Re: Badges for surgery

[William V Lipton <liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM>]

I agree with your position with two exceptions.



1.  The decision regarding the requirement for monitoring has to be prospective,

not retrospective.  While exposure history is useful information for this

decision, workloads and procedures can change, which may require monitoring of

someone who did not previously require it.  I agree that all radiation workers

should be monitored.  For one thing, you don't get bogged down in individual

decisions, and the potential to overlook a workload or procedure change.  Also,

if you have radiation injury litigation from an individual who was not

monitored, his lawyer will be happy to calculate the dose for you.



2.  The argument that swapping badges is too difficult for a surgeon would be

funny if it weren't so sad.  It says a lot about the importance of our

"profession."  I disagree that, "discontinuing badges for those workers may be

the way to go...."  If the surgeons can't be bothered to follow some basic good

practices, then they shouldn't be working there, and if the Radiation Safety

Committee won't support you on that one, you should be looking for a job

someplace else.  Rolling over may seem like the path of least resistance, but it

will catch up with you, later.  If anything goes wrong, I would guess that the

surgeons will say something like, "If he'd told me to wear a badge, I would

have..."  (I previously reported my experience with a scientist who said

something like, "If I screw up, I'll take responsibiltiy for it, but in the

meantime, don't bother me."  He caused a major accident shortly after that, and

sued his employer for making him work under such dangerous conditions.)



When I was in graduate school, I considered going into medical physics.  Then, I

realized that, at a hospital, there are two classes of workers:  1.  MD's,  2.

everyone else.  This thread seems to validate that view.  You can have ten PhD's

and a Nobel Prize, but you're still the hired help.



All you medical hp's out there:  PLEASE prove that I'm wrong.



The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

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

Curies forever.



Bill Lipton

liptonw@dteenergy.com



Walter cofer wrote:



> ...  If personnel are consistently receiving doses below 500 mrem/yr, 10 CFR

> Part 20 and equivalent state rad. protection standards allow you to

> discontinue PM forthose individuals.  The workers' argument that swapping out

> their badges is "difficult" is a weak one, but if you are encountering

> problems with keeping

> accurate dose records due to their unwillingness to follow simple badge use

> and exchange procedures, then discontinuing badges for those workers may be

> the way to go....



> Good luck!

>

> Walter Cofer, Program Consultant

> FL Bureau of Radiation Control

> Tallahassee, FL

>

> (Usual disclaimers apply to the above statement; I'm not speaking on behalf

> of my agency...)

>



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