RE: Worker exposed to 1,000 times higher-than-normal radiation

[Jack_Earley@RL.GOV]

Tim wrote:



<<If that worker that received that dose from the x-ray

machine had been installing it and it fell on top of

him and killed him....would that have made headlines? 

I can see it now, "Worker killed in nuclear

accident...">>



Nah--it happened about 10 years ago (fell on the patient's neck) and I only

heard about it through NRC incident reports.



Jack Earley

Radiological Engineer





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

From: Tim [mailto:tstead@ntirs.org]

Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2001 6:58 AM

To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: Re: Worker exposed to 1,000 times higher-than-normal radiation





Pardon me for being a little cynical, but why is this

story "newsworthy?"  A guy was working on a roof when

some careless people turned on an X-ray machine....The

guy got zapped with a few too many x-rays....your

point?



Why is this any more newsworthy than the person who

was KILLED last night in a DUI-related incident near

my house?



My point is that people are so quick to jump on

anything with the word "radiation" in it but do not

stop to see how "newsworthy" the story actually is. 

What are we to learn or gain from this incident? 

Should we shut down nuclear plants because of an

errant x-ray machine mix-up?  Should we stop making

x-ray machines?  Should we close all hospitals that

use chemotherapy or x-ray machines?  What are we to

learn and gain from this incident?



The headline of the email was meant to grab one's

attention.  Upon reading the story, one learns that

the worker is fine, he is not expected to suffer any

harm, and everyone is doing just peachy....why is that

a news story?



Oh, and what about the sub-barge incident?  They

bumped, neither was damaged - probably didn't even

scratch either...and that story is supposed to warrant

discussion on nuclear-related newsgroups??????



Why can't people stick to real stories and not ones

where a a person stubs their toe on an x-ray machine

or one where a worker got a leg cramp while working

with nuclear materials, or the like?



If that worker that received that dose from the x-ray

machine had been installing it and it fell on top of

him and killed him....would that have made headlines? 

I can see it now, "Worker killed in nuclear

accident..."



Tim



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