CHANGING ROLES OF STATE HEALTH PHYSICISTS

State radiation control programs are responsible for many aspects of radiation protection under their purview. These may include all aspects of radiation protection for sources of radiation not exclusively under federal control under an agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the use of some sources of radiation not regulated by the federal government, such as radiation machines and naturally occurring radioactive material. The roles of state health physicists are ever-evolving, and the scope of their work is constantly expanding. This has come about most recently due to several factors, including additional federal requirements involving source security, emerging radiation machine technologies, expansion of emergency planning to include terrorist incidents, and more states with issues involving technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material. These changes in the role of state health physicists and the new challenges are adding to the need for health physics resources and knowledge base. Several approaches are being used to address the training needs and technological and regulatory challenges, but these will continue to be needed to meet future workforce needs.