Dear colleagues!
On July 12, 2018, a regular meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group of Experts on Radiation Protection in Medicine was held, which was attended by representatives of the Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists.
We want to report to you on the main issues that were discussed and the decisions made.
The main problematic issue around which the discussions took place was the negative results of the TLD audit in Ukraine. IAEA representatives analyzed the results of the TLD audit in Ukraine over the past 10 years and compared them with the results of other countries. While in almost all countries the results of the TLD audit are improving from year to year, in Ukraine, unfortunately, this year they have significantly deteriorated. In this regard, Ukraine was once again recommended to implement an internal audit program, including a comprehensive QUATRO audit.
The Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists has proposed a scheme for the introduction of internal audit, which is to create an expert group of auditors who will prepare protocols for auditing the proper use of IRS in remote radiation therapy, reporting forms and conclusions on the results of the audit. Based on the results of the inspection, the regulatory body will make a decision on granting (or extending) a permit (license) for the use of IRS for medical purposes.
Options for implementing such a scheme were discussed, including the issue of the availability of equipment with which auditors will make control measurements, the source of travel, the selection of members of the audit committee, the granting of the necessary powers to the audit committee. At the moment, the representatives of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRI) are looking for solutions to these problems in the legal field.
Another important issue is the approval of a national protocol for determining the absorbed dose in remote radiation therapy. Several options for solving this problem were also discussed – writing your own protocol based on TRS398 by translating, adapting and approving, approving the original TRS398 (which is available in three translations – English, Russian and Spanish). At the moment, the search for the best option, the result of which will be a single approach to determining the absorbed dose in remote radiation therapy, which should improve the accuracy of calibration of the devices.
A discussion was held with a representative of the SNRI from the Department of International Cooperation and European Integration regarding the process of informing and selecting persons to participate in events organized by the IAEA and other international organizations. It was promised that in the future all information about the above courses will be sent not only to some selected institutions, but also to members of the Interdepartmental Working Group, which includes representatives of NGOs, which in turn will be able to disseminate information to their industry. The need to introduce reporting to participants in such events was also discussed, as the IAEA finances these trips not only to train one specialist, but also to pass on the knowledge gained to their colleagues in Ukraine.
Summarizing the above: the recent changes in the SNRI, in particular the appointment of Hryhoriy Plachkov as Chairman and the creation of a new position of Deputy Chairman responsible for radiation safety in medicine, to which Ruslana Tripailo was appointed, had a very positive impact on communication between the regulator and representatives public organizations. There is a desire to make changes. The main thing is to have constructive clear proposals and indicative step-by-step plans for the implementation of these proposals.
All submitted proposals from the Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists have been accepted for consideration and we will assist and monitor the implementation of our proposals.
In the future, we will continue to prepare the following proposals from UAMP, discuss them among the members of UAMP, form reasoned proposals and a step-by-step implementation plan. Proposals will be formed including those problematic issues that were raised by medical physicists in surveys conducted by UAMP, during Forums and conferences or in personal conversations with medical physicists of Ukraine. Each of you can join the formation of proposals, it all depends on your desire and activity.
If you have any questions, suggestions, criticism, please write to us. We will meet with you, talk on the phone or e-mail, answer all questions, explain certain actions, why everything happens this way and not otherwise.
We invite you to activity…
Sincerely,
Ruslan Zelinskyi
Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists
uamphs@gmail.com
+38 097 691 11 34
