Re: X-ray crystalography

[LIPTONW@detroitedison.com]

--Boundary-1456973-0-0

If you're forced to work with old, unenclosed, no interlocks machines, as I 
was, 2 inexpensive, but effective upgrades are: 
(1) a fail safe "x-ray on" light - if the bulb is burnt out or removed, the 
machine won't work. 
(2) a  "backscatter monitor" - which is a area radiation monitor designed to 
detect low energy x-rays, and designed to alarm on either a radiation level 
above background or a rate of rise.  This should detect any x-ray leakage, 
hopefully before someone gets hurt. 
 
I consider it a great tribute to the intelligence and ingenuity of our 
scientists that they manage to survive working under the conditions they 
create for themselves! 
 
Bill Lipton 



--Boundary-1456973-0-0
X-Orcl-Content-Type: message/rfc822

Received: 31 Jan 1996 13:30:41                    Sent: 31 Jan 1996 12:29:36
From:"root@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu" <root@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
To: Multiple,recipients,of,list,radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
Subject: Re: X-ray crystalography
Reply-to: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
X-Orcl-Application: Errors-To:  melissa@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
X-Orcl-Application: Originator:  radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
X-Orcl-Application: Sender:  radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
X-Orcl-Application: Precedence:  bulk
X-Orcl-Application: X-Listserver-Version:  6.0 -- UNIX ListServer by Anastasios Kotsikonas
X-Orcl-Application: X-Comment:   Radiation Safety Distribution List 


>>Martin, E.B.M., "A Guide to the Safe Use of X-Ray Diffraction and
>>Spectrometry Equipment"  Occupational Hygeine Monograph No.8, 1983.  

>>You should be able to get a copy from Science Reviews Ltd, c/o 28 High Ash
>>Drive, Leeds LS17 8RA, UK.

An EXCELLENT reference - I find I agree with everything the author says - 
except one point - ie. that experienced user can be given more latitude.  My 
position is that they have accidents too - just different kinds/causes.  My 
pet name for the root cause of accidents in the experienced user is 
"attitude accumulation".  This is what happens when for various reasons in 
the users experience he has first "bent" the rules a bit and eventually 
broken them and always gotten away with no problem ...... that time!  Thus 
an attitude of indifference or complancency "accumulates" to the point where 
an accident become inevitable.

I am a firm believer in enclosing ALL analytical machines and have 
instituted that policy here at LBL.  With 25 active machines we have not had 
even a near miss incident since 1977!!!  So with the statistical probability 
of 1 accident per 100 unit years ..... we are quite a few accidents behind.

And for those of you aware of the 1977 accident .... that was before the 
controls and THE event which allowed me to prescribe what I felt was 
prudent. - kinda like getting a stop sign at an intersection only after a 
kid gets killed!

To the end of such hardware control (I bet you didn't think I had any point 
I was getting to) there is another document in this same monograph series I 
also highly recommend as a guide in innovative protection and enclosure 
techniques.

Monograph  No. 15

"A guide to Radiation Protection in the Use of X-Ray Optics Equipment"

ISSN 0141-7568
ISBN 0-906927-52-4

ANYONE with analytical x-ray machines - even just one - should have BOTH 
books in there library!



Ted de Castro
tdc@ehssun.lbl.gov
University of California Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Bldg B75B Rm 101
Berkeley, CA 94720
(510) 486-5256
(510) 486-7304 - FAX



--Boundary-1456973-0-0--