In the May issue of our employee newsletter, The Connection, we asked our employees to tell us how their moms encouraged them to be healthy when they were younger, or, for those employees who are moms, to tell us how they encourage health in their children. The best entry would win an environmentally friendly Dade Moeller tote bag.

And the winner is (drum roll, please) … Tamikka Reed!Tamikka works in our Port Allen, Louisiana, office and provides dedicated IT support to our Gulf Project Team.

Here is Tamikka’s response to the question, “How do you help ensure your child(ren)’s health:

Tamikka Reed

Every day, I make sure my son (21 months):

• Has a balanced breakfast
• Drinks water regularly (more than juice)
• Gets 8-9 oz. of almond milk
• Eats fruits and veggies
• Gets no carbonated drinks
• Has limited-to-no sweets
• Exercises at home with me (it’s funny seeing him mimic me)
• Has a well-portioned dinner
• Washes his hands after getting off the pot (he’s in the process of potty training)
• Likes to brush his teeth

LOL, my list could go on and on! All these things he’s been doing for quite some time now. I’m super excited he’s learning early so that it will not be so difficult as he gets older.

Congratulations, Tamikka, and thank you for doing such a great job of raising a healthy child! (And happy belated Mother’s Day to you!)

What about you? How did your parents ensure your health as a child, or what are you currently doing as a parent to raise healthy kids? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Alan and the class figure out how much radiation their classmate is exposed to each year.

On Thursday, May 10, Senior Health Physicist Alan Fellman, Ph.D., CHP, volunteered some time to speak to Ms. Sunila Varghese’s 6th grade class at Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville, Maryland. The class of 25 students is working on a unit on energy production; one of the students is Alan’s niece.

“We first established that most of the kids thought that radiation is very dangerous,” said Alan, “yet several were aware that we constantly receive some radiation from background sources.”

Alan explains radioactivity to the students.

Alan had brought with him some radioactive sources and consumer products that contain radioactive materials. He also brought along various radiation survey meters and was able to demonstrate to the students why some things are radioactive and others are not.

The class also discussed how radiation is used to generate electricity, contributes to medical science, and is used in other applications.

A student volunteered to be part of the presentation by stepping through a list of things that result in radiation dose (e.g., breathing, eating, flying on an airplane, etc.) so that the class could calculate how much radiation she is exposed to every year.

At the end of the presentation, students asked Alan questions related to the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan last year.

Alan's presentation to the class was arranged with the help of his niece, Ilana Potosky, who is a sixth grader at Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville, Maryland.

Alan Fellman is a Senior Health Physicist at Dade Moeller in Gaithersburg, Md., and is a faculty member of the company’s Dade Moeller Training Academy. He has a doctorate degree in Radiation Sciences from New York University, a master’s of public health degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Michigan, and is a Board-certified health physicist. Alan has more than 20 years of experience in Radiation Safety Officer services, sealed source device registration, radioactive material license applications and amendments, safety plan development, program audits, radiation risk assessment, dosimetry analysis and documentation, and decommissioning. At the Dade Moeller Training Academy, Alan leads classes designed to instruct workers how to use radioactive materials safely and in full compliance with State and Federal regulations and license conditions.

Tracy Ikenberry

Congratulations to Tracy Ikenberry and Ed Maher, who are on their way to Glasgow, Scotland, as official U.S. delegates to the 13th Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA), representing the Health Physics Society.

Also in attendance will be CEO Matt Moeller and Executive Vice President Bill Kennedy. The Congress runs from May 13-18, 2012.

Ed Maher

This will be Ed’s third time as a delegate. He also attended the last Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2008, as well as the 11th Congress in Madrid, Spain, in 2004. Ed is the current Past-President of the Health Physics Society after serving one year each as President-Elect and President. This is Tracy’s first time as an IRPA delegate.

IRPA Congresses are held every four years. This year’s Congress is expected to be the world’s largest ever gathering of radiation experience and expertise, according to the IRPA13 website.

The standards that IRPA promulgates at these Congresses influence health physics activities around the globe.

– Matt Moeller, CEO

Read our full press release HERE.

Dade Moeller is a nationally recognized firm providing professional and technical services to federal, state, and commercial clients in support of nuclear, radiological, and environmental operations. We employ more Certified Health Physicists [radiation safety experts] than any other private U.S. company.

Joel D. Arana, CHP

We are very happy to announce that employee Joel Arana has been named Health Physicist [radiation protection scientist] of the Year by the Columbia Chapter of the Health Physics Society!

