[ RadSafe ] They walk among us

[Stewart Farber]

 John writes below regarding US Congressman Markee's alarmist comments on I-131 exposure from treated patients released from hospitals that "I believe we can do without the knee-jerk reaction of non-experts".  

A modest proposal. I would suggest one minor correction in the spelling of "knee-jerk".  It seems in many cases that it should be more properly written that we can do without "née-jerk", or "né-jerk" reactions [depending on whether the speaker of the alarmist statement is female or male]. 

If you're not French speaking, check your French-English dictionary [or Google] for the French word for "born"  :-) .

Stewart Farber, MSPH



[203] 441-8433 [office]

website: http://www.farber-medical.com

--- On Thu, 10/21/10, Dixon, John E. (CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH) <gyf7 at cdc.gov> wrote:

From: Dixon, John E. (CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH) <gyf7 at cdc.gov>
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] They walk among us
To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Date: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7:00 AM

In response to Markey's alarmist report, we have 10CFR35 as well as locally prescribed precautions. The resulting dose to a maximally exposed person from the patient has been determined to be safe AND such dose is not even tracked. I believe we can do without the knee-jerk reaction of non-experts.

John Dixon  

----- Original Message -----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu <radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu>
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Sent: Wed Oct 20 15:46:41 2010
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] They walk among us


> "There is a strong likelihood that members of the public have been unwittingly exposed to radiation from patients,"
> Markey wrote Wednesday in a letter to the NRC that details findings by his staff. "This has occurred because of weak NRC
> regulations, ineffective oversight of those who administer these medical treatments, and the absence of clear guidance
> to patients and to physicians."

Hmm.  Looks like we will have to detain patients until they have zero radiation.

-Gary Isenhower