RE: what is news and what is not

["Joe Heckman" <jheckman@envirocareutah.com>]

I agree with Sandy.  Although my work in radiation safety does not involve

x-rays or the medical application of radiation/radioactive materials, I was

able to use this news article in an "industry events" training this morning.

This event certainly illustrates the importance of procedural

adherence/compliance, attention to detail and communication between work

groups.  Because this was an incident involving exposure to radiation, I was

able to demonstrate the consequences in units of measure which the work

group understands (i.e. Sv/rem).



Joseph Heckman, RRPT

Site Radiation Safety Officer

Containerized Waste Facility

Envirocare of Utah, Inc.

(801) 532-1330

jheckman@envirocareutah.com <mailto:jheckman@envirocareutah.com>



"Communications without intelligence is noise;

Intelligence without communications is irrelevant."

Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC







-----Original Message-----

From: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

[mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu]On Behalf Of Sandy Perle

Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2001 8:15 AM

To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: what is news and what is not





Tim,



I do understand your point. Our disagreement centers around what is news.

Your

opinion is that unless there is something to be gained, or some action to be

taken,

then the information is not newsworthy. I obviously disagree.



In this case, there is much to be learned. This incident is no different

than similar

incidents in medical facilities, nuclear power plants, etc. Loss of Control

where a High

or VERY High Radiation Area can occur. In this instance, what can be

assessed

using root cause analysis:



1. Inadequate communication. Workers unaware that there was an installation

or

maintenance taking place.



2. Victim unaware that medical irradiation activities were taking place.



3. Areas accessible where extremely high doses could be received without

knowledge of the facility management.



4. Inadequate procedures. Nothing in place to secure an area prior to

irradiation.



5. Lack of visual or audible alarms in areas where access was possible.



I could go on. Anyway, I've seen your comments, as have others, and, we'll

just have

to disagree what is news and what is not. In conclusion, the more we are

aware of

what is being told to the public, via written media, TV or radio, the better

prepared we

are to deal with it. The worse thing that can happen is for the public to

raise a

question or issue, and we professionals can only shrug our shoulders,

demonstrating

lack of knowledge, and more often than not, a perception that anything that

happens

in our field can't be bad, where there are no consequences. This is

foolhardy at best.

We need to be prepared to deal with issue, real, or perceived to be real.



************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line. You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/