Joel manages our Radiation Projects Division, overseeing and coordinating the day-to-day activities of senior health physicists who support diverse contracts ranging from dose reconstruction to Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulatory guidance revision. Joel also is a manager on the Dose Reconstruction project supporting the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Prior to this position, Joel was our Environmental, Safety, Health, and Quality (ESH&Q) Services Division manager, overseeing the work of industrial hygienists, safety professionals, and health physicists supporting commercial and governmental clients.

Joel became a Certified Health Physicist (CHP) in 2011 and recently was certified to ship and receive radioactive materials in accordance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Transportation (DOT), and International Air Transport Association (IATA) requirements.

He will be honored by the Columbia Chapter at its Annual Awards Banquet this Thursday, April 19, at the Shilo Inn in Richland, Wash.

Joel is the 11th Dade Moeller employee to be named Health Physicist of the Year by the Columbia Chapter. Other honorees include Mark Fishburn (2008), Susan Winslow (2005), Pam Tranbarger (2004), Ellen Wright (2000), Steve Merwin (1998), Tracy Ikenberry (1996), Matt Moeller (1992), Bill Kennedy (1985), Don Bihl (1984), and Jack Fix (1983).

Headquartered in Richland, Wash., since its founding in 1994, Dade Moeller is a nationally recognized firm providing professional and technical services to federal, state, and commercial clients in support of nuclear, radiological, and environmental operations. Employing more Certified Health Physicists than any other private company in the United States, Dade Moeller specializes in radiation protection, environmental protection, occupational safety, and training. The company upholds the legacy of Dr. Dade W. Moeller, a premier scientist and educator in the fields of health physics and environmental health.

Edward F. Maher, Sc.D., CHP

Ed Maher is a Senior Health Physicist at Dade Moeller and currently serves as the Past-President of the Health Physics Society, a scientific organization of professionals that specialize in radiation safety. In this interview, he reflects on his past year’s service to HPS as its President.

Dade Moeller Blog: Why did you run for HPS President?

Ed: As it is for many at Dade Moeller, public service to the profession of health physics is very appealing because you get to give back what you have received, but most have no idea what’s expected by the role.

Dade Moeller Blog: What were those expectations?

Ed: My biggest surprise is that your time is no longer your time. Issues come up at the most inopportune times and you have to deal with them immediately. Two examples that I faced as president were the airport security x-ray controversy and the Fukushima accident. Did I mention that my first action as president was to “fire” our media liaison person? I can’t believe I did that, but it was the collective opinion of the Board of Directors (before these two events unfolded!) that we didn’t need one!

Dade Moeller Blog: What was HPS’s role in the airport security x-ray controversy?

Ed: Right from the start of the controversy, we were besieged by media requests for statements about the safety of the systems that put us on our heels! Fortunately, the HPS had recently published a Position Statement about these security systems (co-authored by Dade Moeller employee Tracy Ikenberry), and, because of this, we were able to respond quickly, that is, once we re-hired the media liaison person! Once we recovered our footing from the initial media blitz, we went on the offensive and provided a “talking paper” to every member of the U.S. Senate and House that were members of the Energy Subcommittees investigating this issue. We followed this up with visits with Senate and House staffers, espousing the HPS position.

Dade Moeller Blog: How did the HPS respond to the Fukushima disaster?

Ed: We were literally “tsunamied” by the onslaught of media requests and responses to bad information about the accident. My role was to muster and manage the Society’s overall response, and, wow, did the HPS get involved! Within a week, more than 40 HPS member volunteers got deeply immersed with the print, TV, and radio media outlets, giving interviews to anyone who would listen. They all did a magnificent job of getting good information and the HPS brand name out there. The efforts of the HPS Web Editor (Howard Dickson) and our Media Liaison (Kelly Classic) were truly Herculean and perhaps never will be fully appreciated or realized by the membership.

Dade Moeller Blog: What disappointed you the most about the Fukushima response?

Ed: That some groups did not “let a good crisis go to waste” by exploiting the accident to further their own agendas. Even a well-known cancer organization was not immune. They started a website donation campaign to “help the tens of thousands of cancers that the people of Japan likely will experience from the nuclear crisis,” and they made a number of false and misleading statements to support their claim. As HPS president, I wrote them a “pithy” letter pointing out their erroneous information, and they did eventually modify their website.

Dade Moeller Blog: What was the best part of being HPS President?

Ed: Although being president was both fun and challenging, I thought the best part was when I was “President-Elect” and got to visit all 40 HPS chapters across the country. Afterwards, I really felt like I understood and appreciated our membership and their unique skills and problems.

