Re: EDE from FDG - response

[Karin Gordon <kgordon@cc.UManitoba.CA>]

Dear Chris,

I thank you for your note of caution which may be applicable for RSOs
working south of the 49th parallel (i.e. in the USA).  As a Canadian
RSO  I observe with interest what appears to be a tangle of regulatory
agencies and bureaucracies in the USA governing the use of ionizing
radiation (often with conflicting philosophies) and I sympathize with my
American RSO friends and colleagues.

In March of 1997, the Canadian Parliament passed Bill C-23 which
established the Canadian Nuclear Safey Commission (CNSC), currently
known as the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB).   A new set of
regulations has been proposed, and will likely be adopted before the end
of 1998.  The proposed CNSC "Radiation Protection Regulations" outlines
the tissue weighting factors and radiation weighting factors that we
will be using in Canada, which are consistent with the recommendations
of ICRP-60.  So for someone in Canada, my response was  entirely
correct, and I should point out that I did go to the trouble of
indicating the difference between the calculated effective doses pre and
post ICRP-60.

Right now in Canada, we are in a state of transition between the old
regulations (Pre ICRP-26) and the new regulations which incorporate
ICRP-60.  So for the time being, when asked to calculate an effective
dose from radionuclide  intake,  I will calculate it both ways and
present that information with an explanation as to the difference (as I
did in my previous posting).  Pick which ever value you wish, depending
on where you work and reside.

For my American colleagues who are interested in how our Canadian
regulations will be changing, visit the AECB's website:
www.gc.ca/aecb

Regards

Karin Gordon
Radiation Safety Office
Health Sciences Centre
Winnipeg, CANADA
KGordon@cc.UManitoba.ca




The new dose limits that Canada is adopting are very similar to those
recommended in ICRP-60, with the exception of the pregnancy dose limit.