Re: Children: rad exposure from Nuc Med patients -Reply

["Mike Malaxos" <rss@arach.net.au>]

Dear Radsafers,
		When applying the ALARA principle and the risk ( either positive or
negative ) associated with very low doses of radiation (a 1 millrem dose
recieved by a child visiting a mother) should the risks associated by
stress experienced by the child, who does not see the parent, be factored
into the equation). 

When 


Best Regards
M.Malaxos
Radiation Safety Services
69-71 Robinson Avenue Belmont
Western Australia.  6104 
Fax 61 89 475 0165
P 61 89 475 0099  a/h 089 255 1214
email rss@arach.net.au
 

----------
> From: J. J. Rozental <josrozen@netmedia.net.il>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
> Subject: Re: Children: rad exposure from Nuc Med patients -Reply
> Date: Wednesday, 21 January 1998 15:25
> 
> Thank you very much for your 
> 
> At 03:30 PM 1/20/98 -0600, you wrote:
> >The observations made by Prof Rozental and Franz Schoenhofer are
> >right. 
> >
> >However(with respect, sirs), they do represent the ideal : it is a very
> >common experience at this children's hospital for one adult to arrive
with
> >the paediatric patient and accompanied by several other children.   The
> >other children are often of an age where they cannot be left
> >unsupervised (and sometimes can't be separated from the parent). 
> >
> >In context, though, the diagnostic doses given to children result in
quite
> >low exposures, and a quick, single visit by the whole family, though it
> >should be discouraged, does not usually result in more than a trivial
> >exposure.   Our Nuclear Medicine Technologists, for example, do not
> >accumulate even 10mSv in a year's full time work with these (and other)
> >patients, and rarely exceed even 5mSv. 
> >
> >Thus, it is always important to give weight to the    Reasonably
> >Achievable    part of ALARA. 
> >
> >
> >Mark Hanlon,
> >Radiation Safety Officer,
> >The New Children's Hospital,
> >P.O. Box 3515,
> >PARRAMATTA, NSW, 2124
> >Australia
> >
> >
> >Phone   61 2 9845 3324           FAX    61 2 9845 0831
> >
> >email      markh@nch.edu.au
> >
> >
> =======================
> Dear Mark
> 
> Thank you very much for your observation. I have been in many developing
> countries, and I visited many institutions using radionuclide. For this
> reason I understand very well  what you are talking about. It is a not
easy
> task  follow good Radiation Protection Procedures,  specially if we
consider
> that:
> 
> a) There are few Member States that do not have any infrastructure of
> radiation safety;
> 
> b) In several other Member States, although a minimum infrastructure is
> formally in place, the actual level of radiation safety does not meet
> minimum requirements
> 
> This is a situation of great concern.
> 
> For this reason, when you wrote: "Thus, it is always important to give
> weight to the    Reasonably Achievable part of ALARA" the answer for this
is
> just the implementation of:
> 
> a) minimum radiation safety  requirements and an integrated strategy
aiming
> at establishing an adequate safety infrastructure;
> 
> b) Safety Culture toward the minimum requirement
> 
> Best Regards
> 
> J.J.Rozental <josrozen@netmedia.net.il>
> Israel