Bq soon

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

> 1.  ....They thus tend to be more intuitive:  a uCi is a small quantity of

radioactive material,



I think that for activity units, Ci are too big and Bq are too small,

neither is well suited to most practical experience. You find uCi easy to

relate to because you have been doing it for years, but I don't think it's

intuitively easier to understand than a MBq.



> 2.  ...Any reasonable cost versus benefit analysis would tell you, "no

way."



I return us to where our conversation started - what is the cost involved,

human and monetary, in not switching between the unit systems and making

more mistakes? It's an inevitable move, and we should make it as soon as

possible, to eliminate the Ci/Bq and rad/mGy mistakes, and to get to a

system where one can make conversions using factors of 1000 in one's head

instead of on paper every time with 3.7s, 1.6s, 2.58s and so on.



> 3.  ...how can we expect our employees to suddenly switch to a new system.

It's the equivalent of saying that, starting tomorrow, everyone should drive

on the left side of the road.



OK, I'll throw it open to anyone on the list (Americans) - does anyone have

trouble understanding how much volume is in a 2 liter bottle? How painful

and impossible was that?



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

Pager (615) 835-5153

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

internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com







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