"dangerous" exposures

["Michael G. Stabin" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>]

> My guess is that "Federal officials" would NOT be investigating if this

were just

> a trivial dose exposure.



My understanding is quite the opposite, from (admittedly) second hand

information that I have heard from many colleagues who work in the nuclear

industry - the federal authorities are often obsessed with minutae and

paperwork related to low exposures, often driving licensees a bit nuts about

things that are not serious hazards (anyone wish to refute or confirm this

point of view?). This is why the cries of anti-nukes that the NRC is "in bed

with" the industry always strikes me as being off-base. I don't know what

the actual doses were in the St. Lucie situation, I'd like to hear some

actual numbers.



Industrial radiography sources, as reported in a related post recently, do

represent serious hazards if mishandled. Several of the more serious

overexposures (involving deaths and injuries, including members of the

public) have involved lost industrial radiography sources (see

http://www.oita-nhs.ac.jp/~irpa10/CD-ROM/Full/00140_11_230sr13h00571.pdf).

It's a good thing that we have a nitpicky regulatory authority overseeing

handling and logging of such sources because mistakes do happen. In many

countries the regulatory oversight is much more lax than in the US. I wish

our oversight of the handling of chemical and other industrial hazards was

as strict.



Mike



Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP

Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Vanderbilt University

1161 21st Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37232-2675

Phone (615) 343-0068

Fax   (615) 322-3764

e-mail     michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu

internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com





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