Oak Ridge Today

Hartung named section manager at REAC/TS

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Charles ‘Chuck’ Hartung

 

Charles “Chuck” Hartung has been named section manager and education coordinator at the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site in Oak Ridge.

Hartung retired in 2021 as director of the White House Medical Unit after completing a 37-year career in the U.S. Navy. He spent his first eight years in the Navy operating nuclear reactors on board aircraft carriers and teaching at the Naval Nuclear Power School before transitioning into nursing, a press release said. During his nursing career, he has held a wide variety of clinical and leadership roles in both inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings. These include various roles at the White House during the last four presidential administrations.

In his new position at REAC/TS, Hartung will provide management, nursing leadership, and education coordination for courses REAC/TS offers. [Read more…]

REAC/TS retains PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre designation

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OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—The Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) received its redesignation as a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Collaborating Centre recently.

Collaborating Centres serve as key institutions throughout the world providing relevant expertise and functioning as an extension of the international public health agency’s mission to improve health outcomes for all people.

REAC/TS, located in Oak Ridge, has been a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for radiation emergency assistance since 1980. The centres must be redesignated every four years by fulfilling multiple criteria, including: high scientific and technical standing at national and international levels; prominent place in the country’s health, scientific, or educational structures; high quality of scientific and technical leadership; strong working relationships with other institutions in the country and at intercountry, regional and global levels; clear ability, capacity, and readiness to participate in international cooperative activities; a clear technical and geographical relevance of both the institution and its activities to WHO’s program priorities.

REAC/TS Director Dr. Carol Iddins will continue to serve as head of the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for radiation emergency assistance.

“REAC/TS has been very fortunate to have a strong, long-standing affiliation with the WHO Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network (REMPAN) and a close working relationship with Dr. Zhanat Carr, WHO Radiation Program, Department of Public Health and Environment,” Dr. Iddins said. “This relationship is crucially important to already have in place, because we realize when an incident occurs it can affect the global population.”

About REAC/TS
REAC/TS is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education facility managed by ORAU for the U.S. Department of Energy with the mission to strengthen the medical response to radiological and nuclear incidents. REAC/TS provides 24/7 medical support and deployment to provide emergency medical consultation for incidents involving radioactive materials and ionizing radiation worldwide. REAC/TS also conducts ongoing research into the biological effects of radiation and provides continuing medical education for healthcare providers, other professionals and students. For more information, visit https://orise.orau.gov/reacts/

About ORISE
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education is a U.S. Department of Energy asset that is dedicated to enabling critical scientific, research, and health initiatives of the department and its laboratory system by providing world class expertise in STEM workforce development, scientific and technical reviews, and the evaluation of radiation exposure and environmental contamination.

ORISE is managed by ORAU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, for DOE’s Office of Science. For more information on ORISE, visit https://orise.orau.gov/
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science

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Director named at Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site

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Carol Iddins

Carol Iddins

 

Carol J. Iddins has been named director of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site in Oak Ridge.

In this position, Iddins will provide direction and medical leadership while managing the operations of REAC/TS, a press release said.

“Dr. Iddins will ensure support to multiple government and non-governmental agencies for national readiness as well as provide advice and consultation for the medical management of radiation injuries and illnesses,” the press release said. “She will lead REAC/TS as the United States’ only collaborating center for radiation emergency management for the World Health Organization and coordinate international response through the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Radiation Assistance Network.”

Iddins served as associate director of REAC/TS for four years. Before that, she worked for five years as a staff physician at REAC/TS. In these roles, she provided subject matter expertise for patients with radiological injuries and illnesses; disaster medicine; emergency readiness and preparedness; research; and developing and delivering educational courses, the press release said. She has participated in many U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration national-level exercises as well as deployments to actual real-world incidents, the press release said. [Read more…]

Jason Davis named health physicist for ORISE REAC/TS facility

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Jason Davis, health physicist at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, received the 2017 Elda E. Anderson Award from the Health Physics Society earlier this year. He is pictured with his wife, Samantha. (Photo by ORAU)

Jason Davis, health physicist at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, received the 2017 Elda E. Anderson Award from the Health Physics Society earlier this year. He is pictured with his wife, Samantha. (Photo by ORAU)

Award-winning health physicist has worked at ORAU since 2009

Jason Davis has been named health physicist for the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, a world-renowned U.S. Department of Energy asset located at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and managed by ORAU.

