[ RadSafe ] Adopting the International System of Units for Radiation Measurements in

[William Lipton]

The high costs of conversion are not justified by the benefits,  which seem
limited to academic purity.

On Sep 13, 2016 11:11 PM, "Dixon, John E. (CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH)" <gyf7 at cdc.gov>
wrote:

> As CHP, I am comfortable with SI units. But we must remember that the
> general public is NOT comfortable with the topic of radiation as a whole.
> Given that, it will be more difficult to relate health risks from radiation
> if we are compelled to use UNITS which "are scary." What sounds more
> "threatening": 1 Curie or 3.7 e10 Bq's? I am afraid that familiarizing the
> unfamiliar with SI units within the general public realm is a hill we have
> yet to successfully climb. We must also consider the unfamiliarity the
> general public has with math - or should I say the resistance to think in
> mathematical terms for the layman.  One tenth of a Seveirt doesn't sound so
> bad until you tell someone it is 10 Rem - now that sounds "hideously high."
>
> Regards,
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces@
> health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Cary Renquist
> Sent: Monday, September 12, 2016 12:46 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) MailingList (
> radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu) <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] Adopting the International System of Units for
> Radiation Measurements in the United States
>
> Adopting the International System of Units for Radiation Measurements
> Registration, Washington | Eventbrite
> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adopting-the-international-
> system-of-units-for-radiation-measurements-registration-26954781477
>
> U.S. Government agencies with radiation protection responsibilities
> continue to use conventional units for radiation measurements despite
> 30-year-old national and international recommendations to use SI (System
> Internationale) units. The use of conventional units hinders information
> exchanges and communications between the United States and other countries,
> most of which use SI units, especially during emergencies. For example,
> U.S. personnel deployed in Japan during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident
> encountered difficulties in communicating with Japanese counterparts and
> the international radiation protection community.
>
> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have asked the National
> Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to organize a workshop to
> discuss how the adoption of SI units for radiation protection in the United
> States could improve information exchanges and communications. The workshop
> will examine international experiences in transitioning to SI units for
> radiation protection and discuss possible steps towards adopting the
> exclusive use of SI units in the United States. Download the current agenda
> here.
>
> This event will be webcast.
>
>
> ---
> Cary Renquist
> cary.renquist at ezag.com
>
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