Re: Fear, etc.

[Brian Rees <brees@lanl.gov>]

Sandy, 


While dealing with serious, debilitating fear is the job of a psychiatrist,
what is so wrong about expending a small effort educating and demonstrating
to a skeptical (or worse) person that their concerns and fears are
unfounded?  The amount of effort is a judgement, and some attempts to
placate are clearly excessive and a waste of time, explaining background
radiation or showing some other basic principle to a concerned person IS
part of the job.  Remember as Lipton reminds: it's not about dose, it's
about trust.  

Having said that, balance and perspective have to be preserved too.  It
doesn't bother me to spend an hour (of my own time) to take a meter and
show somebody that the highway the WIPP trucks drive down isn't radioactive
(above background), but IMHO it is a waste to sample the asphalt (which is
not being done to my knowledge).  We have done our jobs, but sometimes a
little PR is needed too.   Dan's point was at a REASONABLE cost, and I have
to agree.  

In the purest sense this may be outside of our job description, but
SOMEBODY's got to do it, and who better than us?  Most of us have seen a
media person massacre the facts.  When the message gets garbled we end up
making the corrections, might as well do it the first time and maybe it'll
get done right. 

Brian Rees
brees@lanl.gov



At 10:54 AM 2/14/00 -0600, you wrote:
>Dan wrote the following:
>
>>  "Unnecessary" measurements? In the larger public health picture, taking
into
>>  account the fact that real health effects can be triggered by false fears,
>>  anything that can be legitimately and honestly done at reasonable cost to 
>build
>>  or restore peace of mind is, in my opinion, a valid part of the 
>profession of
>>  health physics.
>
>Sorry Dan, but I have to respectfully disagree with your ultimate 
>conclusion. While fear of any unknown may be a valid psychosomatic 
>disorder, dealing with and trying to mitigate those fears is not our 
>prime responsibility. Our job is to protect the public from "real" 
>exposures to radiation and releases of radioactive materials. Dealing 
>with one's fears is a job for psychiatrists and those who deal with 
>social disorders.
>
>As Keith stated previously, if I have to perform actions that I know 
>are only being performed to placate someone, then it is time for me 
>to leave this professional and move on to something that I know will 
>really make a difference. Acting on superstition or misrepresenting 
>the situation and environment, due to political or otherwise, is no 
>different than the anti-nuclear side promoting mis-representations as 
>they often do. If we do, we become their puppets, and in the end, are 
>no different than they are.
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	

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