Re: SI Whining

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Bob Flood also said the following, correctly as usual:

> That's the easy part. Retrain everyone on the new units, right? For the 40
> HPs, that's no problem. The other 12,000-15,000 people who work or do
> research here in a year's time are another subject. All of them are already
> primed in the old units and now have to unlearn them, which will have
> inevitable problems. Man-years of training, minimum.

The above is an issue that demonstrates the poor training currently 
conducted within the medical community. No, I am NOT attacking the 
medical community in total, but this is the problem. My staff and I 
talk to literally a dozen medical facilities every day, explaining 
what 10 mrem means, what is the risk, are they going to die, etc. 
There is a serious lack of "radiation protection training" and 
"radiation exposure and dose basics" being taught, initially, or as a 
requalification. If that were not the case, then the calls would not 
continue to keep coming in. I am NOT just talking about doctor's 
offices, I am also addressing hospitals and large medical facilities.

If the majority of workers don't understand the current nomenclature 
(and they should) it's going to be a LONG night when we actually do 
convert to SI units..  I foresee some inadvertent over-exposures and 
worse, when someone misreads exposure and dose, and allows someone to 
go too far....

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3111
  
sandyfl@earthlink.net
sperle@icnpharm.com

ICN Dosimetry Website:
http://www.dosimetry.com

Personal Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1205

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