[ RadSafe ] interesting new question

[Carol Marcus]

Dear Mike:

The radiation dose sounds extremely low.  I can't get excited about 
this.  As I don't believe in LNT, these small doses aren't harmful, 
and as to invasion of privacy---I think we have lost that battle already.

Ciao, Carol

At 10:58 AM 10/26/2010, you wrote:

>http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/19/x-ray-vans-security-measure-invasion-privacy/?test=latestnews
>
>This particular application of radiation raises some interesting new 
>questions in the justification-regulation-optimization philosophy of 
>health physics (I have always thought that optimization comes after 
>regulation, although the ICRP lists them in the opposite order). 
>Exposing unknowing persons to radiation (admittedly low level) to 
>ostensibly prevent terrorism, particularly when the exposed persons 
>may not be citizens of the country doing the irradiatiing, is a new 
>balancing of risks and benefits that has not been part of the normal 
>equation until now. And the balance is different if we are talking 
>about daily screening of everything or particular screening of 
>containers, naval vessels, etc., in the case of a specific, credible 
>risk scenario. Fun stuff philosophically, frightening stuff practically.
>
>
>Mike
>
>Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
>Associate Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
>Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
>Vanderbilt University
>1161 21st Avenue South
>Nashville, TN 37232-2675
>Phone (615) 343-4628
>Fax   (615) 322-3764
>e-mail     michael.g.stabin at vanderbilt.edu
>internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com<http://www.doseinfo-radar.com/>
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