As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, international academic journal, Radiation Protection Dosimetry, has announced that ARPANSA’s 2017 research paper ‘Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field from Wi-fi in Australian schools’, is one of the five most-read articles in the journal’s history.

Published in August 2017, the paper shared the findings from ARPANSA’s study on Wi-fi in Australian schools, assessing the electromagnetic energy (EME) emissions levels and comparing them to exposure limits in the 2002 Australian safety standard, which was the national safety standard at that time.  

‘Our study showed that exposure to radio waves from Wi-fi and other telecommunications sources in the everyday environment are very low and are not expected to adversely affect the health of children or the general population,’ said Adjunct Associate Professor Ken Karipidis, ARPANSA’s Assistant Director of Health Impact Assessment.

Since its launch, the journal article has been viewed more than 4000 times and the Wi-fi study summary on ARPANSA’s website received a further 4000 views. These results indicate strong public interest in the safety of Wi-fi and electromagnetic energy (EME) exposure in the community.

‘The level of interest in ARPANSA’s gold-standard research reflects the importance of our involvement in the government’s enhanced EME program,’ said Program Director, Associate Professor Sarah Loughran.

‘As part of our role in that program, ARPANSA will continue to lead, promote and coordinate EME research under our 2020-2024 Action Plan,’ said Associate Professor Sarah Loughran.

‘We look forward to sharing more of our research over the coming years.’

You can view Radiation Protection Dosimetry’s 40th Anniversary Collection here.

Every day, humans are exposed to radiation. From natural radiation sources such as minerals in the ground to artificial sources such as receiving an X-ray for medical purposes, we receive doses of radiation from a variety of sources.

Contributing to our everyday exposure is radiation from the continuous interaction of particles from the sun and space with Earth and its atmosphere – known as galactic cosmic radiation (GCR). 

Director of ARPANSA’s Assessment and Advice section, Dr Rick Tinker, said GCR contributes to approximately 25% of the natural radiation dose that is present in the Australian public.

‘While the Earth’s atmosphere and geomagnetic field provide sufficient shielding, meaning our exposure at ground level is not of particular concern from a radiation protection perspective, exposure to GCR does increase with altitude,’ said Dr Tinker.

To ensure the safety of the Australian public, ARPANSA estimated the annual GCR doses to the public at ground levels and at altitudes of commercial domestic and international flights.

It was found that exposure to GCR received by occasional flyers as well as the majority of frequent flyers is considered to be sufficiently low, and there is no need to introduce any additional protection measures. 

For frequent flyers who have exposures comparable to aircrew, their exposure should be managed as an occupational exposure and on a case-by-case basis.

To be considered a flyer whose exposure is comparable to aircrew, you would need to fly the equivalent of 42 return trips from Australia to London in a year, so it is unlikely for someone to fall into this category,’ said Dr Tinker.

To read the full study, visit https://academic.oup.com/rpd/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/rpd/ncab023/6158060

This study provides valuable insight into understanding cosmic radiation exposure to the Australian public and in particular critical population groups that are frequent flyers.

Many workplaces use radiation and it is essential that employees understand the risks and protections in place. 

ARPANSA has developed free Occupational Radiation Exposure (ORE) training for all people working in medical facilities that use ionising radiation. This includes hospitals and clinics that use X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans or nuclear medicine.  

The ORE modules provide useful information and guidance for all medical and non-medical staff and can be tailored to different occupations including nurses, cleaning staff and radiologists. They are the first online training modules of their kind to allow participants to personalise material to their individual needs. 

‘ARPANSA is proud to have developed this important training material, which will support efforts for comprehensive and consistent radiation safety training of all staff working in medical facilities’, said Dr Ivan Williams, Chief Medical Radiation Scientist at ARPANSA. 

‘We’ve already had uptake from a range of facilities across Australia and we’ve received positive feedback from clinics and staff.’ 

Empowering all staff with the information they need to understand the level of risk builds an informed workforce and also supports patient confidence and safety. 

‘Health risks from occupational exposure to ionising radiation are well managed in Australia and these training modules provide an extra level of reassurance and understanding,’ said Dr Williams. 

The ORE modules are interactive, use contemporary adult learning principles and have been developed with extensive feedback from industry.  

They can be completed online or downloaded and used independently by medical facilities. 

Find out more: Occupational Radiation Exposure for medical facilities  

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have tested eight ultraviolet (UV) radiation nail polish drying devices to assess their ability to cause skin damage.

The eight devices use artificial UV radiation to dry, harden and cure finger and toenail polish.

All the devices emitted UV with widely varying intensity, however the study found that all eight devices posed a low risk to users when they used the device for the required drying times.

‘We calculated the safe exposure time for each device and found the one with the highest UV radiation was hazardous only after 38 minutes, which would be much longer than needed to adequately dry nail polish as drying times ranged from six seconds to 150 seconds,’ said Dr Elke Hacker, Research Fellow at QUT.

However, the risk may be greater to those who are particularly sensitive to UV. Those with any health concerns may wish to seek further advice. 

