RE: Re[4]: Contaminated Residential Waste from I-131 Patient

["Porter , Bill" <billp@rad.hfh.edu>]

Steve:
Thanks for the reply.  After 27 years in  Nuclear Medicine I have a firm
belief that  only by being as persistent as Carol has been on issues with
the NRC does any significant change occur.  Diatribes such as the ones you
refer to are simply the only way to get the signal to noise ratio up high
enough to get any attention.  And specifically on this issue, success with
the NRC in relaxing a regulation to benefit the patient and medical
community is met with another bureaucratic obstacle at the local level.  Too
easy to give up.  Thick skinned people like Carol can take the heat.  I for
one don't believe that it is appropriate for a hospital to make patient
information available because of an unnecessarily restrictive law which was
passed.  There is simply no harm related to this particular waste stream and
unfortunately convincing them of that fact ( if it actually can be
accomplished) requires a disproportionate amount of effort.  Unfortunately,
historically anyone within the EPA or NRC (or other bureacracy) who actually
attempted to "change things" has been demoted, abused, publicly vilified and
thereby denied the opportunity to make change.  Outside pressure has been
much more effective. I think that is the unfortunate reality we live with.

Bill Porter

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	steve.rima@DOEGJPO.COM [SMTP:steve.rima@DOEGJPO.COM]
> Sent:	Friday, February 11, 2000 12:44 PM
> To:	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:	Re[4]: Contaminated Residential Waste from I-131 Patient
> 
>      Bill,
>      
>      I have my own opinion of the EPA as an agency, as I do of the NRC, 
>      DOE, etc. I'll keep those "global" opinions to myself and not post 
>      them to RADSAFE; however, I do find that it's sometimes too easy to 
>      blame "the government" or "the bureacracy" for what we may perceive
> to 
>      be problems. Passing laws and writing regulations to implement those 
>      laws is essentially a political process, and not a scientific one. 
>      That's the unfortunate reality that we live with. Maybe the experts 
>      who distrust and rail against the NRC or any other agency should go
> to 
>      work for them and try to change things.
>      
>      Beats me what the solution is, but for any of us in the HP community 
>      to very publicly berate the agencies that regulate us is certainly
> NOT 
>      the solution.
>      
>      Steve
> 
> 
> ______________________________ Reply Separator
> _________________________________
> Subject: RE: Re[2]: Contaminated Residential Waste from I-131 Patient
> Author:  "Porter ; Bill" <billp@rad.hfh.edu> at Internet
> Date:    2/11/00 11:16 AM
> 
> 
> And what is your opinion of the EPA??
> I'm sure there are many very conscientious employees there also.
> I don't percieve the issue as the employees, but rather the bureacracy.
>      
>      <snip>
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