Hanford Vit Plant employees are often recognized as experts in their fields. Two radiological engineers are the latest to earn this designation after receiving awards from the Columbia Chapter of the Health Physics Society (CCHPS).
Jennifer Bean was honored as the Early Career Health Physicist of the Year, and Russ Lauber was voted Health Physicist of the Year at the annual CCHPS awards banquet this summer.
CCHPS recognized Bean for her efforts to coordinate data collection, perform data analysis, and write the dose assessment report (DAR) for the Analytical Laboratory. DARs are performed to ensure the facility design results in dose rates that meet requirements and are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) during operations. She also performed the shielding calculations to inform design of facility radiation shields.
Lauber was also awarded for his work related to ALARA facility design. He implemented a checklist of all ALARA features needed to ensure safe operations at the Vit Plant. He also teaches discipline-specific ALARA training for all employees that need to implement ALARA into their primary tasks. He has written five Technical Basis documents and reports for use at the Vit Plant and is active in promoting professional development of early career employees.
Per its website, the CCHPS is a professional organization whose members are specialists in radiation safety. These health physicists are dedicated to maximizing the beneficial use of radiation while minimizing the risk to people and the environment.