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PAC 4:  Radiation Protection in Medicine 

Program Area Committee (PAC) 4 provides oversight of activities in the field of radiation protection in medicine. Functioning within the scope of PAC 4 are two report-writing committees: SC 4-1, Management of Persons Contaminated with Radionuclides; SC 4-2 on Population Monitoring and Decontamination Following a Nuclear or Radiological Incident; and SC 4-4 on Risks of Ionizing Radiation to the Developing Embryo, Fetus and Nursing Infant.

Currently authorized but unfunded activities within this program area are:

• medical evaluation of workers
• radiological protection standards and ethical issues in studies involving radiation exposure of human research subjects
• radiation protection guidance for computed tomography
• revision of NCRP Report No. 102 on Medical X-Rays, Electron Beam and Gamma-Ray Protection for Energies Up to 50 MeV (1989)

NCRP is currently planning to conduct a workshop and prepare a consensus paper in 2009 on appropriateness of applications of computed tomography (CT) in emergency departments. This activity will be cosponsored by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American College of Radiology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Landauer, Inc., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. One of the most rapidly growing applications of CT has been in emergency department settings, both for analyzing traumatic injuries and for documenting the appropriateness of releasing patients. In view of the large number of these CT procedures, it is of growing importance to analyze their value in the context of ionizing radiation doses received by the patients. The goal of the NCRP activity on this subject is to evaluate the uses of CT in emergency department settings, and to establish consensus guidelines based on a paper to be prepared by experts in emergency medicine, general diagnostic radiology, and medical physics. A WebEx teleconference was held on February 25, 2009 involving representatives of the cosponsoring organizations. The teleconference was moderated by Otha Linton, Executive Director of the International Society of Radiology. Discussion during the teleconference resulted in an agenda and list of candidate speakers at the workshop, which was held in Bethesda, Maryland on September 23-24, 2009. Preparation of a summary of the workshop will be initiated during the fourth quarter 2009. The workshop summary will form a basis for the subsequent drafting of a consensus paper on guidelines for applications of CT in emergency medicine.

The membership of PAC 4 is:

J.T. Bushberg, Vice President
E.S. Amis
J.A. Brink
J.F. Cardella
C.C. Cardwell
M. Edwards
D.P. Frush
R.E. Goans
L.A. Kroger
E.G. Leidholdt
F.A. Mettler, Jr.
T.L. Phillips
J.A. Seibert
S.C. White
S.Y. Woo
T.S. Tenforde, NCRP Contact 

SC 4-2 Population Monitoring and Decontamination Following
a Nuclear or Radiological Incident >

SC 4-3 Diagnostic Reference Levels in Medical Imaging:
Recommendations for Application in the United States >

SC 4-4 Risks of Ionizing Radiation to the Developing Embryo, 
Fetus and Nursing Infant >

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