[ RadSafe ] Re: First Ever Intentional Hormetic X-Ray

[Flanigan, Floyd]

So ... Barb ... How do I get on the 'I wanna be appointed' list?
 
Floyd W.Flanigan B.S.Nuc.H.P.

-----Original Message-----
From: BLHamrick at aol.com [mailto:BLHamrick at aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 8:03 PM
To: AnaLog at logwell.com; Flanigan, Floyd; ellison1 at localnet.com; radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Re: First Ever Intentional Hormetic X-Ray



In a message dated 4/20/2005 1:03:53 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, AnaLog at logwell.com writes:

You just don't understand...they just want to make the world safer for us 
all.  The regulators truly believe that crap shoot can be eliminated if they 
can just promulgate one more regulation or lower that allowed exposure just 
a little more, or ban that one particularly bad habit, etc., etc.


Just to clarify, the "regulators" are subject to the political whims of non-experts in many cases.  In California, for example, the chain of command is the Governor to the Secretary of the Agency of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Director of the Department of Health Services (DHS) to the Deputy Director over Prevention Services to the Director of the Division of Food, Drug and Radiation Safety - all appointed, and not a one of them health physicists.  It is only at the next level down, the Radiologic Health Branch, that civil service begins, and expertise in radiation safety and regulation also begins.  You may speculate on your own how much weight those voices near the bottom carry.
 
To further put this in perspective, the Governor oversees 300,000 state employees (enough to keep the working population of Wyoming fully employed if California out-sourced state services to them).  HHS employs about 35,000 people, DHS about 5,000.  On the bottom rung, the Radiologic Health Branch employs around 150.
 
This is some pretty heavy political baggage to tote around.
 
Just wanted to put things in perspective here.
 
Barbara L. Hamrick, speaking solely on behalf of herself, as a private citizen, and sharing only publicly available knowledge