Re: Your expert perspective...

[a.zapantis@qut.edu.au (Alex Zapantis)]

>          Good day radsafers
>          
>          An associate of mine is taking a general biology class at a 
>          local community college. The instructor has an anti nuke 
>          agenda. She has given the class an assignment asking the 
>          class to answer particular questions concerning the nuclear 
>          power industry. One question suggests that the nuclear power 
>          industry started to replace REM with the SI unit Sieverts 
>          for dose equivalent reporting. This instructor is convinced 
>          that this was done because the sv equivalent for rem would 
>          appear to be a smaller number, and would not be such a shock 
>          when reported to the public. Rather than reporting 100 rem, 
>          the industry would fool the world by reporting 1 sv. This 
>          change, as the instructor points out, was done after the 
>          Chernobyl accident. 
>          
>          Would anyone care to shed some light on this assumption? I'm 
>          sure one rational shotgun blast will blow her theory away. 
>          Sorry if it raised your blood pressure. Thanks in advance. I 
>          can't imagine anyone being further off base.
>          

Here in Australia, SI units were adopted in the seventies. As far as I can
determine, the US is one of the very few countries which persists with
non-SI units and the CGS system with respect to radiation dosimetry. Is it
possible that the nuke industry up there is simply trying to fall into line
with the rest of the world? 

If the actions of this instructor are as blatantly biased and agenda driven
as your message suggests, he/she should be dragged over the coals. We will
tell her/him the temperature of the coals in degrees celsius rather than
farenheit so he/she doesn't think they are so hot.

I hope he/she doesn't climb on the ELF bandwagon and make similar statements
about Tesla and Gauss!!

I suppose I had better disclaim this one!!

This message does not represent the opinion of the Queensland University of
Technology. (Nobody listens to the guy who wrote it anyway!!)

Regards



                        Alex Zapantis
                        Radiation Safety Officer                               
                        Queensland University of Technology          
                        Health & Safety Section                             
                        Locked Bag No.2
                        Red Hill Qld 4059
                        AUSTRALIA

                        Ph     : 61 7 864 3566
                        fax     : 61 7 864 3993
                        email  : a.zapantis@qut.edu.au