Dade Moeller Blog: Would you recommend that others seek to be the HPS President?

Ed: Absolutely, and I do so without any hesitation or reservation! You will need the full support of your employer to be successful, and our company does a tremendous job of that. I like to think that I received the financial support from Dade Moeller the company — and the inspirational support from Dade Moeller the man!

Dade Moeller is committed to enabling staff to improve their ability to serve the company and our clients through attaining further education and skills. Dade Moeller pays dues for professional organizations that are consistent with an employee’s position within the company, such as membership in the Health Physics Society. With management approval, employees may be allowed to attend professional-level seminars, be reimbursed for continuing education expenses, and/or be paid for time spent in these activities. Check out all of our great employee benefits in our new brochure.

(L to R) Michelle Worthington, Ross Potter, Rachel Sachs, Tracy Ikenberry, Amber Dosch, Teri Comstock, and Roshelle Pavlin enjoy National Walking Day!

Today, April 4th, is the American Heart Association‘s “National Walking Day,” and we are happily participating! In honor of the event, our Richland office today kicked off a 6-week “Summer Walking Countdown” with a walking group that will meet at noon every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They will celebrate their commitment to health with an office-wide Healthy Foods Potluck on May 16th!

Our awesome Human Resources Department also will be supporting employees Company-wide over these next 6 weeks with weekly e-mails of heart-healthy recipes, health tips, and articles, as well as a Beginners Daily Walking Plan for those who have never walked for health before.

Dade Moeller believes that healthy employees are happy employees!

Ray Johnson, CHP

Congratulations to our Vice President of Training Services, Ray Johnson, for being inducted as the President-Elect of the American Academy of Health Physics (AAHP). This is a 3-year term, during which Ray will serve one year each as President-Elect, President, and Past-President.

The AAHP oversees the program that qualifies candidates for health physics certification.

Johnson has been involved with radiation safety programs since 1963 when he began working as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service at its Northeastern Radiological Health Laboratory in Winchester, Massachusetts. In 1970, he was assigned to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Radiation Programs in Washington, DC, where he served as Chief of the Radiation Surveillance Branch for 15 years.

In 1985, Ray Johnson founded a consulting and training practice that became the Radiation Safety Academy. Dade Moeller acquired the Radiation Safety Academy in 2007 and, in 2011, re-named it the Dade Moeller Training Academy.

Flickr photo credit: photologue_np

We’ve got two open positions that we are looking to fill immediately:

• Manager, Business Services (Richland, Washington HQ office): This is a full-time position supporting the logistical planning and execution of our business operations, Company-wide. We’re looking for somebody with a B.A. or B.S. in business, finance, or accounting, but we’ll also consider somebody with an unrelated B.A. or B.S. who has an MBA. You also must be highly proficient with Deltek GCS and/or Costpoint. You can read all the details about this opening HERE.

• Project Accountant (Port Allen, Louisiana): This is a full-time position supporting our Gulf Region Division (environmental restoration-related work). We’re looking for somebody with a Bachelor’s Degree in finance or accounting, and we’d love it if you also have CPA and/or CMA certifications. You can read all the details about this opening HERE.

If you are interested in either of these positions, or if you know somebody who would be great, we’d love to hear from you/them! Please visit our Careers Page for more information about working for Dade Moeller and to apply!

Dade Moeller is an award-winning, employee-owned consulting firm specializing in occupational and environmental health sciences.

Amanda Bump (with her arms up) celebrates her recent win with teammates of the Eastern Washington Elite Dance Team.

Congratulations to Amanda Bump and her Eastern Washington Elite Dance Team! They won the Universal Dance Association (UDA) National Hip Hop Championship in Orlando in February and the Pac-West National Championships in Jazz and Hip Hop in Portland, Oregon, on March 4th, as well as winning Grand Champions for the event.

As a result of these championships, the team will represent the United States and join teams from 80 other countries for the World Championship Competition, which will be held in Orlando in April.

“This is a tremendous honor for them to earn this prestigious opportunity,” says mom and fellow Dade Moeller employee Trish Bump. “The girls practice more than 10 hours per week, and it is great to see their hard work paying off!”

Amanda has been a competitive cheerleader for more than seven years and this year decided to try dance. “She had to work extra hard to try to get up to speed with the other girls who had danced for years,” explained Trish.

Amanda is a part-time employee in our Richland, Wash., office and a student at Hanford High School in Richland. Her parents are both also Dade Moeller employees. Mom Trish Bump works in our IT department, and dad Steve Bump is our Vice President for Operational Integration.