"Human Capital Crisis In Radiation Safety"??

[William V Lipton <liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM>]

I noticed the recent position statement of the Health Physics Society,

"Human Capital Crisis In Radiation Safety,"  which states that,

"...present demand for radiation safety professionals is approximately

130% of supply."



This can be accessed at:

<http://www.hps.org/documents/humancapital.pdf>.



While I'd like to believe this statement, and demand a significant

salary increase, I'm not about to storm into my supervisor's office just

yet.  Is this real demand or someone's perceived need?  If this is true,

why do I keep seeing positions advertised which require a professional

health physicist, but pay < $40K, and require the ability to lift 50

pounds?  Are the academics asking for federal funding to train people

for that?



Does the public really want the "rigorous oversight" that would

supposedly go away if the government doesn't come up with the money?  If

"rigorous oversight" means forcing a homeowner to spend thousands of $$

for radon remediation which he probably doesn't need and might not work,

I would say, "no."  If "rigorous oversight" means requiring licensees to

spend $10,000 to avoid 1 man-rem, when a significant part of our

population has trouble obtaining basic health care, I would say, "no."



The bottom line is the basic engineering concept, "You can't push with a

rope."  If radiation protection standards and implementation are

inadequate, which I doubt, the solution is not to train more hp's, but

to make a case for improving the standards and implementation.  This

will generate real "demand."  If the demand is really there, students

will be lining up for hp programs, with or without scholarships; take a

look at your nearby medical and law schools.



While I'm sure that this statement was written in good faith, I'm

dismayed over actions the HPS takes which seem to be a solution in

search of a problem, and which ultimately weaken our credibility.



The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

It's not about dose, it's about trust.



Bill Lipton

liptonw@dteenergy.com











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