation, the damage is often being done before it’s noticed’, Mr Sinclair said.

The app’s development was led by Cancer Council Victoria (CCV) in partnership with ARPANSA, the Bureau of Meteorology and Deakin University’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (A2I2). The app has also been launched internationally with the support of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environmental Programme, the International Labour Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.

The SunSmart Global UV app also provides hourly UV forecasts for over 2,500 locations across the globe and is available in eight languages including English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, German, Italian and Russian.

The SunSmart Global UV app is free to download through the Apple and Google Play app stores.

25 November 2022

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is offering funding to support research that addresses knowledge gaps about health effects from exposure to electromagnetic energy, especially the higher frequencies now being used in wireless technologies like the 5G network.   

ARPANSA’s Radiation Research and Advice Director A/Prof Sarah Loughran says there is currently no established evidence that exposure to radio waves at levels below the safety limits can cause any health effects, but that there are knowledge gaps that require further investigation. 

‘The research we’re supporting helps us to understand the health implications of technologies that use EME,’ A/Prof Loughran said.  

‘One of the projects we are currently supporting is to investigate at what frequency and exposure level changes to biological cells can be observed. 

‘Supporting research in this space means that we can stay at the forefront in Australia and internationally in providing science-based health advice on radio waves.’ 

This funding opportunity is available as part of the Australian government’s enhanced EME program.    

Applications to support major research projects, up to $300,000, are open from 25 November 2022 to 3 February 2023. 

Successful funding applicants will be notified in April 2023.  

In 2022, APRANSA provided over $350,000 worth of funding to support three projects.  

More information about the EME program research framework and the projects we’ve supported can be found on our website.  

21 November 2022

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) officially opened its new $2.35 million anechoic chamber on 17 November 2022.  

ARPANSA’s Radiation Research and Advice Director, Assoc Prof Sarah Loughran, says the new laboratory will allow the agency to undertake health research into the current 5G network and future generations of high-frequency wireless technology. 

‘Our current anechoic chamber can only measure and calibrate equipment up to 8 GHz, and 5G is expected to use radio waves at frequencies well beyond this ' A/Prof Loughran said.  

‘Because of that, it was vitally important that we built a new laboratory to make sure that we are well placed to continue providing science-based health advice to the Australian community on wireless-technology now and into the future.’ 

The new anechoic chamber will be able to calibrate equipment up to 40 GHz and research radio waves up to 100 GHz. 

Upgrading the agency’s EME infrastructure was a key deliverable under its 2020-2024 EME Action Plan.

In late 2020, ARPANSA commenced a tender process and selected a vendor to build its new EME laboratory. 

The new lab replaces ARPANSA’s former anechoic chamber which was built in 1979. 

Subscribe to APRANSA’s EME newsletter to stay up to date with activities and research relating to the action plan. 

ARPANSA Statement of Compliance 2024

The Commonwealth Child Safe Framework (the Framework) aims to protect children and young people from the risk of harm or abuse. The Framework sets minimum standards for Commonwealth entities to create and maintain behaviours and practices that are safe for children.

Under Requirement 4 of the Framework, Commonwealth entities are required to publish an annual statement of compliance with the Framework including an overview of the entity’s child safety risk assessment.

ARPANSA’s Commitment to Child Safety

ARPANSA has a zero-tolerance approach to child exploitation or abuse and we are committed to promoting and maintaining a culture that provides a safe environment for all. We recognise that all adults share the responsibility of preventing the exploitation and abuse of children.

ARPANSA’s Interactions with Children

ARPANSA's purpose is to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation through research, the services we provide and regulation of Commonwealth entities that use radiation. The nature of this work means there is limited interaction with children across the scope of our business activities and functions.

ARPANSA staff will only incidentally interact with children at school presentations, conventions and our Talk to a Scientist program. ARPANSA no longer accepts requests for work experience placements, other than for university students, recognising that such placements had exclusively arisen in recent years in relation to relatives of staff members.

Risk Assessment

ARPANSA has undertaken a risk assessment of our operations and given the nature of the interactions with children, ARPANSA has assessed the risk to child safety as Low.

Risk assessments evaluating the risk of harm to children and young people from our operations are incorporated into our business and risk planning process.

ARPANSA complies with the key requirements of the Framework as it applies to our operations in the context of our risk profile.

Notwithstanding this, ARPANSA has the following measures in place to enhance the protection of children during any interactions with ARPANSA staff:

• all ARPANSA staff must obtain and maintain a minimum baseline security clearance
• all ARPANSA staff are required to adhere to ARPANSA’s policies, procedures and the APS Code of Conduct
• ARPANSA requires all personnel to undergo a pre-employment screening
• ARPANSA staff are required to complete training on the Framework when they commence employment.

CCSF and Improving Compliance

During 2024, ARPANSA further strengthened their compliance with the Framework and minimised key risks including by:

• updating ARPANSA’s Child Safety Policy to reflect the business operations and clearly defined the roles of staff and management
• engaging in the Community of Practice sessions
• created a register of staff with Working with Children Checks
• making information, education and training available for our staff as this creates a child-focused, transparent and safe organisational culture.

