Nuclear Engineering
Washington State University is conducting a project to expand its engineering course offerings, as well as specific components of existing courses, related to nuclear safety, nuclear security, and nuclear environmental protection. The project is funded by the Nuclear Education Grant Program of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN RADIATION PROTECTION BEING DEVELOPED
P.S. Stansbury, Dade Moeller and Associates
James R. “Dick” Pratt, Washington State University Tri-Cities
March 2012 — A graduate certificate program in radiation protection is being developed at Washington State University Tri-Cities with the intent of admitting students to this program and teaching courses in fall 2013.
Graduates of the program will be qualified to assist radiation safety professionals in protecting workers, the public, and the environment from hazards associated with ionizing radiation and radioactive materials and wastes, including those at the local U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford site.
The program will require that students be admitted to WSU Graduate School and complete 12 hours of graduate course work: a required course and three from among a small number of electives.
This program is being led by a 10-person academic advisory committee of local protection professionals, who have a mix of academic and professional backgrounds, to oversee development of the program. The advisory committee started in 2011, with the task of specifying what graduates of this program should be able to do. The committee has identified eight core competencies and seven specialty competencies. The core competencies, expected of all students, include:
Health effects of radiation
- Radiological physics
- Ubiquitous background radiation
- Uses of radiation and radioactive materials
- Radiation quantities and units
- Instruments to measure them
- Regulations and standards
- Exponential equation
The specialty or elective competencies include internal and external dosimetry, fuel cycle, structure and function of radiation protection programs, radiochemistry, dose assessment and environmental dose calculation, and emergency preparedness and response.
The next steps are to modify the existing courses or develop new courses that will impart to the graduates the needed mix of skills and knowledge.
An announcement will be made when the program is ready to accept applicants.