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Report analyses radiation incidents 

16 September 2025

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) has published the latest national report on radiation safety incidents. 

Based on 2022 incident data collected from radiation regulators across the country, ARPANSA’s chief regulatory officer Jim Scott says the latest report highlights areas to improve radiation protection for people and the environment.  

‘From the 15 million diagnostic medical imaging procedures involving radiation there were 585 incidents reported in 2022,’ Mr Scott said. 

‘These incidents tended to be triggered by human error – such as someone not following a procedure – but the incident can have a number of underlying causes.  The benefit of this report is that it highlights the prevalence of these incidents and helps to identify what measures are effective at avoiding future incidents.’ 

ARPANSA manages the Australian Radiation Incident Register (ARIR). The ARIR is a national database that collates radiation incidents across all states, territories, and the Commonwealth.  

This report is a summary of data submitted to the ARIR for incidents that occurred in 2022.  

‘Before incidents are reported through to ARPANSA, state and territory regulators may investigate and resolve safety concerns with their licence holders, which can contribute to delays in consolidated reporting through the ARIR,’ Mr Scott said. 

‘ARPANSA is working with radiation regulators to try to reduce the time it takes for all jurisdictions to provide their reports and subsequently prepare this publication.’ 

Key report findings: 

  • There were a total of 718 incidents reported across jurisdictions and incident categories 
  • Most incidents were related to medical imaging, especially computed tomography (CT), plain film X-ray, and nuclear medicine 
  • Human error was the primary cause of most incidents, followed by equipment malfunction. For example, if there is a technical fault during the medical diagnostic treatment and the patient required another scan, this is considered an equipment malfunction.  

Both the ARIR, and this summary report play an important role in ensuring the ongoing safety of Australians using or receiving medical radiation. They are also an important tool for the sector to learn from the experiences and incidents of other providers to support optimisation and safety improvement across Australia. 

You can read the full report here: https://www.arpansa.gov.au/regulation-and-licensing/safety-security-transport/australian-radiation-incidents-register/annual-summary-reports  

Experts encourage consumers to check for sun protection labels

11 September 2025

The Australian Government’s primary authority on radiation protection is encouraging consumers to look for sun protection labels on clothing and shade products, such as ARPANSA swing tags.  

This is particularly relevant as Australia heads towards summer with the UV Index regularly at 3 or above across the country.  

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s (ARPANSA) ultraviolet radiation assistant director, Lydiawati Tjong, says ARPANSA swing tags provide assurance to consumers that sun protection products perform as described on the label.  

‘Since launching this service in 1992, almost 95 million swing tags have been attached to clothes and shade fabrics,’ Ms Tjong said.  

‘We only issue swing tags to products that meet Australian standards and have been thoroughly tested as providing sun protection in our independently accredited laboratory. 

‘When purchasing a product that has our swing tag, customers can have peace of mind that they are being protected from overexposure to the sun.’  

ARPANSA's ultraviolet radiation exposure assessment assistant director, Dr Stuart Henderson, says prolonged exposure to UV can lead to skin cancer, premature aging and eye damage.  

‘It is important that consumers have confidence in sun protection products as they play an important role in preventing adverse health effects from UV exposure,’ Dr Henderson said. 

‘Choosing products that have been tested for UV protection helps provide confidence that they will work effectively. 

‘Australians need to be vigilant with their sun protection, especially from around September to April. Those in northern parts of Australia will likely need to use sun protection all year.’   

When the UV index is 3 or above, ARPANSA recommends that a combination of all 5 sun protection measures is used: 

  • slip on some sun-protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible  
  • slop on broad spectrum, water resistant SPF50 or higher sunscreen. Put it on 20 minutes before you go outdoors and every 2 hours afterwards  
  • slap on a hat – broad brim or legionnaire style to protect your face, head, neck and ears  
  • seek shade as much as possible while spending time outdoors 
  • slide on some sunglasses – make sure they meet Australian Standards.   

You can check the UV index in your city on our website or by downloading the SunSmart Global UV app: https://www.sunsmart.com.au/resources/sunsmart-app     

Learn more about our ultraviolet radiation services: https://www.arpansa.gov.au/our-services/testing-and-calibration/ultraviolet-radiation-testing  

Collaborating to enhance Australia’s low-risk radioactive material guidance

28 August 2025

Experts at the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) held a webinar in August to support an update of national guidance on handling low-risk radioactive material.  

Assistant director for planned and existing radiation exposures, Dr Fiona Charalambous, says ARPANSA engages with the world’s eminent radiation protection authorities to apply international best practice to the Australian context.  

‘As the Australian Government’s primary authority on radiation protection and nuclear safety, we play a key role in promoting consistent radiation protection and nuclear safety across Australia's jurisdictions,’ Dr Charalambous said. 

‘To ensure Australia’s Radiation Protection Series is adopted consistently across states and territories, we collaborate closely with our jurisdictional regulatory counterparts in developing codes, standards and guidance that reflect their expertise and input.’   

‘The webinar was the first event of its kind that ARPANSA has hosted, which was aimed at getting input from key stakeholders to ensure this guidance is fit for purpose for Australia.’ 

With around 130 attendees, including regulators and licence holders, the webinar discussed exemptions and clearances for low-risk radioactive material. 

An exemption is granted to sources or practices where the potential radiation risk is considered negligible. While a clearance is granted for decaying sources once the radiation risk is determined to be negligible. 

ARPANSA’s environmental and health services senior director, Dr Marcus Grzechnik, says the key output would be clearer guidance for licence holders. 

‘One change we’re proposing is to make it clear that solid material that no longer poses a radiation risk, can be safely repurposed for a sustainable economy,’ Dr Grzechnik said. 

‘Ultimately, we’re developing this document to guide licence holders in the best-practice and uniform approach to assessment and repurposing or disposal of low-risk radioactive material.’  

The guidance document that is informed by this engagement will be published as part of ARPANSA’s Radiation Protection Series, which is the national collection of regulatory requirements and guidance for radiation protection and nuclear safety.  

Consistent regulation of the use and production of radiation is core to the protection of Australia’s environment, workers, patients and communities. 

Research improves radiotherapy accuracy and precision

21 August 2025

New research from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) demonstrates the accuracy of modern radiotherapy techniques used to treat cancer. 

The audit study helps identify when best practice is achieved, minimising harm to healthy tissues and organs and improving treatment effectiveness.  

ARPANSA’s medical physics lead and study author Dr Andrew Alves says that as radiotherapy machines have improved, and science has advanced, doctors are prescribing fewer sessions with a more targeted, higher dose each treatment. 

‘Higher dose treatment, known as hypofractionated radiotherapy means fewer visits to the clinic,’ Dr Alves said.

‘When the high dose radiation is on target it kills tumour cells and spares healthy organs and tissues; however, the margin for error for this approach is low.

‘That’s why we’ve developed a customised audit to validate patient dose for this treatment.

‘Using an artificial ‘patient’ (or phantom) our paper shows how Australian and New Zealand clinics are performing and when practitioners hit the target within the accepted small margins of error in position, ±2 mm, and dose ± 5%.’

Modern technology enables more precise targeting of the radiation beam to the tumor, meaning treatment is less likely to affect healthy tissue. 

The study specifically looked at spine, lung, and soft tissue radiotherapy treatment accuracy. 

Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service director, Rhonda Brown, had oversight of the study and emphasised its real-world application impacted long-term patient survivorship. 

‘Around 90,000 patients across Australia receive radiotherapy each year.’

‘There are many benefits to using hypofractioned radiotherapy – including that clinics can treat more patients because people need fewer radiation doses with this treatment approach’ Ms Brown said. 

‘As the Australian Government’s primary radiation protection authority, and lead radiotherapy audit service in the country, we want to help ensure treatments are curing patients and not causing harm.

‘This study looked at over 700 treatments and can be used not only as a benchmark in Australia but across the world.’ 

Access the full article in Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics. 

A systematic review indicates no increased cancer risk due to ingestion of naturally occurring radionuclides through drinking water

Article publication

10 March 2025

Article review date

August 2025

Summary

This systematic review evaluated the evidence for an association between the ingestion of naturally occurring radionuclides in drinking water and cancer risk in populations. A total of 29 studies (20 ecological, 6 case-control and 3 case-cohort studies) published between 1966 and 2017 were included in the review. These studies mainly evaluated cancer risk of the bone, urinary tract, and gastrointestinal tract in relation to radium, uranium, and radon ingestion. Quality assessment of the included case-control and case-cohort studies was conducted according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS); ecological studies were considered as low quality. The review presented a narrative description of all the results from the included studies. Overall, the review indicated no elevated risk of cancer from the ingestion of drinking water containing naturally occurring radionuclides. However, some studies indicated an elevated risk of cancers in lung, kidney, breast and bone. However, due to a lack of high-quality studies the evidence from these studies was considered poor. The review concluded that the current evidence does not allow to confirm or rule out an increased risk of cancer due to the ingestion of radionuclides in water at concentrations that occur naturally.

Published in

Science of the Total Environment

Article link

Cancer risk due to ingestion of naturally occurring radionuclides through drinking water: A systematic review

ARPANSA commentary

This review provides an evaluation of whether naturally occurring concentrations of radionuclides in drinking water pose any increased risk of cancer in human populations. The findings largely indicate that there is no cancer risk due to this, however, the review also acknowledges that methodological limitations of most of the included studies challenge the certainty of risk evaluation. The limitations of the included studies were in exposure assessment and dosimetry, low statistical power, and inadequate control of confounders. Further, the included studies did not assess the association in relation to the ingestion of polonium, thorium and lead. The review did not undertake a quantitative synthesis of results such as a meta-analysis or a certainty in evidence assessment..

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (NHMRC, 2022) sets out  a radioactivity screening level at which consumption of drinking water will not exceed the Australian national reference level dose  of 1 mSv per year for exposure to ionising radiation. It has been estimated that  a very low proportion  (10%) of the total annual dose in Australian populations is from natural radionuclides in drinking water (NHMRC, 2022). In fact, such low radiation exposure occurring over a long period of time is unlikely to show any detectable increase in health risk (e.g., cancer) in populations (Guseva Canu et al., 2011). The Australian system for radiation protection from ionising radiation is closely aligned with international best practice as laid out in the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. In the Australian context, exposure to ionising radiation from drinking water falls under the Guide for Radiation Protection in Existing Exposure Situations (2017).

Burden of skin cancer now and in the future

Article publication date

July 2025

ARPANSA review date

July 2025

Summary

This study evaluated the global burden of skin cancer among adults 65 years or older from 1990 to 2021 and used this information to project the global burden out to 2050. The study used data collected from the cancer registries of 204 countries and territories, including Australia, that are detailed in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021 database. Cancer incidence was collected for melanoma, and keratinocyte cancers (KC) including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The authors calculated the incidence rates per 100,000 people for these skin cancers. 

Melanoma incidence rates in 2021 were 20 (per 100,000) and projected to fall by 40% to 12 (per 100,000) by 2050. Both KC skin cancer types are expected to rise by 2050 with a 148% increase in BCC and a 53% increase in SCC. The incidence of skin cancers was higher for men than women both in 2021 and in 2050. The study concluded that the incidence and prevalence of keratinocyte cancers skin cancer in older people is likely to increase and there is a need to enact prevention and treatment strategies for these high-risk populations.

Published in

JAMA Dermatology 

Link to

Burden of Skin Cancer in Older Adults From 1990 to 2021 and Modelled Projection to 2050

ARPANSA commentary

This ecological study reported that, despite some decreases in melanoma incidence, overall skin cancer incidence is expected to rise globally between now and 2050 due to increases in SCC and BCC. There were limitations with the data as some countries do not provide data on SCC and BCC in their cancer registries. Australia also does not report on incidence of BCC and SCC as they are generally not life-threatening, often requiring only simple excision for treatment. This lack of reliable data could affect the accuracy of these forward projections, particularly for Australians.

The downward trend in melanoma incidence in Australia has been observed in a previous study (Pinto et al 2024) and is also confirmed by Cancer Council data. However, despite this positive outcome, melanoma incidence and mortality rates in Australia remain some of the highest in the world and two-thirds of Australians will receive a skin cancer diagnosis of some type in their lifetime. As such, skin cancers, including melanoma, continue to constitute a large public health burden. 

This study indicates that further work is needed to improve Australians’ sun protection behaviours and improve awareness to avoid the dire predictions this study has made for skin cancer incidence in the future. There needs to be continued focus on UV index awareness in Australia and the Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide messaging to prevent future skin cancers. Awareness of current UV index levels can be improved by utilising ARPANSA’s network of monitoring stations in Australia or through the freely available SunSmart Global UV app which also carries information for international cities. More information on UV protection can be found on the ARPANSA Sun Protection factsheet. 

No new evidence for carcinogenesis from powerlines and other electrical sources

Article publication date

13 May 2025

ARPANSA review date

25 July 2025

Summary

This systematic review examined the scientific body of evidence for the effect of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields (ELF-EMF) exposure on carcinogenesis and co-carcinogenesis in laboratory animals. The review included 13 studies on carcinogenesis and 41 studies on co-carcinogenesis. The review did not conduct a quantitative synthesis of evidence due to large differences in experimental design between studies. Instead, the review provided a narrative overview of the included literature. Included studies were also assessed for their risk of bias (RoB) according to OHAT.