ARPANSA will continue to improve compliance with the Framework including with these future initiatives:

• improving staff awareness of the agency’s Child Safety Policy and their obligations under the policy by intranet articles and training
• our senior executive continuing to support the application of the Child Safety Policy across ARPANSA
• ensuring child safe clauses are included in procurement documents where required
• ensuring relevant staff complete required training and get and/or maintain relevant Working with Children Checks where appropriate.

27 October 2022

University of Melbourne students and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) scientists have created a prize-winning app that will make radiotherapy audits more efficient. 

ARPANSA’S Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service (ACDS) Director Rhonda Brown said the software would transform the way that radiation oncology quality assurance is conducted.  

‘This online tool will be able to calculate and calibrate radiation dose in one place instead of several different applications or spreadsheets,’ Ms Brown said.  

‘We expect that this app will be implemented in the coming months.’  

The app was developed as part of the University of Melbourne’s Endeavour Exhibition.  

The program brings together industry and final year MSc engineering and IT students to solve real-world challenges such as improving ACDS’ radiotherapy audit program.   

University of Melbourne student Chris Byrnes said they were proud to partner with ARPANSA to make sure that patients could feel safe about their radiation treatment.  

‘This software solution will help health care practitioners across Australia and New Zealand but most importantly, it will benefit patients,’ said Mr Byrnes. 

‘This software could potentially provide a solution to other countries and become a standard calculating engine used to verify clinical dosimetry.’  

The student team that worked on this project with ARPANSA received first prize in the School of Computing and Information Systems Engineering, winning $2000. 

‘We’re proud of all the students. As a health and scientific agency, we were excited to participate in a program that empowers the next generation of STEM workers’ Ms Brown said. 

The 2021-22 annual report of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) was tabled in parliament on Monday 24 October 2022 and is now available in the Commonwealth government Transparency Portal. 

The report covers the activities of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ARPANSA and its supporting committees, as well as ARPANSA’s performance against key activities and financial objectives.

Highlights include: 

• ARPANSA’s involvement in strategic government initiatives, including the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines
• supporting safety and quality of Australia’s cancer treatment programs
• progression of the Australian Government’s Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Program.

‘Radiation protection and nuclear safety is a specialised scientific field and so it presents a complex operating environment with both longstanding and emerging challenges,’ said ARPANSA CEO Dr Gillian Hirth.

‘Despite the resourcing challenges presented over the financial year, ARPANSA has been working diligently to achieve performance measures and continue to achieve its mandate of protecting the Australian people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation.’

The report also discusses the follow up work undertaken to address findings from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission received by Australia in 2018.

This work is a culmination of many years of work by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to benchmark Australia against international best practice. 

‘During the 2022-23 financial year, ARPANSA is now preparing for the follow up review mission scheduled for October 2023, which will examine Australia’s progress since the 2018 review.’ said Dr Hirth.

The report also highlights some of ARPANSA’s major projects and achievements in ultraviolet (UV) radiation research including review of sunscreen testing protocols, the launch of the SunSmart Global UV App and research into the Antarctic ozone hole.

‘The global SunSmart app is particularly useful for Australians when travelling overseas to warmer climates during our winter, and now in Australia as we enter the warmer months where the UV Index regularly reaches 3 or above, meaning sun protection is recommended,’ said Dr Hirth.

Read the full ARPANSA annual report 2021-22 on the Commonwealth government Transparency Portal or on the ARPANSA website. 

19 October 2022

Radiotherapy treatments in Australia will soon have extra assurance with the arrival of a new national calibration device this month.  

Canadian researchers from the National Research Council assembled and trained staff on a new water calorimeter at the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) in Melbourne.  

ARPANSA’s Chief Medical Radiation Scientist Ivan Williams said the new Primary Standard is a more accurate calibration device for radiotherapy because human tissue is more similar to water than graphite.  

‘Organs like kidneys and the liver are 80% water,’ Dr Williams said.  

‘Therefore, we want to measure the absorbed radiation dose to water, uncertainties are reduced if the instrument itself is based on water. 

'Radiotherapy centres throughout Australia and New Zealand depend on APRANSA having a primary standard, which is used to calibrate their radiation measurement instruments, or dosemeters. The hospitals use these calibrated dosemeters to ensure that their linear accelerators are delivering the correct radiation dose, thereby ensuring that patients are receiving the correct amount of radiation when they receive treatment. 

‘The use of a national primary standard reduces the chance of radiotherapy accidents in Australia, whereby underdosing or overdosing could cause significant harm to patients. Given the new instrument will last for about 30 years, it will underpin the treatment of well over 1 million patients over its operational lifetime.’ 

The new instrument, valued at $250,000, will be fully tested and modelled prior to running in parallel with the existing graphite primary standard.  

When it has been fully tested on ARPANSA linear accelerator beams and checked against the computer models, it will replace the nation’s current graphite primary standard.  

ARPANSA have spent a year preparing for the new primary standard and will spend another year in commissioning prior to transitioning to the new standard in 2023. 

