[ RadSafe ] NCRP #161 Problem

[Carol Marcus]

March 1, 2010

Dear Radsafers:

Many of you are aware that NCRP #161 is out, called "Management of 
Persons Contaminated with Radionuclides: Handbook".  This is the 
updated version of NCRP #65.  As a physician who counsels Los Angeles 
County on patient management with radiation contamination, I 
immediately purchased it and read it to see what was new and 
useful.  While a huge amount of the handbook contents are either 
obvious or are in multiple other guidance documents from many other 
sources, the handbook does contain updated information on 
decorporation drugs (very useful) and terrific information on 
guestimating internal contamination levels with limited data, such as 
spot urine collection.  This latter information, which is really, for 
me, the best part of the handbook, contains an important section on 
how to use the tables in the document to make real life decisions 
regarding patient management (Sec. 11.5).  Unfortunately, and this is 
critical, one needs information from Tables 20.27, 20.30, and 20.75 
to solve the problems given as examples.  These tables, and 
presumably others that would likewise be needed to solve such 
patient-specific problems, are NOT IN THIS HANDBOOK!  They will 
appear in a second part of this report, available later this year, at 
additional cost, which so far is over 800 pages long.

I have asked David Schauer, Executive Director of NCRP, to make all 
needed tables in Vol. 2 available as an addendum to those who 
purchase Vol. 1 (this Handbook).  Otherwise, one of the primary 
values of this Handbook is negated because some of the data needed 
for making internal contamination estimates are not included.

As you all know, one voice in the wilderness tackling a bureaucracy 
is usually not successful.  However, if many of you join me in 
requesting such an addendum, we have a much better chance of 
success.  And, NCRP's document will be much more useful than it is 
now.  Alternatively, I guess it might be cheaper for NCRP to put 
these tables from Vol. 2 on the web for us to download.  That would 
be fine, too.  We just need these tables for patient care.

Please make this request to:

David A. Schauer, ScD, CHP
Executive Director
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements
7910 Woodmont Ave., Suite 400
Bethesda, MD 20814-3095

<David.Schauer at ncrponline.org>

Many thanks for your help in this matter.

Sincerely,

Carol S. Marcus, Ph.D., M.D.
<csmarcus at ucla.edu>
Prof. of Radiation Oncology and of Radiological Sciences, UCLA