Radiation Safety and Quality at Research Infrastructures

In the frame of the H2020 project ACCELERATE, a series of webinars focused on radiation safety in large scale facilities were held in September and October 2020. Each talk was facilitated by an expert in the field, tackling different angles of the topic, ranging from:

  • Radiation safety expert perspective: The focus was on various types of ionising radiation, which plays a vital role in research. Best practices in radiation protection and common challenges were also tackled.
  • Industry user perspective: Considering that many companies use radiation facilities for their research, it is necessary to be fully aware of how the research staff can be protected from the excess exposure and what impact radiations may have on samples and objects under investigation.
  • Supplier perspective: It is crucial for equipment and/or component suppliers dealing with radiation facilities to be informed about the regulations and safety measures on site. This becoming increasingly important, since there are signs that there is a shift interpretation of regulation. 
Webinar #1 (23 September 2020): ‘Radiation safety aspects of the user-oriented research at the Budapest Neutron Centre’

Speaker: Dr. Zsolt KASZTOVSZKY (Nuclear Analysis and Radiography Department, Centre for Energy Research, Budapest). Read here the speaker’s abstract.

Overview

In facilities working with ionizing radiation, it is very important to protect not only employees and visitors, but also the samples being studies to ensure they remain safe and undamaged.

In this first webinar, the speaker presented the risk of activation and other visible or non-visible damage when using various neutron-based methods. Safety measures put in place at the Budapest Research Reactor were also presented, as well as examples based on work on cultural heritage objects.

► Watch here the webinar recording.

Webinar #2 (07 October 2020): ‘Radiation safety for particle accelerator – synergies between Research Infrastructures and Industry’

Speaker: Dr. Christine DARVE (Engineering Scientist, European Spallation Source, Sweden). Read here the speaker’s abstract.

Overview

Particle accelerators play an important role in many functions of today’s society, with over 30 000 accelerators in operation worldwide. Those accelerators can range from tools for discovery to radiotherapy. One of the main challenges to safely operate these tools is the use of radiation-hardened equipment and the compliance with stringent directives.

This second edition addresses the safety aspects based on experiences gained in large scale worldwide particle accelerators.

► Watch here the webinar recording.

Webinar #3 (21 October 2020): ‘Conforming to radiation safety regulations, what you need to know when you supply into Research Infrastructures’

Speaker: Dr. Christine DARVE (Engineering Scientist, European Spallation Source, Sweden). Read here the speaker’s abstract.

Overview

As we face growing challenges in our society, science and industries are evolving. Many technological innovations are based on Research Infrastructure (RI) discoveries. To build and operate such RI, it requires industries to supply state-of-the-art components following stringent regulations and resistant to large dose of radiation.

This third edition addresses the conformance of the required components to be used in those severe environments.

► Watch here the webinar recording.