Re: Rad workers - but not trained

[rfong@snd10.med.navy.mil (RAY FONG)]

Response to posting:
In 1980 the Quality Assurance Task Force (H-7), now known as the Committee
on Quality Assurance in Diagnostic Radiology, through the Conference of
Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD), published patient
exposure guides for routine diagnostic x-ray projections.  This publication
was an attempt at providing recommended exposure guides as a tool for
reducing unecessary radiation exposure to patient, while maintaining or
improving image quality.  The guide provides several tables listing average
Entrance Skin Exposures (ESE) for several modalities.  Included are the ESEs
for dental radiography (Dental cephalometric ESE, Dental Intraoral bitewing
ESE); For example, an average patient ESE range for a standard bitewing at
70 kVp using "E" speed film is 120 - 170 mR.

Ray




>>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 -
>
Andy Waters
Radiology Dept.
Naval Medical Center, San Diego

Comm:(619) 532-8715