[ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 445, Issue 1

[jearadrat at aol.com]

Good afternoon, all:
I am not sure if anybody else has addressed this.  These mobile scanners use backscatter x rays.

In the US, the NRC or an agreement state agency has licensing authority over radioactive materials.  

But the Food and Drug Administration (21CFR, if I remember correctly) writes the rules for devices, such as x-ray units, that generate ionizing radiation.  Years ago, the particular agency under FDA was CDRH, the Center for Devices and Rad Health.  They may have changed their name since then.  

I am not sure if the FDA has written any standards or rules controlling the use of these devices.

Regards,
John Aperans, RRPT
Clinton, TN, USA
Writing this from home, not at my place of employment



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Message: 3
ate: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:11:01 -0700 (PDT)
rom: Ahmad Al-Ani <ahmadalanimail at yahoo.com>
ubject: Re: [ RadSafe ] interesting new question
o: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
essage-ID: <448767.51487.qm at web111715.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
ontent-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
As the doses are so low, what difference would it be from all those security 
amera's in public areas?
Anyone have access to licensing procedure for these devices? such as guidelines 
f operation, license application forms and requirements, etc.
Ahmad
On Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:58 AST Stabin, Michael 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 
n the justification-regulation-optimization philosophy of health physics (I 
ave always thought that optimization comes after regulation, although the ICRP 
ists them in the opposite order). Exposing unknowing persons to radiation 
admittedly low level) to ostensibly prevent terrorism, particularly when the 
xposed persons may not be citizens of the country doing the irradiatiing, is a 
ew balancing of risks and benefits that has not been part of the normal 
quation until now. And the balance is different if we are talking about daily 
creening of everything or particular screening of containers, naval vessels, 
tc., in the case of a specific, credible risk scenario. Fun stuff 
hilosophically, 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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