To commission the new calorimeter, ARPANSA will be compare Australia’s primary standard to those of other countries through The International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris to make sure that the calibration device itself agrees with the primary standards of other countries.  

13 October 2022

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency and eBay Australia have teamed up to remind businesses and consumers about the risks caused by laser pointers.  

Laser pointers with a radiant power above 1 milliwatt (mW) are prohibited weapons because of their ability to damage the eye and are banned from sale in Australia. 

ARPANSA’s Chief Radiation Health Scientist Dr Rick Tinker said a recent UK study illuminated how dangerous lasers were.

‘Scientists found that structural damage to the eye occurs even if a child presents no symptoms after exposure to a laser pointer,’ Dr Tinker said.

‘There’s a risk that children can access laser pointers above the legal limit because we know that the products are sometimes labelled incorrectly.’

A 2013 study by the University of New South Wales found that the vast majority of laser pointers in their sample, 42 out of 44, exceeded the power limit of 1mW. 

In partnership with ARPANSA, eBay has taken additional steps to further enforce its Product Safety policy that prohibits the sale of laser pointers with a power output above 1 milliwatt (mW) on its marketplace.

‘We encourage other online sellers and retailers to follow eBay’s example and be more vigilant about selling these products because we know they can harm children,’ Dr Tinker said. 

eBay’s Director, Legal Counsel of Global Regulatory Delphine Dauba-Patanacce said the company published a safety reminder to remind buyers and sellers about laser pointer hazards and regulations.

‘eBay takes the safety of its customers very seriously. We enforce our Product Safety policy using block filters to prevent sellers from listing unsafe laser pointers with a power output above 1mW. Our close working relationships with partners like ARPANSA are an important part of our global product safety strategy for keeping our platform safe. 

‘Listings offering laser pointers that exceed 1mW will be taken down and enforcement action taken against sellers’ accounts where appropriate,’ Ms Dauba-Patanacce said.

Read eBay’s safety announcement here. 

ARPANSA has information about ‘laser hazards and safety’ on their website. 
 

29 September 2022

Scientists at Swinburne University of Technology and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) are working together to improve the experimental design of research into 5G and future high-frequency wireless technologies.  

Until recently, mobile phone technology used radio waves in the electromagnetic spectrum below 4 GHz. But some 5G and future generations will use higher frequencies to meet the increasing demand for faster services.  

ARPANSA’s Health Impact Assessment Assistant Director, Associate Professor Ken Karipidis, is leading ARPANSA’s involvement in the study and said that it is important that research investigating higher frequencies is valid and of high quality.  

‘To make sure that people and the environment are safe from radiation, we want to improve research methods into the health effects of high-frequency radio waves,’ Associate Professor Karipidis said.  

‘Our study will look at different experimental parameters in radio wave exposure, like temperature, to define best-practice methods so scientists can use these in future research.’ 

Swinburne’s lead scientist on this study, Professor Andrew Wood, said another focus of the study is to investigate the effects of future higher frequency wireless technology.  

‘We need to continue research on the effects of high-frequency radio waves so that we can be confident people are safe when there are further developments in the future, be it 6G, 7G and so on,’ Professor Wood said. 

‘The focus of this study is exposing especially sensitive biological tissues to radio waves at or above the 5G frequencies to see if there are any effects. 

‘It is important to note that higher frequency does not mean stronger or more intense exposure.’  

Director of the Australian 6G Research and Innovation Lab, Swinburne’s Dr Ali Yavari, said ‘this project involving Swinburne University of Technology and ARPANSA facilities will create an innovative and collaborative research capability platform for cutting-edge and impactful research in this field.’  

Results are expected to be published next year. You can read the research abstract here.

ARPANSA’s Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service (ACDS) has carried out its first live stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) audit which supports dose accuracy in radiation therapy used to treat brain cancer. 

The audit provides radiotherapy clinics with assurance that they are delivering accurate radiation doses to patients.

The first live audit was completed at the Townsville Cancer Centre within the Townsville University Hospital in Queensland. The audit process was refined over recent years as part of an extensive field trial to support the assessment of dose accuracy for this important radiotherapy technique.

‘Last year in Australia, more than 1890 new cases of brain cancer were diagnosed,’ said Rhonda Brown, Director ACDS.

‘It’s of paramount importance for radiation oncology providers and patients to know that the radiation treatment plans being delivered to treat brain cancer and tumours in brain tissue are safe and accurate.’

‘We’re delighted to be able to offer live audits for SRS treatments and contribute to patient safety.’

This milestone is another first for ARPANSA and the Townsville Cancer Centre, which is home to the first MRI-Linac audited by ACDS in 2019. 

As part of the recent visit, the team also conducted a scheduled audit on the MRI-Linac. The ACDS perform regular audits and measurements across Australia and New Zealand to ensure accurate and safe dose delivery. Audit results confirmed the effective implementation of the MRI-Linac, providing additional assurance of ongoing dose accuracy for patients in the region.

To find out more about ARPANSA’s work in auditing radiotherapy machines, visit the ARPANSA website.