RE: Medical vs. Occupational Exposures OPINION

["Flora, Jason" <jgf7@NIOSHE2.EM.CDC.GOV>]

OPINION _

Mr. Nabor is in agreement with our industries current "policy" of not 
recording medical radiation doses (MRD)  with occupational radiation doses.

Today, more studies in epidemiology are being performed and one of the 
confounders is the MRD that was received by a radiation worker.  One could 
argue that the radiation dose received during routine physical examinations 
or other radiation diagnosis or treatment may be the factor in causing a 
stochastic effect.

I would like to learn more about the views of the medical physicists 
regarding this topic.   A patient should know the MRD that will be/was 
administered for a specific event.   I believe the current "policy" of NOT 
tracking diagnostic MRD delivered to a patient is primarily due to cost and 
a perceived lack of benefit.

The epidemiologist would have a great amount of useful information if each 
case within an occupational radiation worker cohort reported the 
occupational and medical radiation dose delivered.  This information would 
be very useful for current epidemiology studies!

Educating the public concerning the MRD delivered WOULD provide them with a 
better understanding of radiation risks and allow them to make educated 
decisions regarding the use of Nuclear Energy.

                              Jason Flora
                              WESTAT -HERB
                              jgf7@nioshe2.em.cdc.gov.

(Comments are those of the author and may not reflect the views of my 
employer)




Summary of Comments from Mr. Nabor
_____
On the question of monitoring medical exposures along with
occupational ones, I think an important point has been overlooked:
The nature of the benefit.

....

But if you are going to let your physician
treat your medical condition regardless, why do you need to know
what your medical exposure is?  If you are concerned about
receiving additional job-related exposure after a medical one, or
you are concerned that the medical exposure represents a greater
risk than the supposed benefit, then a calculation of the medical
exposure is probably going to be more accurate than a dosimeter,
so, again, why wear one?

____

!
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William G. Nabor
University of California, Irvine
EH&S Office
Irvine, CA,  92697-2725
WGNABOR@UCI.EDU
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