Objectives

The conference has the following objectives:

• to exchange information and experience in the field of occupational radiation protection;
• to review advances, challenges and opportunities since the first conference on this topic;
• to identify areas for future improvement; and
• to formulate conclusions and recommendations.

Target audience

Participants at the conference will include representatives of regulatory bodies, workers and employers involved in the use of radiation sources and in the operation of installations containing or handling radioactive materials, radiation protection experts, researchers, persons responsible for occupational monitoring services, and manufacturers of radiation emitting apparatus and other radiation sources. Representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations, emergency workers/emergency response organisations as well as other interested parties would also find this conference of interest.

Structure

The opening session will include welcome addresses by representatives from the IAEA, the Conference President, the ILO as co-sponsor of the conference, and representatives of cooperating organizations. The session will be further complemented by a keynote presentation on the importance and unique aspects of occupational radiation protection.

The opening session will be followed by a briefing session involving international organizations that have collaborated with the IAEA on the Steering Committee of the Action Plan for Occupational Radiation Protection.

A series of topical sessions will cover selected areas of occupational radiation protection. The topic of each session will be introduced by a chairperson, followed by invited presentations and a summary of the session-related contributed papers presented by a rapporteur. Each topical session will conclude with a plenary discussion.

Poster sessions will be included in the programme for viewing and to encourage discussion.

Round table discussions will be dedicated to identifying recommendations for future actions. After an introduction of the topic by the chairperson, brief statements will be delivered by the panel members followed by a plenary discussion involving the audience.

Finally, during the concluding session, the chairpersons of the topical sessions and round table discussions will deliver their summaries and the Conference President will present the conference findings, conclusions and recommendations on the way forward.

During the conference, a commercial exhibition will allow vendors to present their recent experience and developments in occupational radiation protection.

Topics

The organizers welcomes high quality contributions on all aspects of occupational radiation protection. Both academic and practice-based papers under the umbrella of the following subjects of the topical sessions and round table discussions will be welcomed:

1. Radiation risks and radiation health effects at the workplace;
2. Changes to international recommendations and standards on occupational radiation protection and the challenges in their practical implementation;
3. Dose assessment and management of occupational radiation exposures;
4. Occupational radiation protection in medicine;
5. Occupational radiation protection at workplaces involving exposure to natural radiation sources, including NORM and cosmic radiation;
6. Occupational radiation protection at workplaces involving exposure to radon;
7. Occupational radiation protection in industrial, research and educational facilities;
8. Occupational radiation protection in nuclear reactors/fuel cycle facilities;
9. Occupational radiation protection in emergency and existing (post-accident) exposure situations;
10. Radiation protection of workers for special cases (itinerant workers, pregnant workers, miners, lens of the eye dose monitoring);
11. Operational experience/lessons learned in relation to occupational radiation protection;
12. Education and training in occupational radiation protection;
13. Health surveillance; probability of causation of occupational harm attributable to radiation exposure; compensation;
14. Occupational radiation protection networks;
15. Management systems; and
16. Safety culture.

Actors

The conference is organized by the IAEA and co-sponsored by the ILO, in cooperation with the

• European Commission (EC)
• International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)
• International Committee for Non Destructive Testing (ICNDT)
• International Mining and Minerals Association (IMMa)
• International Organisation of Employers (IOE)
• International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA)
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• International Society of Radiology (ISR)
• International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists (ISRRT)
• International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
• Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA)
• Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
• United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)
• World Health Organization (WHO)

For further information on participation and registration, contributed papers and posters, expenditure and grants, and organizational details, please visit the conference web page.