Re: Anyone know about this?

["Jim Hardeman" <Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us>]

John -



Obviously you haven't been hanging around in Georgia. We're still

experiencing landfill incidents to the tune of at least one per month

... it used to be they were in metro Atlanta (i.e. right around the

corner) ... but lately, the landfill incidents each require a MINIMUM of

2 person-days to drive down, monitor, drive back ... and they average

about 4 person-days. When you consider contaminated scrap metal

incidents on top of those we're looking at an incident every 1-2 weeks

on the average. We did a rough calculation for my management regarding

staff utilization ... turns out we can DOCUMENT about 0.6 FTE in 2004

directly related to incidents at scrap yards, recycling facilities and

yes, landfills ... and I don't think our experience is atypical of other

states.



As always, my $0.02 worth ...



Jim Hardeman, Manager

Environmental Radiation Program

Environmental Protection Division

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

4220 International Parkway, Suite 100

Atlanta, GA 30354

(404) 362-2675

Fax: (404) 362-2653

E-mail: Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us 



>>> John Jacobus <crispy_bird@yahoo.com> 1/28/2005 9:51:11 >>>

Would you consider this comparable to the rise of

detector systems at landfills about 10 years ago?  I

have not heard of any waste incidents recent.  Of

course, the public was not as concerned about medical

waste going into landfills as they are in terrorists

having nuclear weapons.





--- BLHamrick@aol.com wrote:



>  

> In a message dated 1/27/2005 7:27:52 A.M. Pacific

> Standard Time,  

> Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us writes:

> 

> Sorry, I  don't buy the argument that this is OK,

> and that we couldn't have 

> done any  better. If we can't figure out a way to

> determine what's significant 

> and  what's not, we're going to run ourselves ragged

> chasing Tc-99m at 

> landfills  and causing large scale evacuations (and

> imposing financial burdens) for 

> "no  never mind" incidents ... essentially playing

> into the hands of those who  

> would use the general public's ignorance of all

> things radioactive as a 

> weapon  against us.

> 

> 

> 

> I agree.  This is an enormous problem for the

> radiation regulatory  

> community, and a significant expense for our federal

> and state taxpayers.   I am aware 

> of a number of "non-events" that have expended

> rather extraordinary  resources 

> in their wake, including the evacuation of a

> building in a major  

> metropolitan area, resulting from someone finding an

> exempt source, and other  similar 

> incidents.

>  

> If everyone and their brother is going to be issued

> radiation detection  

> instruments, then the national radiation protection

> community (including the  

> regulatory agencies) is (are) going to have to step

> up and set some standards  for 

> training people to use them correctly, training

> people to understand the  

> wide variety of sources that are being used legally

> and safely in the community,  

> and training people, most especially, on how to

> contact an "expert" to get 

> input  on whether or not there is really a hazard

> present.

>  

> We do not need to be calling out the FBI, DOE, NRC,

> EPA, and State  

> regulatory agencies every time a first responder

> with a new instrument discovers  that 

> radiation is all around us.

>  

> Barbara L. Hamrick

> 





=====

+++++++++++++++++++

"It doesn't matter whether you're riding an elephant or a donkey if

you're going in the wrong direction."

Jesse Jackson





-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com 



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