Success Stories

ORAU’s Daughterty Provides Support to the International Atomic Energy Agency

Nancy Daugherty of Oak Ridge Associated Universities' (ORAU) Occupational Exposure and Worker Health program contributed her expertise in technical writing and health physics to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, in 2008.

Daughtery supported health physicist Thomas McKenna and emergency planning coordinator Dr. Elena Buglova on a guidance document for radiological assessment during the intermediate phase of a radiological emergency.

IAEA is an independent, intergovernmental science and technology-based organization in the United Nations family that serves as the global focal point for nuclear cooperation. It assists its Member States in the context of social and economic goals in planning for and using nuclear science and technology for various peaceful purposes; develops nuclear safety standards and promotes the safe usage of nuclear and radiological materials; and assures nuclear non-proliferation.

The document is being developed by the IAEA Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) under the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security. The IEC coordinates the IAEA’s response to nuclear or radiological incidents and emergencies and helps strengthen the emergency preparedness and response of Member States.

“I believe I was chosen for the work because they needed support from a health physicist who could write well,” Daugherty said. “My undergraduate degree is in English, my M.S. is in health physics and I’ve served on emergency response teams in the past.”

The IAEA has published several standards and comprehensive guidance documents addressing radiological emergency response. The document Daugherty worked on is intended to provide a more concise, practical field manual for training and use in radiological assessment.

“One challenge with this document is meeting the needs of emergency responders from a wide variety of countries with varying levels of radiological expertise and resources,” Daugherty explained.

Daugherty and her husband, John, spent more than seven months in Vienna on the temporary assignment.

“We had never been to Vienna before, and I’d had no prior experience with the IAEA,” she said. “To work for an international organization in a city with such historical importance and cultural diversity was a great experience. I returned to my work at ORAU’s Arvada, Colo., office with a much broader perspective on history, culture and even radiation protection as it’s implemented in different countries.”