‘While the study shows that the risk of skin damage is low, users can opt to wear fingerless gloves and/or sunscreen to protect their hands during the nail polish drying process,’ said Dr Rick Tinker, Director of Assessment and Advice at ARPANSA.

Clear labelling of safe operating conditions and potential hazards of using a UV-emitting nail curing device would be beneficial to consumers.

The study’s UV measurements were conducted by ARPANSA and the findings were published in a Letter to the Editor, Quantifying the ultraviolet radiation emitted by nail curing devices: a descriptive study”, in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology.

ARPANSA has recently made amendments to the 2018 Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations.  

These Regulations apply to all Commonwealth regulated entities, including the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Department of Defence and others. 

‘The latest set of amendments include simplified application fees, updated requirements and clearer definitions,’ said Jim Scott, ARPANSA’s Chief Regulatory Officer. 

‘These will help our licence holders fulfil their obligations and will continue to support our vision of a safe radiation environment for the Australian community,’ said Mr Scott.  

Effective from Saturday 6 March 2021, the amendments include:  

• Simplification of source licence application fees by removing the calculation based on the number of sources. 
• Introduction of cost-recovered application fees for complex facilities, including an hourly rate, to reflect the true cost of assessment. 
• Revision of the definition of non-ionising radiation-controlled apparatus to capture a broader range of apparatus.  
• Amendment of Section 44 to exempt certain lasers, optical fibre systems and klystrons from licensing requirements where they pose a very low radiation risk. 
• Amendment of Section 58 to require licence holders to proactively review and update their plans and arrangements for managing safety following a previous incident. 

You can view the full explanatory statement for the amendments on the Federal Register for Legislation. 

Two new scientific reviews conducted by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and Swinburne University of Technology have found no evidence of adverse health effects from the radio waves used in 5G.

Considered to be the worlds-first reviews on this topic, the first scientific review examined 138 studies on low-level radio waves above 6 GHZ, also called millimetre waves, to assess the current state-of-the-science on 5G radio waves.  

The review assessed 107 experimental studies that investigated various biological effects including genotoxicity, cell proliferation, gene expression, cell signalling, and membrane function and 31 epidemiological studies that investigated exposure to radar, which uses radio waves similar to 5G.

‘In conclusion, a review of all the studies provided no substantiated evidence that low-level radio waves, like those used by the 5G network, are hazardous to human health,’ said Dr Karipidis, Assistant Director, Assessment and Advice at ARPANSA.

The second review by ARPANSA and Swinburne University was a meta-analysis which reanalysed the 107 experimental studies on low-level millimetre waves to assess any biological effects.

‘This meta-analysis of the experimental studies also presented little evidence of an association between millimetre waves and adverse health effects,’ said Dr Karipidis.

‘Studies that did report biological effects were generally not independently replicated and most of the studies reviewed employed low-quality methods of exposure assessment and control.’

‘We recommend that future experimental studies improve their design with particular attention to dosimetry and temperature control and that future epidemiological studies continue to monitor long-term health effects in the population related to wireless telecommunications,’ said Dr Karipidis.

The findings of these reviews remain consistent with national and international radiation health and safety guidelines, which have deemed low-level 5G radio waves safe for public exposure.

‘ARPANSA is proud to continue our contribution to research and assessment of 5G radiation safety,’ said Dr Gillian Hirth ARPANSA’s Deputy CEO and Chief Radiation Health Scientist. ‘

‘The work is core to our involvement in the Australian Government’s Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Program and helps us deliver on our vision of a safe radiation environment for the Australian Community.’   

The scientific reviews have been published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami that initiated the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power station.

ARPANSA joins with our friends and colleagues in Japan to remember and pay our respects to the people who lost their lives and stand with those who survived and continue to be impacted by these events.

Ten years on from the nuclear accident, we are also reflecting on ARPANSA's role in Australia’s emergency response to the accident during the weeks and months following the event.

ARPANSA undertook measurements and studies during and after the event to assess the impact of the Fukushima accident both on Australians and the environment in Australia. This included investigating the levels of radioactivity in foods imported into Australia from Japan, and in the ocean, seafood and the atmosphere as a result the releases, monitoring for surface contamination on items coming from Japan such as cars, cargo vessels and returning military helicopters as well as provision of advice to Australian citizens who were concerned about radiation.

Radiation doses to Australians in Japan and migratory birds were also investigated. The results were published in 2012 and a decade later ARPANSA continues to be involved in international work being undertaken to follow up the implications of the accident on people and the environment.

Coinciding with the anniversary, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) has published a new report, the UNSCEAR 2020 Report, that provides an authoritative and independent update on the levels and effects of radiation exposure due to the Fukushima accident. ‘Since the UNSCEAR 2013 Report, no adverse health effects among Fukushima residents have been documented that could be directly attributed to radiation exposure from the accident,’ said Dr Gillian Hirth, Chair of UNSCEAR and Deputy CEO and Chief Radiation Health Scientist at ARPANSA.

‘ARPANSA still has important work to do as we follow the ongoing recovery activities in Japan and understand the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident that had many broad reaching societal impacts,’ said Dr Hirth.

