But what of SRP ? A lot of our bread and butter landed buttered side down but was rapidly remedied . As with many of our workplaces , SRP switched to online meetings for its committees to maintain our core functions whilst , more significantly , joining forces with AURPO to provide professional development opportunities through a number of very successful webinars . At the time of writing this article SRP has held 14 webinars , covering a wide range of topics from An Introduction to Proton Beam Therapy Facility Design to a Review of Radioactive Liquids , with an average of 350 delegates , peaking at 745 for the latest on Radiological Risk Assessments . With average attendance for SRP ’ s one-day events during 2019 being 60 delegates , the short , targeted webinars are clearly a hit with the profession . Both these changes continue to rely heavily on Harris Associates , our administrative services provider , who have reacted to our changing needs and implemented solutions at speed .
Every element of our lives has changed in the last 12 months . Normal seems a distant memory and , when we finally return to it , it is generally accepted that it will be something
Radiation Protection Today Summer 2021
quite different . SRP now needs to consider what our new normal should look like . Online committee meetings are cheaper than face-to-face , and webinars are cheaper than seaside conferences , but there are other dimensions to consider .
The value of social contact , building crosssector links which strengthen the profession , direct interaction with Affiliated Organisations , the simple superiority of direct communication , all need to be balanced against cost . As does the environmental impact of the activities of SRP . Based on travel alone , it is estimated that the running of Society committees in person generates at least 10 tonnes of CO 2 per annum , plus 0.5 tonnes for a one-day meeting and 3 tonnes for an annual conference . That approximates to the annual contribution made by an individual person in the UK . The immediate challenge for SRP and its members is to strike a balance between what our profession and members need and the financial and environmental cost . Once we have our new carbon footprint , we can debate our investment in offsetting projects to contribute to the UK commitment to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 . This will define our new normal , the positive legacy of the pandemic . Daunting , but it is ALARP / BAT in disguise . And we are good at that .
Article by Amber Bannon CRadP MSRP ( Environment Agency ) and Peter Marsden CRadP FSRP ( UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ) - Both SRP Past Presidents
Thank you to Anita Jefferies MSRP for providing the photos of the Nightingale
Hospital Birmingham .
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