[en] Background and purpose: Despite evidence of the benefits of radiotherapy (RT) in the treatment of cancer patients, its underutilisation has been reported for various tumour sites. The aim of this study was to estimate survival shortfall, ‘years of potential life lost’ (YPLL) and ‘disability-adjusted life years lost’ (DALY) to demonstrate the impact of radiotherapy underutilisation in Australia.

[en] An exploratory study was made of the tree species, landform, soils and erosional sequence along altitudinal transects from interfluve to stream channel in a valley incised into Narrabeen Group sandstones and shales to the west of Putty, NSW. Caesium-137 analysis was used to investigate surface stability and erosion. It was found that the landform fitted a hypothetical nine unit land surface model. The soil types and plant communities were found to reflect the dominant contemporary pedogenetic and geomorphic processes which are also used to define the units of this model. Erosion was evident in the catchment, and the sequence of alluvial soils on the valley floor was found to be consistent with previous suggestions of widespread slope instability during the Quaternary period

[en] Samples from six igneous rock units of the Southern and Southwestern Coalfields (Sydney Basin) of New South Wales have been dated using the K-Ar radiometric technique. The following ages were determined: a dolerite from Towradgi, 243 +- 10 MY; a dolerite from a diamond-drill hole at Sutton Forest, 202 +- 8 MY; the Bong Bong Basalt, 190 +- 8 MY; the Good Dog Lamprophyre, 101 +- 4 MY; a teschenite from South Bulli coal mine 74.0 +- 3.6 MY; and a dolerite from Robertson, 63.8 +- 3.2 MY. Combination of these new ages wth previously-published ages indicates that igneous activity in the Southern and Southwestern Coalfields occurred during four discrete periods of time - Middle-to-Late Permian; Late Triassic to Early Jurassic; mid-Cretaceous (only the Good Dog Lamprophyre has yielded such an age); and latest Cretaceous to Late Oligocene

[en] Design rainfall, often known as intensity–frequency–duration (IFD) data, is an important input in rainfall runoff modelling exercise. IFD data are derived by fitting a probability distribution to observed rainfall data. Although there are many researches on IFD curves in the literature, there is a lack of systematic comparison among the IFD curves obtained by different distributions and methods. This study compares the latest IFD curves in Australia, published in 2013, as a part of the new Australian rainfall and runoff (ARR) with the at-site IFD curves to examine the expected degree of variation between the at-site and regional IFD data. Ten pluviography stations from eastern New South Wales (NSW) are selected for this study. The IFD curves generated by the two most commonly adopted probability distributions, generalised extreme value (GEV) and log Pearson type 3 (LP3) distributions are also compared. Empirical and polynomial regression methods in smoothing the IFD curves are compared. Based on the three goodness-of-fit tests, it has been found that both GEV and LP3 distributions fit the annual maximum rainfall data (at 1% significance level) for the ten selected stations. The developed IFD curves based on the second-degree polynomial present better fitting than the empirical method. It has been found that the ARR87 and ARR13 IFD curves are generally higher than the at-site IFD curves derived here. The median difference between the at-site and regional ARR-recommended IFD curves is in the range of 13–19%. It is expected that the outcomes of this research will provide better guidance in selecting the correct IFD data for a given application in NSW. The methodology developed here can be adapted to other parts of Australia and other countries.

[en] A geomorphological study of a number of archaeological sites in southern coastal New South Wales was undertaken. The study relied heavily on the construction of depth/age curves using radiocarbon dates. This paper reports those dates from the radiocarbon laboratory at the University of NSW and the manner in which the depth/age relationships were obtained using these dates in combination with those already published from the ANU and Sydney laboratories

[en] A workforce study of 30 organisations was conducted in response to staffing difficulties in public hospital nuclear medicine departments. It was found that out of a total of 165.5 full-time equivalent establishment positions existed in public hospitals and the private sector, only 135.38 were filled. The vacancy level of about 15% was considered to be above the acceptable norm. Growth in demand between 1989 and 1993 is estimated at 46.7% and 89.1% in the public and private sector respectively. Recommendations are made to reduce losses from the workforce. 2 figs., tabs

[en] The paper examines the training in radiation protection received by the various occupationally exposed groups in New South Wales. Consideration is given to the content and relevance of the various training programmes available. It is considered that the increasing usage of radiation requires that particular emphasis be made as to the risks from low doses of radiation. It is concluded that an overall policy on the training of persons working with radiation is required, and a number of necessary features of such training are proposed

[en] We developed a physics based bottom-up model to estimate annual housing stock energy consumption at a local community level (Census Collection District—CCD) with an hourly resolution. Total energy consumption, including space heating and cooling, water heating, lighting and other household appliances, was simulated by considering building construction and materials, equipment and appliances, local climates and occupancy patterns. The model was used to analyse energy use by private dwellings in more than five thousand CCDs in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The predicted results focus on electricity consumption (natural gas and other fuel sources were excluded as the data are not available) and track the actual electricity consumption at CCD level with an error of 9.2% when summed to state level. For NSW and Victoria 2006, the predicted state electricity consumption is close to the published model (within 6%) and statistical data (within 10%). A key feature of the model is that it can be used to predict hourly electricity consumption and peak demand at fine geographic scales, which is important for grid planning and designing local energy efficiency or demand response strategies. - Highlights: ► We developed a physics-based model to estimate housing stock energy consumption. ► House type and vintage, family type and occupancy time were considered. ► The model results are close to actual energy consumption at local community level. ► Its’ results agree well with the published model and statistical data at state level. ► It shows the model could provide from hourly to annual residential energy consumption.

[en] The East Australian Current (EAC) and its eddy field dominate the shelf circulation along the coast of SE Australia. It impacts the climate, weather and fisheries along the most populated part of the Australian coastline. Yet there is much we don't know about the EAC and its role in the transport of heat, generation of eddies, its role in upwelling and the associated biological processes. In this paper we introduce the New South Wales node of the Integrated Marine Observing System (NSW-IMOS). The observing system is designed to complement extant observations in the region and capture key continental shelf processes such as slope water intrusions and encroachments of the EAC, the generation of eddies and the biological response to such events.

[en] A study was undertaken to assess the variability of ¹³⁷Cs in a red-brown earth, located 10 kilometres north-east of North Star, northern NSW, in gently undulating dryland farming country. Caesium-137 was determined by gamma spectroscopy using a Ge-Li detector and multi-channel analyser. The requirement for taking and analysing large numbers of samples in order to obtain sufficient confidence in estimates of erosion rate poses a serious limitation on the widespread use of ¹³⁷Cs measurement for this purpose