Radiological Protection Professional Internship

1. Brief History

When going through the paths of the history of Nuclear Energy in the Brazilian context, after the occurrence, in 1987, of the largest radiological accident ever recorded in Brazil in the city of Goiânia - GO, which culminated in the dispersion of approximately 19 g of Cesium Chloride-137 from the loss of sealing of a source used in a radiotherapy device, for the treatment of prostate cancer, it was observed that there was a need to train and train emergency response teams at different levels of employment.

With the participation of several civil and military agencies in the identification, area and environmental monitoring, and decontamination of the accident areas, the need to prepare such teams for a more specific and coordinated action was also perceived in the lessons learned process. .

In the same step, in recent years the Brazilian Army has played a leading role in major events held in Brazil, including Rio+20 in 2011, the Pope's visit in 2013, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Throughout these events, there was the integrated participation of the various levels, from the tactical to the strategic level, with the use of troops specialized in the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear part of the EB, among which are the CBRN Defense Battalion , 1st Special Operations Company, as well as the Specialized Instruction School (EsIE); in addition to the work of the Institute for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (IDQBRN), with a focus on technical-scientific advisory work.

Considering this scenario marked by a wide diffusion of knowledge and capillarity of the use of the Land Force, the high command of the Brazilian Army (EB) realized the need to create an internship for the training and preparation of professionals from its Health Board of the EB (QSEB). ), in the area of Radiological Protection for use not only in emergencies, but also in the area of radiodiagnosis, among other subjects, such as nuclear medicine and radiotherapy, which are activities commonly performed in hospitals and military clinics belonging to the Army.

In this context, the Ministry of Defense (MD) approved, through Ordinance No. 00183/FA-43, of January 20, 1997, the "BASIC RULES FOR RADIOPROTECTION IN THE ARMED FORCES" - FA-N-330 03, establishing the basic radiation protection guidelines. In the aforementioned document, the MD disciplined activities with ionizing radiation within the Armed Forces and, therefore, since 1997 and aligned with the EB high command, the Nuclear Engineering Section (SE/07) of the Military Institute of Engineering ( IME) conducts the Radiological Protection Internship aiming at the training and qualification, with annual periodicity, of the officers belonging to the QSEB, in order to prepare them so that this knowledge can be disseminated and applied throughout Brazilian territory.

In an attempt to demonstrate the importance of the Internship, the example of the Amazon region, which concentrates many military installations, and which maintains its activities in locations with little or no support other than that provided by the EB, can be considered, for information purposes. In these special locations, the guidelines and decisions on the safety of activities with ionizing radiation are basically presented by the officers who participated as trainees in the basic and advanced stages of radiological protection at the IME.

In the most current scenario, taking as a reference the twenty years of application and existence of the Radiological Protection Internship, there was a need for technical-scientific advice aimed at Military Organizations (OM) directly subordinated to the Health Directorate (DSau). In these activities, there was an increasing participation of technical OMs (IME and IDQBRN) of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense System (SisDQBRNEx), in auditing and conformity assessment work of X-ray equipment, especially in the analysis part the quality of the X-ray beam and in the radiometric survey of the controlled, free and supervised areas. In addition, technical guidelines and proposed methodologies were also passed on to standardize the procedures and acceptance tests necessary for the correct functioning of these equipment, aiming at the adequacy of the radiology sectors of these OMs to the current norms of the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) and the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), with regard to services containing the application of ionizing radiation in the medical field.

2. Internship Scope

The Internships, basic and advanced in Radiological Protection, have as a selection universe, lieutenants and career captains of the Staff of Doctors, Dentists, Pharmacists and Complementary of the areas of activity of Nursing and Veterinary. In addition to these, at the discretion of the EME, vacancies may be opened for members of the Singular Forces and Auxiliary Forces, as well as for the officers of Friendly Nations.

The Radiological Protection Internship is taught in two phases: (a) the Basic Internship and (b) the Advanced Internship. The Radiological Protection Basic Stage takes place at SE/07 facilities. It consists of the 1st phase of the complete course, being held once a year, lasting 2 (two) weeks. It normally takes place in the second half of April or the first half of May, with a workload of 48 hours.

