[ RadSafe ] Deadly embrace: NRC policy can expose childrento radioactivity, by retired........

[Brennan, Mike (DOH)]

I don't offer opinions on legal issues without acknowledging that I am
not an expert and might be wrong; it is a shame this lawyer does not
exercise the same care when making pronouncements about radiation
issues.  While there are a number of questionable statements in this
column, the lead off sentence it the worst: Just one kiss from a patient
treated with the radioactive isotope iodine 131 (I-131) can double a
child's risk of thyroid cancer, according to the authoritative
International Commission on Radiation Protection."  If a (presumably
adult) patient is swapping significant amounts of spit with a child,
there are other, more pressing, issues that need to be addressed. 

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
Behalf Of Steven Dapra
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 4:07 PM
To: radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Deadly embrace: NRC policy can expose
childrento radioactivity, by retired........

Jan. 3

         The PDF link posted by Celia is an article of approximately 600
words written by Peter Crane, a retired NRC counsel.  It was published
in the New Hampshire Sentinel Source, the online edition of the Keene
(NH) Sentinel.

         Crane claims that the NRC instituted a "deregulation" of I-131,
and did so "at the behest of providers and insurers, eager to cut costs
and increase profits."  (Presumably Crane means health care providers.)
He says that (unspecified)  "international safety standards" call for
hospitalizing patients given more than 30 millicuries of I-131, but that
in the US, patients are being sent home with "as much as 400 millicuries
of
I-131 in their systems."

         Let us assume that a patient is sent home with 400 millicuries,
and that a family member is within 10 feet of this patient at all times.
In 24 hours what will the exposure be to that family member?

Steven Dapra
sjd at swcp.com


At 03:50 PM 1/3/09 +0000, Celia wrote:
>In the news - FYI
>
>celia


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