Doses should be in terms of time to get the same dose frombackground

[John Cameron <jrcamero@facstaff.wisc.edu>]

Richard Hess wrote regarding the St Lucie incident that the dose 

should have been explained  as:  "More radiation is received in 2-3 

transcontinental flights!"



Since most people don't take transcontinental flights, it would have 

been even better to state that the dose was about equal to the 

natural radiation to the body in one day. I call this method of 

explaining radiation "Background Equivalent Radiation Time" or BERT. 

It is described in http://medinfo.ufl.edu/other/cameron/rads.html.  I 

am  happy to see that the web page for the RSNA and ACR at 

http://www.radiologyinfo.org  is using this method to explain doses 

from x-ray and nuclear medicine studies.

	This and similar information about radiation  is described in 

the Virtual Radiation Museum at 

http://www.medphysics.wisc.edu/~vrm/HOME.htm. It is very much a work 

in  progress.  I hope that many members of radsafe will contribute to 

the usefulness of the VRM. If you have suggestions send them to me at 

jrcamero@wisc.edu.  I have a part time grad student at the U. of 

Wisconsin working on the VRM. Best wishes,  John

PS I will be in China from Oct. 22 to Nov. 6 and will not be 

receiving e-mail then.

-- 

John R. Cameron (jrcamero@wisc.edu)

2678 SW 14th Dr. Gainesville, FL 32608

(352) 371-9865 Fax (352) 371-9866

(winters until  about May  15)



PO Box 405, Lone Rock,WI 53556

(for UPS, etc. use: E2571 Porter Rd.)

(608) 583-2160; Fax (608) 583-2269

(summer:  until about Oct. 15)

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