RE: Bq soon

["Faillace, Ernie" <FaillaceE@ttnus.com>]

It seems to me that one could review the collective experience of other

nations in having undergone the switch years (decades?) ago from "standard"

to SI units.  How many errors were incurred during that transition period,

say in Europe, for example?  Of course, if the error rate was reasonably low

in Europe during the transition, one could possibly still argue that the

average European is much better (including the non-PhDs) at converting units

since he or she had been used to multiple currency conversions for years

until the advent of the Euro, and would generally be better at arithmetic

than the average American, according to most surveys of math and science

aptitude among students of different countries.



As an Italian residing in the US, I have had no major problems with unit

conversions myself, easily going back and forth among both systems.  I tend

to agree with Mike Stabin that the long term benefits are likely greater

than the short term "pain".  One incident that comes to light is a certain

US space mission that failed (and was very costly) due to the insistence by

some engineers (including PhDs) on still using old "British" units rather

than SI units. Of course, the Brits have abandoned such impractical units

for quite some time now.  The key is to start in the schools at an early

age, and begin the curriculum by first introducing international units,

followed by a conversion to the "old" units so that children can communicate

with their parents.  Since children nowadays frequently chat with

international "pen" pals over the internet, and these pals use SI units in

their day to day live, such a transition will be much less traumatic than

you may imagine, especially since children are quite flexible at an early

age.



I imagine living in a military and economic superpower also has the effect

of reducing the pressure to change based on outside influences, but I would

imagine that most companies in the US would rather employ consistent units

for their global products, since standardization results in economic savings

and better communication of quantities to a global audience.  Certainly, the

2 liter bottle (and the 1 and 3 liter bottles) are prime examples that such

a switch is possible without significant protests, especially among the

young.  Global companies such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola can certainly see the

value in standardization of their products.  Even though they still maintain

some local flavor, I imagine they would be in favor of a more uniform

product and packaging if they could have that choice.  I can't see

radiological unit standardization as being significantly different (from a

philosophical perspective, anyway).



On the other hand, insistence on US units may result indirectly in

protectionism in the US for those companies that fear international

competition.  If international companies (including those that market rad

instruments and nuclear medicine) have to go through the hassle of

converting to US units (e.g., for gauges or labels) to market their

products, they pay a penalty that makes them less competitive in the US

relative to domestic US companies.



Since, as a consumer, I feel that competition is healthy, this is another

good reason for moving towards consistent units.  I have found that in the

US people tend to be more "bottom-line" oriented than people in many other

countries.  So if a good cost-benefit analysis is done that shows both

long-term and short-term economic impacts (including the impact of errors

either way), then affected business groups will lobby the applicable

government agencies to either make the necessary changes or maintain the

status quo.  The decision will likely hinge on whether the companies doing

such lobbying are almost entirely US-focused or if they are true

multinational or global companies, and how much money they pour into the

lobbying effort.



Once us "old farts" start to fade away, and the younger generations take

over, we'll likely see them questioning us why it took so long to switch

over.  Again, you have to start somewhere logical to effect the turnover,

and the best targets are those who have not yet been set in "our" ways.  I

would like to hear from our Canadian colleagues regarding the example of the

gasoline stations posted by Bill Lipton.  During the switch from British to

SI units (gallons to liters), what kind of resistance was encountered there?

Did the schools have an early role in making this transition more palatable

to the population?  Was a more socialistic orientation of the Canadian (and

European) public, relative to a somewhat more individualistic US public, to

some degree responsible for getting the population in the proper mindset?



__________________________ 

Ernesto Faillace, Eng.D, CHP

Nuclear Engineer/Health Physicist

TETRA TECH NUS, Inc.

900 Trail Ridge Drive

Aiken, SC 29803

Telephone: (803) 649-7963

FAX: (803) 642-8454

faillacee@ttnus.com 

http://www.ttnus.com/

http://www.tetratech.com/ 



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

From: William V Lipton [mailto:liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM] 

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 7:41 AM

To: Michael G. Stabin

Cc: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: Re: Bq soon





I'd appreciate an answer to the question, "What is the cost involved in not

switching?"  I'm not being sarcastic, but I can't think of any significant

cost.  If there were, we'd have switched by now.   We seem to be able to

live

with a system where the academics use the metric system and the "real world"

uses English units.



I'm certainly not one to hide my light under a 35.2 liter basket, but the

problem is not the PhD's, it's the numerous other workers, eg.,

electricians, mechanics, construction workers, even health physics

technicians whom we have to help work safely.



I know that Shell gas stations in my area started selling gasoline in

liters, ca. 1982.  This was NOT accepted by the public, and they soon went

back to gallons.



If it ain't broke, please don't try to fix it.



The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

It's not about dose, it's about trust.

Curies forever.



Bill Lipton

liptonw@dteenergy.com





"Michael G. Stabin" wrote:



> ...

>

> 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? ...



> 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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