The review found that there is broadly no evidence for a carcinogenic effect from ELF-EMF exposure alone. Results from co-carcinogenesis studies were varied with some reporting statistically significant effects and others reporting none, however, the authors assess that the total weight of evidence is inadequate to make definitive conclusions. It was noted that most studies reporting statistically significant effects utilised exposure magnitudes within the range of 100 to 999 µT. Forty of the included studies were evaluated to be at low RoB and it was noted that studies with higher RoB were more likely to report statistically significant effects. Clear indications of publication bias were also found in the review. 

Published in

Environmental Research

Link to study

Carcinogenicity of extremely low-frequency magnetic fields: A systematic review of animal studies 

ARPANSA commentary

This review considered cancer endpoints in laboratory animals resulting from ELF-EMF exposure. While the review did not pursue a meta-analysis and thus lacks quantitative results, it does collate a large amount of evidence and provide descriptive statistics which can be used to generate hypotheses. The major shortcoming of this approach is that the review has a notable focus on effect versus no-effect, which has no consideration for effect size or study precision. It is especially important to acknowledge this limitation given that the authors found clear evidence of publication bias among the included studies. This type of bias can have a large impact in binary evidence synthesis methods where statistical significance is the key differentiator between two groups as publication bias can result in an over-representation of statistically significant results in the literature (Thornton, A. & Lee, P., 2000).

The overall conclusion of the review is consistent with the World Health Organization’s assessment of in vivo studies (WHO, 2007) as well as prior reviews (McCann et al., 2000). 

ELF-EMF exposure in the general environment arises primarily from electrical supply infrastructure like powerlines, substations, home electrical appliances and wiring. However, it should be noted that the levels encountered in the environment are far below the levels used in most of the studies included by the review and far below the range specified in the review where included studies reported the highest proportion of co-carcinogenic effects. ARPANSA has measured ELF-EMF exposures present in Australian homes and in close proximity to powerlines and substations (Karipidis, K. 2015; Urban, D. et al., 2014). The exposures measured are all far below the international guideline values described by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. ARPANSA continues to monitor and review scientific literature related to ELF-EMF exposure and various health endpoints, including cancer. For more information see the ARPANSA factsheet Electricity and Health. 

Coming together to learn more about the International Monitoring System

10 July 2025

ARPANSA recently partnered with the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) to host a radionuclide workshop for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) local operators.  

As part of the International Monitoring System (IMS), radionuclide stations collect data that is analysed and reported to ensure no nuclear test goes undetected. 
 
The 3-day workshop held in Melbourne brought together government, universities and current and future operators of ARPANSA’s radionuclide monitoring stations to learn more about the purpose of the International Monitoring System (IMS) and CTBT from a host of experts.   

ARPANSA and ASNO staff presented alongside experts from Geoscience Australia and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), to provide a comprehensive overview of the equipment and technology and how it is used to collect and analyse data for the IMS. 

ARPANSA Director Monitoring Networks and Health Physics David Hardman said the workshop allowed attendees to increase understanding of the CTBT IMS and gain valuable insights from one another. 

‘This was the first time we hosted such a broad range of stakeholders and experts to discuss the technical details around radionuclide monitoring and demonstrate the significant contribution our work makes to global data on radiation detection,’ said Mr Hardman. 

‘A real highlight was a tour of ARPANSA’s laboratories on the final day. The participants were able to see firsthand the broad work that ARPANSA does and how our team collect and analyse the data from the IMS network including the stations they operate.’ 

ARPANSA coordinates the management of nine stations in Australia, Antarctica and the South Pacific region in line with Australia’s commitment to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Within Australia, ARPANSA manages seven of Australia’s 20 IMS stations, the third largest network of IMS in the world. These stations form part of an international network of more than 300 facilities that feed in data to the IMS. 

A network of 80 radionuclide stations positioned around the world enables a continuous worldwide observation of aerosol samples of radioactive particles or gases released from nuclear explosions. 

There are 16 radionuclide laboratories around the world, including one at ARPANSA, that are used to verify samples suspected of containing radionuclide materials that may have been produced by a nuclear explosion. 

ARPANSA works together with ASNO and Geoscience Australia to send data to the CTBTO in Vienna. ASNO was established in 1998 to be Australia's national authority for the CTBT.  

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes. Currently there are 187 signatory states, including Australia that signed the Treaty on the day it opened for signature on 24 September 1996.  
 
Find out more about the International Monitoring System (IMS) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and about Australia’s contribution to the CTBT.  