In the decade since the Fukushima accident, ARPANSA has continued its involvement in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Radiological Assistance Network, participating in field exercises inside the Fukushima exclusion zones, and in the ongoing development of IAEA Safety Standards for emergency preparedness and response.

ARPANSA’s response to the Fukushima disaster continues to be an important event in our history.

’We remember and honour all of those impacted by this tragedy and will continue our work to engage internationally to support nuclear safety and radiation protection efforts globally,’ said Dr Hirth.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) has today released a new radio wave safety standard that offers strong health protection for all Australians.

The new Standard updates the Standard that was published by ARPANSA in 2002 and specifies the limits of human exposure for workers and the general public to radiofrequency fields in the range 100kHz to 300GHz, which includes the radio waves used in wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and 5G.

‘The new Standard was developed using the updated international guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP) and the vast body of scientific research across the whole spectrum of radiofrequency electromagnetic energy’, said Dr Ken Karipidis, Assistant Director, Assessment and Advice at ARPANSA.

‘The exposure limits in the new Standard continue to be set conservatively, meaning they remain well below the level at which any harm can occur, and will protect the community from all new and existing technologies using radio waves,’ said Dr Karipidis.

Australia is one of the first countries in the world to update its radio wave Standard based on the new international guidelines.

‘ARPANSA is committed to public protection and is pleased to be leading the way in ensuring our exposure guidelines are fit for purpose into the future’, said Dr Carl-Magnus Larsson, ARPANSA CEO.

‘The new Standard is also a critical component of the Australian Government’s enhanced Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Program, which aims to promote health and safety and address misinformation about EME emissions,’ said Dr Larsson.

ARPANSA has developed an action plan led by recently appointed Program Director, Dr Sarah Loughran.

Under the action plan, ARPANSA is committed to:

• continuing to assess radio wave exposure levels in the community
• funding and leading radio wave research
• building a world-class radio wave laboratory
• collaborating with international organisations on radio wave science
• engaging with the Australian community to address misinformation on radio waves and health.

The new Standard is now in effect and is expected to be implemented by the relevant regulatory bodies in telecommunications, manufacturing and health sectors over the coming months.

Read more at Radiation Protection Series S-1 (Rev. 1).

Covering up with sun protective clothing is one of five ways Australians can protect themselves from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. But not all fabrics provide the same level of protection.

ARPANSA’s UV laboratory tests clothing materials to determine a UV protection factor (UPF) rating which consumers can find on labels, or swing tags, attached to garments, hats, and other clothing accessories.

‘We’re launching our new-look swing tag to provide the Australian public with access to a simple, reliable indicator of the level of sun protection provided by clothing materials tested by ARPANSA’ said Lydia Tjong, Assistant Director, Ultraviolet Radiation Services at ARPANSA.  

‘The new design is much cleaner, making it easy to see at a glance the level of protection provided.’

With two in three Australians diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70, prevention is more important than ever.

Clothing is one of the 5 sun protection methods, which should all be used together where possible:

• slip on sun-protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible
• slop on broad spectrum, water resistant SPF30 or higher sunscreen. Put it on 20 minutes before you go outdoors and every two hours afterwards
• slap on a hat – broad brim, bucket or legionnaire style to protect your face, head, neck and ears
• seek shade from the sun wherever possible
• slide on some quality sunglasses – make sure they meet Australian Standards.

Consumers should start to see the new purple and yellow swing tags in stores over the coming months. 

Find out more: Sun protection using clothing

Every year, ARPANSA collates data from radiation regulators around Australia to produce a report on radiation safety. The report shares learnings to help others avoid similar incidents.

The Australian Radiation Incident Register (ARIR) report is a summary and analysis of data submitted to the ARIR for incidents that occurred in 2019.

Consistent with previous years, human error was identified as the trigger for the majority (61%) of reported incidents in 2019. Most reported incidents are from medical imaging.

The latest report also includes a focus on equipment-related incidents and lessons to be learnt.

Equipment-related incidents account for around one-fifth of all reported incidents including software and hardware failures, as well as deficiencies where the equipment used was not suitable for the task or failed to perform as expected.

‘Workplaces should be designed with the potential of equipment failure in mind. This could include putting in place recovery procedures, ensuring availability of alternate equipment and providing effective training’, said Mr Jim Scott, Chief Regulatory Officer at ARPANSA.

From the data received, there were no common modes of equipment failure identified, suggesting faults were not due to systemic issues such as manufacturing defects.

Findings of the report include:

• of the 575 incidents reported, 114 (nearly 20%) noted equipment failure or deficiency as the initiating cause
• the most common equipment-related incident is patients requiring repeated imaging due to equipment failure
• a reduction in the number of reported incidents submitted to ARIR (the first reduction since 2013)

‘The reduction in reported incidents largely reflects reduced reporting from some jurisdictions whose regulatory resources were impacted by COVID-19 response at the time of submission to ARPANSA’, said Mr Scott.

Read more at ARIR annual summary reports.