Davis is a highly regarded health physicist, bringing more than 14 years of experience in health physics and radiological engineering to REAC/TS, a press release said. He has worked in academia as well as for DOE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His primary area of interest is internal dosimetry, and he has experience in external dosimetry, diagnostic medical imaging, radiation biology, and radiation protection.

REAC/TS is a deployable DOE asset and a leader in emergency medical response to radiological/nuclear incidents, the press release said. The REAC/TS team provides emergency response, advice, and consultation for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation. REAC/TS also offers continuing education for medical personnel, emergency planners, and others on the medical management of radiological/nuclear incidents, as well as decontamination techniques, through instructional and hands-on education. [Read more…]

Balajee named director of Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Lab at REAC/TS

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Adayabalam Balajee

Adayabalam Balajee

Research scientist brings more than 20 years of laboratory expertise to the position

Adayabalam Balajee has been named the director of the Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Laboratory, which is operated as part of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS, at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

In his new position, Balajee will manage the operations and staff at the CBL, which is one of only two labs in the U.S. where chromosome abnormality analysis is used for ionizing radiation dose assessment, a press release said. The process for this analysis starts with a blood sample from someone who a physician thinks may have been exposed to radiation.

Prior to joining the CBL, Balajee held the position of research scientist at the Center for Radiological Research, Department of Radiation Oncology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, where he had been employed since 1999. Balajee also spent five years as a visiting fellow at the Gerontology Research Center at the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore. [Read more…]

Dainiak named director of REAC/TS

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Nicholas Dainiak

Nicholas Dainiak

Radiation response specialist has more than 35 years of medical expertise

Nicholas Dainiak has been named director of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS, at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

A deployable asset of the U.S. Department of Energy, REAC/TS provides 24/7 emergency medical response for incidents involving radiation anywhere in the world, a press release said. REAC/TS also provides direct support for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Emergency Operations and the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center, or FRMAC.

Adding to its depth of radiation response and consultation capabilities, REAC/TS is uniquely qualified to teach medical personnel, health physicists, first responders, and occupational health professionals about radiation emergency medicine, the release said. REAC/TS also operates an acytogenetic biodosimetry laboratory, one of only two in the U.S., where chromosome aberration analysis is used for ionizing radiation dose assessment. [Read more…]

Iddins promoted to associate director of REAC/TS

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Carol Iddins

Carol Iddins

Dr. Carol J. Iddins has been named associate director of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS. In this position, Iddins will provide management and medical leadership, participate in all aspects of emergency response planning, and manage all professional and technical activities of radiation emergency management and REAC/TS.

Iddins has more than 20 years of experience in civilian and military medicine, with extensive knowledge of nuclear accident response.

Iddins has worked for five years as a staff physician at REAC/TS, serving as a subject matter expert for patients with radiological injuries and illnesses and for disaster medicine readiness, preparedness, and education. [Read more…]

Spotlight: REAC/TS gives tour to radiologic technology class from Roane State

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Roane State REAC/TS Tour

The Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) leads a recent tour of the REAC/TS facility with a radiologic technology class from Roane State Community College. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

Submitted

A former REAC/TS participant and current professor at Roane State Community recently led a radiologic technology class on a tour of REAC/TS.

REAC/TS is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education facility managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities for the U.S. Department of Energy with the mission to strengthen the medical response to radiological and nuclear incidents. REAC/TS provides 24/7 medical support and deployment to provide emergency medical consultation for incidents involving radioactive materials and ionizing radiation worldwide. REAC/TS also conducts ongoing research into the biological effects of radiation and provides continuing medical education for healthcare providers.

Pictured above from left are nurse/paramedic Rob Beauchamp from the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS); Julie Hall, right, Roane State Community College radiologic technology program director and assistant professor, and one of her students, Drew Campbell, back. Hall is a former student of the Roane State Radiologic Program who went to REAC/TS as a student for assistance in her research and studies.

Anderson Emergency Planning Committee meets Tuesday

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The Anderson County Local Emergency Planning Committee will hold its annual membership meeting on Tuesday at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.

There will be a presentation by Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS). All Anderson County and Oak Ridge area companies who handle hazardous and radioactive materials or wastes are invited to send a representative, a press release said.

[Read more…]