Is electromagnetic hypersensitivity really associated with EMF exposure?

Article publication date

May 2025

ARPANSA review date

June 2025

Summary

This article provides experts’ critical perspectives on the scientific evidence on electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) being caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF). Self-reported prevalence of EHS in populations varies between countries, for example, 1.5% (Hillert et al., 2002) - up to 3.2% (Hagström et al., 2012) during 1997-2007 in Sweden; 2.0%-3.5% during 1994-2008 in Austria (Schröttne et al., 2008); 13% (2007) and 4% (2012) in Taiwan (Meg Tseng et al., 2011). Further, EHS tends to be a relatively transient self-reported condition, and no specific symptom clusters related to EMF exposure sources have been identified. A recent World Health Organization commissioned  systematic review (Bosch-Capblanch  et al., 2024) concluded that people suffering from IEI-EMF cannot identify exposures better than by chance under blinded conditions nor were their reported symptoms different from control populations, or from the general population. Therefore, there is no robust scientific evidence to support EMF as the causal agent for EHS, although the condition may be experienced by some people. Randomized provocation trials are considered as the most appropriate research method to investigate a possible association between EMF exposure and EHS; however, these studies have notable limitations. They typically only capture short-term effects on self-perceived health, and their finding may be diluted or masked due the inclusion of participants who are either not genuinely affected by EHS or experience symptoms to a lesser degree. Additionally, many studies rely on a single exposure condition in terms of frequency and intensity, and no objective biomarkers have been identified to support a link between EMF exposure below regulatory limits and EHS. In view of this, the authors suggest that future studies should either consider single-case repeated design or observational studies relying on long-term EMF exposure focussing on the whole population rather than on self-perceived EHS population.

Published in

Frontiers in Public Health

Link to study

Electrohypersensitivity: what is belief and what is known?

ARPANSA commentary

The article provides a state-of-the art viewpoint on self-reported EHS associated to EMF exposure. The conclusions drawn in the article are consistent with the findings of the recent WHO systematic review and two Australian experimental studies (Verrender et al., 2018a; 2018b), which indicated no relationship between EMF exposure and EHS. Properly conducted scientific studies have consistently demonstrated that the belief of being exposed to EMF (rather than EMF exposure itself) contributes to triggering symptoms in healthy people. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) provides evidence-based public health messages in relation to EMF exposure and health, including EHS. Based on current scientific evidence, EHS is not caused by EMF exposure at levels below the ARPANSA safety standard. Nevertheless, ARPANSA acknowledges that the health symptoms experienced by the affected individuals are real and can be a disabling problem and advise those affected to seek medical advice from a qualified medical specialist.

CT scan reference levels published to support lung cancer screening program

2 July 2025

Low dose chest CT scans have been added to Australia’s national diagnostic reference levels to support optimisation of patients’ radiation exposure.   

The inclusion of low dose chest scans is in response to the introduction of Australia’s new National Lung Cancer Screening Program, which supports early detection in high-risk people such as long-term smokers. 

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s (ARPANSA) medical imaging director, Dr Peter Thomas, says ‘by comparing the radiation doses used in imaging procedures to the national reference levels, which ARPANSA maintains, healthcare professionals can identify if doses are unusually high or low’.  

‘By having these national reference points, practitioners can benchmark and adjust their doses if needed.  

‘Our national diagnostic reference levels show that radiation exposure from medical imaging procedures has decreased over time.’ 

‘That’s why we continue to update our reference levels. As the frequency of different scans changes, we will continue to add or remove scans as appropriate.’   

Radiation dose from CT scans has been in the news this year following US research that reported CT-associated cancer could eventually account for 5% of all new cancer diagnoses each year. 

ARPANSA assessed that research as part of its radiation literature survey series, which is updated regularly with expert evaluations on new and topical radiation science. The study highlighted the increased number of CT scans being conducted, which makes efforts to optimise the dose delivered during each CT scan even more important. 

‘CT scans are often used to diagnose more serious health conditions, and if referred appropriately, the health risk of not having a CT scan is likely to be significantly higher than the risk of radiation exposure,’ Dr Thomas said.  

Reference levels for paranasal sinus scans were also introduced to the national diagnostic reference levels on 1 July 2025 due to the relatively high number of procedures undertaken annually. 

As the Australian Government’s primary authority on radiation protection and nuclear safety, our national diagnostic reference levels help the healthcare sector ensure radiation doses from medical imaging are as low as reasonably achievable, avoiding unnecessary exposure.  

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