Emergency Radiobioassay Preparedness Exercises through the NIST Radiochemistry Intercomparison Program (NRIP)

Published

August 1, 2011

Author(s)

Svetlana Nour, Jerome LaRosa, Kenneth G. Inn

Abstract

The present challenge for the international radiobioassay community is to analyze contaminated samples rapidly while maintaining high quality results. NIST runs a radiobioassay measurement traceability testing program to evaluate the radioanalytical capabilities of participating laboratories. The NIST Radiochemistry Intercomparison Program (NRIP) started more than 10 years ago, and emergency performance testing was added to the program 7 years ago. Radiobioassay turnaround times under the NRIP program for routine production and under emergency response scenarios are 60 days and 8 hours, respectively. Because measurement certainty and determinations time are very critical in a radiological emergency, response laboratories’ analytical systems are best evaluated and improved through traceable Performance Testing (PT) programs. The NRIP provides participant laboratories metrology tools to evaluate their performance and to improve it. The program motivates the laboratories to optimize their methodologies and minimize the turnaround time of their results. Likewise, NIST has to make adjustments and periodical changes in the bioassay test samples in order to continually challenge the participating laboratories.

Citation

Health Physics

Volume

101

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

emergency exercise, NRIP, Performance Testing (PT), Radiobioassay, turn-around time

Citation

Nour, S. , LaRosa, J. and Inn, K. (2011), Emergency Radiobioassay Preparedness Exercises through the NIST Radiochemistry Intercomparison Program (NRIP), Health Physics, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=906938 (Accessed October 4, 2024)