Health Physics Journal

Health Physics Journal
Title	Health Physics Journal
Discipline	Radiation protection, radiobiology
Abbreviation	Health Phys.
Publisher	Health Physics Society
Country	United States
Frequency	Monthly
History	1958–present
Issn	0017-9078

Contents

Health Physics Journal Health Physics Journal is a peer-reviewed monthly publication covering radiation protection, radiobiology, and related applied sciences. It serves professionals affiliated with institutions such as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, providing research, reviews, and policy analysis. The journal intersects with work from laboratories, regulatory agencies, universities, professional societies, and international organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency, World Health Organization, European Commission, and United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

History

The journal was established in 1958 by the Health Physics Society amid Cold War expansions of atomic research at sites like Hanford Site and Idaho National Laboratory. Early volumes featured contributions from scientists affiliated with Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and academics at Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University. During the 1960s and 1970s it documented events and responses linked to incidents such as the Three Mile Island accident and informed debates in hearings before the United States Congress and panels convened by the National Academy of Sciences. In later decades the journal published analyses related to accidents at the Chernobyl disaster and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, engaging authors from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kyoto University, University of Tokyo, St. Petersburg State University, and Moscow State University. The History of the journal parallels developments in radiation protection regulations from agencies like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and policy work at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Health Physics Journal covers experimental radiobiology, dosimetry, internal contamination, environmental radioecology, instrumentation, emergency response, and occupational exposure. Authors have included researchers from National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic, Stanford University School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, University of California, San Francisco, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Yale University, and University of Washington. The journal publishes technical notes on devices used in field surveys developed at Sandia National Laboratories and analyses of policy frameworks influenced by reports from International Commission on Radiological Protection, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, and the World Nuclear Association. Case studies have involved responders from Federal Emergency Management Agency and teams drawn from Red Cross chapters and military medical units such as those associated with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The editorial board traditionally draws editors and reviewers from institutions including University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Karolinska Institutet, McGill University, University of Toronto, ETH Zurich, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, University of Melbourne, and Monash University. Peer review follows standard protocols used by journals like Nature, Science, The Lancet, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, employing external referees with expertise from national laboratories and academic departments. The board has included fellows of societies such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and recipients of awards like the Nobel Prize in related fields, and collaborates with committees convened by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements.

Published monthly by the Health Physics Society, the journal offers subscriptions to members and institutions including libraries at Library of Congress, university consortia, and government archives. Electronic access is provided alongside traditional print distribution, with distribution models comparable to those used by publishers like Oxford University Press, Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley-Blackwell. Special issues have been guest-edited in collaboration with organizations such as the Radiation Research Society, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Society for Radiological Protection, and programs connected to the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy.

Articles are indexed in major services and databases that catalog scientific literature, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, GeoRef, and national bibliographies held by institutions like the British Library and Bibliothèque nationale de France. The journal’s metadata are harvested by academic discovery services at universities such as Columbia University Libraries, Harvard Library, Yale University Library, and by aggregators used in consortia like the Association of Research Libraries.

Health Physics Journal is cited in regulatory documents and scientific assessments produced by organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency, World Health Organization, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the European Commission. Its articles have influenced emergency preparedness exercises coordinated with entities such as Federal Emergency Management Agency and informed curricula at institutions like Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Tokyo Medical and Dental University. Reception among professional societies such as the Health Physics Society, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, and Radiation Research Society underscores its role in shaping standards referenced in international treaties and protocols negotiated at forums like International Maritime Organization and United Nations General Assembly.

Category:Academic journals