Health physics

Health physicists normally require a four-year bachelor’s degree and qualifying experience that demonstrates a professional knowledge of the theory and application of radiation protection principles and closely related sciences.

Health physicists principally work at facilities where radionuclides or other sources of ionizing radiation (such as X-ray generators) are used or produced; these include research, industry, education, medical facilities, nuclear power, military, environmental protection, enforcement of government regulations, and decontamination and decommissioning—the combination of education and experience for health physicists depends on the specific field in which the health physicist is engaged.

The measuring instruments for radiation protection are both "installed" (in a fixed position) and portable (hand-held or transportable).

Installed instruments are fixed in positions which are known to be important in assessing the general radiation hazard in an area.

The UK National Physical Laboratory has published a good practice guide through its Ionising Radiation Metrology Forum concerning the provision of such equipment and the methodology of calculating the alarm levels to be used.

In the United Kingdom the HSE has issued a user guidance note on selecting the correct radiation measurement instrument for the application concerned [2] Archived 2020-03-15 at the Wayback Machine.

It is calculated by multiplying the absorbed dose by a weighting factor WR, which is different for each type of radiation (see table at Relative biological effectiveness#Standardization).

For comparison, the average 'background' dose of natural radiation received by a person per day, based on 2000 UNSCEAR estimate, makes BRET 6.6 μSv (660 μrem).

[9] In 1898, The Röntgen Society (Currently the British Institute of Radiology) established a committee on X-ray injuries, thus initiating the discipline of radiation protection.

The first task of the Health Physics Section was to design shielding for reactor CP-1 that Enrico Fermi was constructing, so the original HPs were mostly physicists trying to solve health-related problems.