Simon Willis, one of Aurora’s RPAs, RWAs and MPEs, has been involved in the recent publication of a paper into radiation safety culture in the UK higher education, research and teaching sectors (HERT).

As a long-time member of Association of University Radiation Protection Officers (AURPO), Simon is an expert in radiation protection culture in the academic sector.
This paper, undertaken as part of a working group from AURPO, reviews a survey designed by the authors and undertaken by staff involved in research across the UK.

Although not trying to obtain an indication of safety performance, the survey looked at people’s views on behaviours and attitudes of radiation safety that reflect the current radiation safety culture in their organisation.
The review concluded with some interesting tactics to address the shortfalls in safety culture and noted that embedding radiation safety culture within an organisation is the most effective way of delivering the standards of radiation safety.

The paper is available via subscription, and is published in the December 2020 (Volume 4, Number 4) edition of the Journal of Radiological Protection.