New generation of health physicists

For a company centred on the handling of radioactive materials, it is essential to possess robust expertise in radiation protection. So DD hired four new employees at the start of the year, who are now being trained as health physicists.

"As a health physicist you work to protect people from radiation in their work environment, and you are also an advisor, mediator and teacher," explains Mikkel Øberg, who himself completed the training just over five years ago and this November became the new head of the Radiation Protection Unit. He replaced Per Hedemann Jensen, who celebrated his 50th anniversary at Risø last year.

Unlike countries with nuclear power, Denmark does not have a certified training programme in the profession. Instead, a training curriculum is laid out for aspiring health physicists, who come with a basic education as either an engineer or physicist. Typically, most of the training is done in-house, with experienced colleagues providing study sessions, exercises and assignments, and then supplemented with external courses as needed.

The four health physics graduates have just returned from the Applied Health Physics course at Oak Ridge Associated Universities in Tennessee.

"In Oak Ridge you feel the wing of history. During World War II, the town was the centre of uranium enrichment, and the town really embraces its history with pride, for example by having atomic decorations around the buildings," says one of the four, Claus Højgård Nielsen.

The city's university has offered courses in health physics since 1947, so capacity in both equipment and teaching staff has been built up over many years. The Applied Health Physics course takes five weeks and is very popular with both Americans and foreigners who need a solid knowledge of radiation protection for their work in nuclear power, decommissioning, environmental protection, legislation, health care, etc.

"In the US, the nuclear industry is really big, so we've been taught by experts in different branches of health physics. They each gave us their perspective on things - well spiced with humour," says Marie Lund Traulsen and continues, "It's been good in general to get in touch with a wider environment of health physicists. We will be able to draw on that later."

"The university's laboratory equipment was also top-notch, and staff were on hand to answer our many questions," explains Frederik Storm Mahler, complemented by Claus Højgård Nielsen: "All the measurements we can only read about here at home can actually be tried out in practice there."

The four Danes, together with people from the USA and Saudi Arabia, made up a small team of only 11 participants. Usually, a team is 20 participants, but due to corona, fewer locals participated than usual, which gave the advantage of extra time for the individual.

Four boxes full of binders with educational materials are now on their way from Oak Ridge to Risø. Here at home, the trainees continue their training and are scheduled to graduate in the fall.
"I'm really happy that there are four of us going along - the training has become a joint project and never a competition. When something is difficult, there is almost always one or two of us who understand it and can explain it to the others. And if none of us understands and has to ask again, well, that's actually very reassuring," smiles Sidse Lærke Lolk.



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