Re: Rad workers - but not trained

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

>Next time you go the Dentist and have X-Rays taken, ask the person
>taking the X-Ray how much radiation you're receiving.  The best 
>answer I have heard so far is "like a day in the sunshine."  

Considering the following dose estimates, they even have that 
wrong!!!! The average exposure for a dental x-ray is approximately 10 
mrem/exp. Assuming the following yearly estimates, 1/365 is 
significantly smaller than the dental x-ray. It's unfortunate that 
this is the typical answer the general public gets, and worse, 
makes the patienteven more skeptical.

1. Terrestrial background (Atlanticcoast) 16 mRem/yr 
2. Cosmic Radiation (sea level) 26 mRem/yr 
3. Radionuclides in the body (ie potassium 39 mRem/yr
4. CosmicRadiation (Denver) 50mRem/yr
5. Terrestrial background (Rocky Mountains) 63 mRem/yr


------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
E-Mail: sandyfl@ix.netcom.com
        sperle@icnpharm.com

Personal Homepages:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1205 (primary)
http://www.netcom.com/~sandyfl/home.html (secondary)

"The object of opening the mind as of opening 
the mouth is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -