[ RadSafe ] Adopting the International System of Units for Radiation Measurements in the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop

[Jason Meade]

"While it makes sense to transition, the cost of doing so for many
facilities in NPP, industrial, would require significant cost to modify
instrumentation display, SOPs, Training Programs, postings, electronic
databases, etc."

Absolutely.

Canada has addressed this directly, as they listened to industry's concerns
of the extremely high transition costs.  Their nuclear power industry has
specific exemptions in this regard.  Inside the power plants, each facility
has the option of maintaining standard units (but is still regulated under
the SI system), which has given them all the time in the world to adjust
their transition in as minimally impacting way as possible.

In the US, I see the another rarely addressed hurdle being the US military
and the nuclear fleet.  It operates entirely on standard units.  Entirely.
And unless things have changed drastically since my time in, they barely
even mention the existence of SI units during the intensive nuclear
training pipeline.  Since vast swaths of the nuclear industry and decent
chunks of the rad safety community are populated by ex-Navy nukes, I think
this just makes the hurdles all the higher.

On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 8:59 AM, Sander Perle <sandyfl at cox.net> wrote:

> While it makes sense to transition, the cost of doing so for many
> facilities in NPP, industrial, would require significant cost to modify
> instrumentation display, SOPs, Training Programs, postings, electronic
> databases, etc.
>
> I don't expect and quick move towards complete adoption.
>
> Regards,
>
> Sandy
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Mar 3, 2017, at 5:51 AM, Jason Meade <meadeja at vcu.edu> wrote:
> >
> > It was a great workshop and well worth my time, but after it was done,
> I'm
> > pretty sure it will be done again with almost an identical agenda in 10
> > years time.
> >
> > Entirely too much "but this is the way we've always done it" and "it
> would
> > be too hard" type talking among those who've always been doing the work
> and
> > who are largely in charge for any type of shift in thinking, despite the
> > fact that the majority of the scientific and academic portions of our
> > education system have already made the change.
> >
> > On Thu, Mar 2, 2017 at 11:38 AM, Cary Renquist <cary.renquist at ezag.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> From the National Academies Press.
> >> One can always download the PDF version for free (might require an
> account)
> >>
> >> Adopting the International System of Units for Radiation Measurements in
> >> the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop
> >>
> >> Most countries in the world use the SI (Système International, also
> known
> >> as the metric system) units for radiation measurements in commercial and
> >> technical activities. The United States, in contrast, uses a mix of SI
> and
> >> conventional units for radiation measurements, despite 30-year-old
> national
> >> and international recommendations to exclusively use SI. Radiation
> >> professionals in the United States are faced with the need to understand
> >> both systems and make conversions between the two.
> >> Short link
> >> http://bit.ly/2mPP5bQ
> >>
> >> Adopting the International System of Units for Radiation Measurements in
> >> the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop | The National Academies
> Press
> >> <https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24645/adopting-the-
> >> international-system-of-units-for-radiation-measurements-in-
> >> the-united-states?utm_source=NASEM+News+and+Publications&
> >> utm_campaign=b2788914c1-Final_Book_2017_03_02_24645&utm_
> >> medium=email&utm_term=0_96101de015-b2788914c1-
> 102196093&goal=0_96101de015-
> >> b2788914c1-102196093&mc_cid=b2788914c1&mc_eid=3ee8f719d6>
> >>
> >>
> >> ---
> >> Cary Renquist
> >> cary.renquist at ezag.com
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Thanks,
> > Jason A Meade, AS, BS, MHSA, RRPT, RT(T)
> > Senior Radiation Safety Specialist
> > Virginia Commonwealth University
> >
> >
> > Sanger Hall, B2-016
> > 1101 East Marshall St
> > PO Box 980112
> > Richmond, VA 23298-0112
> >
> > meadeja at vcu.edu
> > 804-828-0594 office
> > 330-347-0271 cell
> >
> > "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know
> they
> > shall never sit in."
> > -Old Greek proverb
> >
> > "You call this bad? I'll tell you what bad is....Bad is passing test
> depth
> > at 80 feet per second with a thirty degree down bubble. Compared to that,
> > this is a walk in the park."
> > -Carlo Ciliberti
> > _______________________________________________
> > You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
> >
> > Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood
> the RadSafe rules. These can be found at: http://health.phys.iit.edu/
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> >
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> visit: http://health.phys.iit.edu
>
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>



-- 
Thanks,
Jason A Meade, AS, BS, MHSA, RRPT, RT(T)
Senior Radiation Safety Specialist
Virginia Commonwealth University


Sanger Hall, B2-016
1101 East Marshall St
PO Box 980112
Richmond, VA 23298-0112

meadeja at vcu.edu
804-828-0594 office
330-347-0271 cell

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they
shall never sit in."
-Old Greek proverb

"You call this bad? I'll tell you what bad is....Bad is passing test depth
at 80 feet per second with a thirty degree down bubble. Compared to that,
this is a walk in the park."
-Carlo Ciliberti