JOURNAL DESCRIPTION
The Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety journal ISSN 1024-6177 was founded in January 1956 (before December 30, 1993 it was entitled Medical Radiology, ISSN 0025-8334). In 2018, the journal received Online ISSN: 2618-9615 and was registered as an electronic online publication in Roskomnadzor on March 29, 2018. It publishes original research articles which cover questions of radiobiology, radiation medicine, radiation safety, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine and scientific reviews. In general the journal has more than 30 headings and it is of interest for specialists working in thefields of medicine¸ radiation biology, epidemiology, medical physics and technology. Since July 01, 2008 the journal has been published by State Research Center - Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of Federal Medical Biological Agency. The founder from 1956 to the present time is the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, and from 2008 to the present time is the Federal Medical Biological Agency.
Members of the editorial board are scientists specializing in the field of radiation biology and medicine, radiation protection, radiation epidemiology, radiation oncology, radiation diagnostics and therapy, nuclear medicine and medical physics. The editorial board consists of academicians (members of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS)), the full member of Academy of Medical Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, corresponding members of the RAS, Doctors of Medicine, professor, candidates and doctors of biological, physical mathematics and engineering sciences. The editorial board is constantly replenished by experts who work in the CIS and foreign countries.
Six issues of the journal are published per year, the volume is 13.5 conventional printed sheets, 88 printer’s sheets, 1.000 copies. The journal has an identical full-text electronic version, which, simultaneously with the printed version and color drawings, is posted on the sites of the Scientific Electronic Library (SEL) and the journal's website. The journal is distributed through the Rospechat Agency under the contract № 7407 of June 16, 2006, through individual buyers and commercial structures. The publication of articles is free.
The journal is included in the List of Russian Reviewed Scientific Journals of the Higher Attestation Commission. Since 2008 the journal has been available on the Internet and indexed in the RISC database which is placed on Web of Science. Since February 2nd, 2018, the journal "Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety" has been indexed in the SCOPUS abstract and citation database.
Brief electronic versions of the Journal have been publicly available since 2005 on the website of the Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety Journal: http://www.medradiol.ru. Since 2011, all issues of the journal as a whole are publicly available, and since 2016 - full-text versions of scientific articles. Since 2005, subscribers can purchase full versions of other articles of any issue only through the National Electronic Library. The editor of the Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety Journal in accordance with the National Electronic Library agreement has been providing the Library with all its production since 2005 until now.
The main working language of the journal is Russian, an additional language is English, which is used to write titles of articles, information about authors, annotations, key words, a list of literature.
Since 2017 the journal Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety has switched to digital identification of publications, assigning to each article the identifier of the digital object (DOI), which greatly accelerated the search for the location of the article on the Internet. In future it is planned to publish the English-language version of the journal Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety for its development. In order to obtain information about the publication activity of the journal in March 2015, a counter of readers' references to the materials posted on the site from 2005 to the present which is placed on the journal's website. During 2015 - 2016 years on average there were no more than 100-170 handlings per day. Publication of a number of articles, as well as electronic versions of profile monographs and collections in the public domain, dramatically increased the number of handlings to the journal's website to 500 - 800 per day, and the total number of visits to the site at the end of 2017 was more than 230.000.
The two-year impact factor of RISC, according to data for 2017, was 0.439, taking into account citation from all sources - 0.570, and the five-year impact factor of RISC - 0.352.
Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2014. Vol. 59. No. 2. P. 68-76
DISCUSSION
E. Melikhova
Social Acceptability of Nuclear Power and Moral Dilemmas of Radiation Protection
Nuclear Safety Institute of RAS, Moscow, Russia. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABSTRACT
Long-term polarization of public opinion regarding the future of nuclear power in many EU countries as well as stable opposition by the Russian residents to a proposal for a new NPP building close to them indicates that the public dialogue came to a deadlock. The reason, according to Belgian philosopher Gaston Meskens, is that the key issues of the public discussion such as sever accidents, nuclear waste and non-proliferation are nearly related to risks, and social acceptability of risk means its moral acceptability. To break the deadlock the nuclear professionals need to study moral values underlying their arguments and turn from declarations of “openness and transparency” to public reflexivity with regard to the moral issues. Following this logic we suggest to start with the ethical studies of radiation safety approach. In recent years radiological community has being showing an interest for formalization of the ethical principles that underpin the system of radiation protection. Among a number of moral problems in the field there is a dilemma most appropriate for public reflexivity – ALARA principle along with the linear no-threshold (LNT) model. Use of LNT model in low-dose range is morally right in deontological ethics (ethics of duty) while rejection of LNT model is morally right from the point of utilitarian ethics. LNT is a matter of sharp scholarly disputes. However the moral dilemma of such type can’t be solved within professional community. If a dilemma affects interests of many people outside the professional circle it is a case for applied ethics. Collaboration between radiation protectors and moral philosophers in conceptualization and analysis of LNT dilemma and other moral problems of radiation safety approach is needed to provide scientifically grounded platform for constructive public discussions, strict and clear argumentation. Those moral philosophers might be engaged in the public reflexivity, participate in ethical commissions which become rather popular among authorities as decision making advisors in extreme and complicated circumstances.
Key words: nuclear power, public dialogue, risks, public reflexivity, radiation protection, linear non-threshold hypothesis, moral values, applied ethics