The Radiological Protection Advanced Internship consists of the 2nd phase of the course and is carried out in six weeks, throughout October and November, with a workload of 196 hours. This Internship is developed in two stages: the first, theoretical part, at IME, and the second, practical part, at IDQBRN facilities. In this second stage of the Internship, theoretical and practical instructions are developed, in order to encourage the active participation of students, using a methodology that involves approaching the basic principles of radiological protection, detection and identification of ionizing radiation, as well as the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The condition for the candidate to complete the advanced internship is to have successfully completed the basic internship. The purposes of the Basic and Advanced stages are distinct and complementary to each other. For the Basic Stage, the objective is to train Health Service Officers to protect patients and operators in the medical uses of ionizing radiation, in addition to training for primary care for potential victims in case of accidents with ionizing radiation. The purpose of the Advanced Internship is to update the knowledge of Health Service Officers who, in the exercise of their functions, operate directly and habitually with X-rays or radioactive substances, with a view to occupying positions and performing their functions.

In the two stages of the Radiological Protection Internship, professionals are trained in the following actions: (a) basic fundamentals for screening radiologically injured personnel; (b) care for victims considering the radiological protection of the team; (c) actions demanded from medical teams considering the biological effects caused by ionizing radiation and (d) compliance with good radiological practice. In recent years, with the issue of security in major events hosted, added to the possible actions using nuclear materials to provoke social unrest, in a current geopolitical scenario marked by growing asymmetrical wars in the theater of operations, the degree of importance of courses has increased. and stages of this nature for the Brazilian Army.

3. Purpose

To regulate the activities of the Internship, Basic and Advanced of Radiological Protection, to be taught by the Section of Nuclear Engineering (SE/07), for Officers of the Health Service of the Brazilian Army.

Regulate the activities of the Advanced Internship in Radiological Protection for Officers of the Brazilian Army Health Service, to be developed within the scope of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Institute (IDQBRN), of the Army Technological Center (CTEx).

3. Purpose

4. Refernces

Portaria nº 036-SCT, de 02 de Julho de 2002, que aprova as instruções reguladoras da inscrição, da seleção e da matrícula nos Estágios.
Portaria nº 092 – DGP, de 23 de maio de 2008, que aprova as normas para codificação e estágios do Exército Brasileiro e cria o catálogo de códigos para cursos e estágios do EB;
Portaria nº 204 – EME, de 14 de dezembro de 2012, que aprova a diretriz para atualização e funcionamento do Sistema de Defesa Química, Biológica, Radiológica e Nuclear do Exército (SisDQBRNEx);
Portaria nº 05-EME, de 31 de janeiro de 2013;
Portaria nº-14 – EME, de 05 de fevereiro de 2013, que altera as condições de funcionamento do Estágio Básico de Proteção Radiológica para oficiais;
Portaria nº 012-DCT, de 10 de abril de 2013;
Portatia nº 210-DECEx, de 19 de agosto de 2019.

5. Objectives

Develop basic training for radiological protection and for emergency situations, updating the knowledge of military personnel who, in the exercise of their functions, operate directly or habitually with X-rays or radioactive substances, with a view to occupying positions and performing related functions to the occupationally exposed individual (IOE).

Train the military, as IOE, for activities involving exposure to ionizing radiation in Army hospital units.
Identify occupational health controls required for work with ionizing radiation
Describe radiological and nuclear protection and radiation detection principles.
Carry out a practical exercise in the detection and handling of nuclear instrumentation.
Describe personal protective equipment (PPE).
Carry out a practical exercise in the use of PPE.
Describe emergency response actions.
Carry out practical exercise in response to emergency situations.
Carry out visits to the laboratories of the Radiological and Nuclear Defense Section of the IDQBRN Institute (SDRN).

6. Importance

Over these nearly 20 years of Internship, more than 300 QSEB soldiers were trained throughout the national territory. This training work has proved to be fundamental and a sine qua non condition to spread the knowledge and culture of radioprotection in the EB military units, with positive impacts on the safety culture.

Considering the degree of importance in the subject, there is a proposal within the EB to transform the internship, which is currently an extension course, into a latu sensu postgraduate course. In this format, the course would seek to adapt to the immediate needs of the EB, so that the intern would seek to develop specific products and results for urgent and real problems encountered in practice with radioactive materials.

INSTITUTO MILITAR DE ENGENHARIA

Pç. General Tibúrcio, 80 – 4^o. Andar - Sala 505 – Praia Vermelha, Urca - Rio de Janeiro – RJ – CEP:22290-270. Tel. (21) 2546-7072