[ RadSafe ] Fw: Certifying radiation "free" Japanese imports

[roseb at gdls.com]

Forwarded on behalf of an IH colleague.

Henry

Boyd H. Rose, CM, CIH, CHMM
Sr. Safety and Environmental Engineering Specialist
Corporate Radiation Safety Officer
General Dynamics Land Systems
38500 Mound Road
Mail Zone 436-10-75
Sterling Heights , MI 48310-3269
Tel: 586 825 4503
Fax: 586 825 4015
E-mail: roseb at gdls.com



----- Forwarded by Boyd H Rose/LS/GDYN on 04/21/2011 11:28 AM -----


"Zavon, Peter L" <peter.zavon at xerox.com> 
Sent by: aihaih-list at yahoogroups.com
04/21/2011 10:03 AM

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Subject
[aihaih-list] Certifying radiation "free" Japanese imports






It is not my usual practice to send one question to multiple lists, but
in  this case I need to seek information as broadly as possible.  If you
see this message more than once, please accept my apologies for the
duplication.

 

Let me give you some background before I ask my question.

 

Because of the nuclear power plant problems in Fukushima, some countries
are forbidding import of agricultural products from that area or Japan,
or from all of Japan. In the US all imports from Japan are receiving
increased radiological scrutiny.

 

In Japan, a regulation has been issued requiring that agricultural
products be certified by the exporter as radiologically acceptable.
("acceptable" is my term.)  It would seem that some countries are also
requiring such certification from their Japanese suppliers before
admitting products from Japan.  What I can find on the internet about
this is currently focused on agricultural products.  However, there
seems to be some thought that certification might expand (or perhaps has
expanded) to non-agricultural products.  The Japanese government
certifies certain radiation detection instruments for this purpose.

 

Now my question:

 

Does the US government (Ag Dept, NRC, Customs, other?) specify or
certify radiation detection instruments for use in such certifications?

 

I have been asked by Japanese contacts which instruments are acceptable
to the US Government.  My initial thought is that the government
agencies concerned would want an appropriate instrument to be selected
and to have been calibrated within the appropriate time period, but do
not  certify or specify particular brands or models, and that,
therefore, any instrument certified by the Japanese government and
properly calibrated and used would be acceptable to the US..

 

Does anyone have concrete information or guidance in this area?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Peter Zavon, CIH
Sr. Industrial Hygienist
EH&S - Workplace Safety
Xerox Corporation
800 Phillips Road (205-99F)
Webster, NY  14580


p 585.422.3677   ( 8*222.3677)
peter.zavon at xerox.com <mailto:peter.zavon at xerox.com> 

 







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